Whilst I was using another website (unrelated) I came across a banner ad that claimed that it would grant your wishes.
Of course I did not believe this but I thought it was harmless fun so I clicked on the banner. I was then asked what my wish was, and for my name, mobile number and other details under the pretext that my wish would somehow come true.
I reached the last stage which contained a "submit" button, and I was about to press it when I happened to scroll down the page and saw some extremely small text at the bottom of the page.
Because I had been a victim of a ringtone scam by another company previously I decided to read this, and I had to enlarge the screen to 200% to be able to do so.
It stated in the small print that by pressing submit I was "agreeing" to recieve up to 2 sms messages every day at a cost of $6.60 per message.
These terms and conditions also stated that I had waived all my rights to any redress through CPX Interactive other than to text "STOP" to 19922277 which would prevent any further messages being sent to my mobile.
My complaint is mainly that many people would be unlikely to read this small print, and the way in which the website is set up does not make it clear that you are agreeing to ANYTHING by pressing submit.
It certainly doesn't openly state that you will be purchasing anything or agreeing to any charges and it is very likely that many people press submit and then forget about it, only to later discover that they have been charged large amounts of money for SMS messages they didn't even want!
Furthermore even the terms and conditions appear to be misleading, because on these it states that to stop recieving the messages you must send "STOP" to 19922277. However the initial message I recieved on my mobile was from 19722277.
Even assuming that I knew that I could stop this "service
by texting "STOP" to them, I would be much more likely to assume that I should send this to the same number I recieved messages from, rather than a slightly different number!
It would appear this may be another way CPX prevents people being able to stop recieving the messages and therby ensures they continue to get charged for them.
There are many scams such as this including so called "free" ringtones advertised in many places on TV and the internet.
Please avoid them and advise all your family and friends to do likewise.
I recommend if you do get caught up in one of these, immediately send them a "STOP" text, try to find their website and get their contact details. Phone them as soon as possible and demand that they do NOT send you any text messages or anything else you would have to pay for, and also lodge a formal complaint to your local telecommunications ombudsman.
Andy
Seaton
Australia
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