Paying for phantom texts
A reader who occasionally enters a newspaper text competition contacted us to complain about the ultimate rip-off. Each time he enters a competition it costs him €1 and each time he enters he gets a confirmation text.
“Last Friday I sent an entry but got no reply. On checking my phone I found my message was undelivered so I re-sent it.
“Later, I checked the status again to find the second message was undelivered. I re-sent, and it was acknowledged as correct.”
Days later his mobile service provider - which he does not name - told him he’d been charged for the non-delivered messages, and that this was their regular practice.
“Are mobile service providers allowed to charge for services they don’t provide?” he asks. “If my local postman cannot deliver a parcel to me, he leaves a note to arrange collection or call back at a later date with it. He does not take the parcel home and keep it for himself.”
If we go with the An Post analogy here, you’ll actually find that An Post will not guarantee delivery of something posted to the UK for example, even if you use recorded delivery. You’re paying them, and they’ll commit to delivering to the UK postal service, and that’s about it.
This is exactly the same as with mobile operators. They’ll commit to delivering to the other operator, but since they don’t have control over that operator, they cannot guarantee delivery. And since you’re paying for the use of your operators network, if you send multiple times and they only get so far, then why wouldn’t you pay?
If you’re crossing the toll bridge to go to Tallaght, and you get as far as N4 exit and traffic is too bad, and you go back and attempt to travel again later on, you don’t expect to get away with a “well, I paid earlier” at the toll bridge, do you?
And no, I don’t work for a mobile operator, just common sense at work here.
Comment by Ronan | May 28, 2007 at 4:17 pmWe are a start-up business www.icefone.ie which sends mobile users discounts and offers to their mobiles. We dont receive 1c of the charges levied by carriers to download the service yet the cynicism and suspicion that the service generates is incredible. These days it is quite clear what a service will cost and if it is a subscription service and most people should know this. We offer €5 free credit if you get 5 friends to join up but the response is very slow. So even when you are giving it away mobile users complain. Thanks
Comment by Ken | October 15, 2007 at 3:34 pm