Predicto.com
Un-approved charges to my cell phone for premium texting

I was reviewing my phone bill one night, when I discovered an extra charge for "premium text messaging" in the amount of $9.99. I had no clue what that was so I gave verizon a call. They explained to me that it was a charge from some company called predicto and that we had to have texted them to get that charge put on my bill. She said that it was a subscription and would repeat monthly unless I texted the word "stop" to 654654. They mentioned nothing of a credit for the service, and I was wondering if someone had gotten a hold of my wife's phone to which the charges were made. Verizon told me that the text was made on Novemeber 4th at 5:07pm. Since it was a third party company, there was nothing that Verizon could do. I asked that this premium texting be blocked from both of my wireless lines.

I researched predicto on the internet and found the website predicto.com, and sure enough that was the company. I also found this comlaint page and discovered that I was not alone, but I was not going to just let this go. I got my wife's phone and searched the outbox which had outgoing texts from back to October 24, but I could not find where there had been a text made to 654654 from my wife's phone.

I called Verizon back and spoke with a different representative, who told me a totally different story. She explained that we did not even have to send a text to this predicto.com at 654654. They could freely text us and then charge us the $9.99 for the premium text messaging. If we responded back, then it would become a monthly subscription, instead of the one time charge.

I got a little upity with the representative and stated that I did not see how Verizon could let a company like predicto.com text message my line and then charge me $9.99 for doing so. She stated that the previous representative had blocked premium texting from both my lines. She also stated that the previous representative had issued a credit to my account, which they had failed to mention on the first call.

It is most definitely a scam to hit consumers for $9.99 and then lead them to believe that there is nothing that they can do because it has already been done. While I will stop short of accussing Verizon of being involved, there whole hand in explaining this matter is somewhat questionable.

If this happens to you, don't let anyone lead to believe it is a done deal. It isn't. Demand a credit from your phone company and if they refuse contact the State Corporation Commission in your state.

Company: Predicto.com
Country: USA
Site: predicto.com

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