Cell Phone Scam
Hey, it's pretty dastardly when a major international corporation scams its own customers. But here's the gist of things.
Part One. The Wireless [cell] phone company dials phone numbers at random, and plays a recording that implies that you have one of their cell phones.
1A. If you don't have one of their cell phones, they call your number every day and play the same recording until you finally get angry enough to listen to the entire message, go to the trouble of contacting a live operator, and tell them you don't have any of their phones and you want them to stop calling. They tell you they can't get into their system to stop calling you unless you tell them your name and address etc. If you give them your name and address, they now target you as a potential new customer. They don't stop bothering you. If you refuse to give them your name and address, they keep calling your number and playing the same old message day after day. Either way, they don't stop bothering you.
1B. If you do have one of their cell phones, and you admit to it, the operator asks for the tiny registration number on your phone. He or she then pretends to look it up. When the operator gets back to you, he says "that cell phone is defective, we're giving you a new one that works." If you agree to that, they give you a new phone, but you've lost all the money/hours/phone credits that were on your old phone. If you call up to complain, you get an operator who suddenly doesn't understand English [or whatever language you speak in your country] and who eventually hangs up on you.
Part Two.
2A. If you do have one of these cell phones, the company turns the service off and on at random. If you call to complain, they tell you the cell phone is defective, and merrily take you through 1B [see above].
2B. If you have one of these cell phones, the company turns the service off and on at random. If you don't call them to complain, they call you to tell you the cell phone is defective, and merrily take you through 1B [see above].
The name of this corporation doesn't matter. If you've experienced any portion of this scam, you'll know it, and if you have managed to avoid it, feel lucky.
I don't have one of their miserable cell phones, so there is not much I can do about it, and they are driving me totally insane with their incessant calls and recordings. But please, any of you who have a cell phone, if you experience the above scam, tell the operator you intend to stop using their service. Otherwise they'll just keep on profitably ripping off major portions of the globe.
Part One. The Wireless [cell] phone company dials phone numbers at random, and plays a recording that implies that you have one of their cell phones.
1A. If you don't have one of their cell phones, they call your number every day and play the same recording until you finally get angry enough to listen to the entire message, go to the trouble of contacting a live operator, and tell them you don't have any of their phones and you want them to stop calling. They tell you they can't get into their system to stop calling you unless you tell them your name and address etc. If you give them your name and address, they now target you as a potential new customer. They don't stop bothering you. If you refuse to give them your name and address, they keep calling your number and playing the same old message day after day. Either way, they don't stop bothering you.
1B. If you do have one of their cell phones, and you admit to it, the operator asks for the tiny registration number on your phone. He or she then pretends to look it up. When the operator gets back to you, he says "that cell phone is defective, we're giving you a new one that works." If you agree to that, they give you a new phone, but you've lost all the money/hours/phone credits that were on your old phone. If you call up to complain, you get an operator who suddenly doesn't understand English [or whatever language you speak in your country] and who eventually hangs up on you.
Part Two.
2A. If you do have one of these cell phones, the company turns the service off and on at random. If you call to complain, they tell you the cell phone is defective, and merrily take you through 1B [see above].
2B. If you have one of these cell phones, the company turns the service off and on at random. If you don't call them to complain, they call you to tell you the cell phone is defective, and merrily take you through 1B [see above].
The name of this corporation doesn't matter. If you've experienced any portion of this scam, you'll know it, and if you have managed to avoid it, feel lucky.
I don't have one of their miserable cell phones, so there is not much I can do about it, and they are driving me totally insane with their incessant calls and recordings. But please, any of you who have a cell phone, if you experience the above scam, tell the operator you intend to stop using their service. Otherwise they'll just keep on profitably ripping off major portions of the globe.