class action lawsuit arise from this situation, though those probably won’t make the charges go away. Some people had hoped that the government would step in and impose regulations on what the carriers could charge. That doesn’t seem likely, though. Industry Minister Jim Prentice, who began the regulation talks, has said no, the government will not do such a thing, according to CBC News. To alleviate one large customer complaint, Prentice has assured wireless subscribers that if they contact their carrier after receiving a spam message, they will receive a credit. Telus has already said this, so I guess Prentice is speaking for Bell. He also has a message for those highly unhappy with this development:
“Given these undertakings by Bell Mobility and Telus, I would encourage consumers dissatisfied with existing plans to seek alternatives. The telecommunications market in Canada is dynamic — choice is available,” he said.More choice will be available once the spectrum auction winners build networks and start offering services. But that’s a slow process, one that won’t come to fruition for quite some time. So consumers are either stuck with their current provider, switch to the monopolistic Rogers, or deal with the disadvantages of a regional carrier. For those with Telus, you’ll see incoming text message charges beginning August 24.]]>
Posted in Canadian Wireless
The 15 cent charge is crap, my last Telus bill came with 24 text messages charged at 2.00 each. All them were spam and unsolisted. I was not offered any credit when I called to complain, just rudely told to pay up or my phone would be disconnected. Needles to say my mobile is no longer with Telus.
But I would like to thank my rude Telus assistant, it is because of her that I put 12 years of Telus loyalty to end and bought my new iPhone.
Definitely very frustrating, however, I don’t think it’s cause for panic. As with so many other things, this too will pass (ex. moving to a 9pm evening clock, which eventually started moving back). The competitive landscape will require that carriers adapt, and differentiating by not charging for incoming messages I predict will become a copmetitive play. As customers, we can demonstrate that this is a bad idea by making sure we call our carrier when we get unsolicited messages. And if you’re very frustrated, you can choose to text less to show them that they’re losing revenue. Also, keep your eyes open for unlimited text packages if you send and receive a lot of messages.
Cheers,
PrepaidWirelessGuy
http://www.prepaid-wireless-guide.com