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Cellular Phone Forum / Providers / Cingular / June 2005New to Cingular... How to "lock down" a Motorola v180 so you don't get unexpected charges on your bill......
I'm new to Cingular coming from Sprint. With my Sprint phone, there were settings in the phone to display confirmation messages if the service you were going to access would result in additional charges on your bill. For example, if you were going to use the web features or make a call while using analog roaming off the network. Are there settings on the v180 to either prevent access to or at least warn before allowing access to features that would result in additional charges on your bill? Part of the problem is I don't know what results in additional charges and what doesn't. For example, does accessing "MyMEdia" result in charges? What about "Media Net" or "My Account"? The only way to know what causes charges is to try to access it and see if I get something on my bill. I know that sending or receiving a text message would result in a charge. I've gone to the Message Center website and tried to prevent any text messages from being sent to the phone. Also, any time I see something that looks like a browser popping up, I immediately cancel out of it and see some message like "xxxx bytes transferred" which probably means I got charged for that. Can anyone share any advice? All I need this phone to do is dial in and dial out and voicemail. No PIM... No games... No IM... No Text... No pictures... No downloads... Just voice with no extra charges. > I'm new to Cingular coming from Sprint. > [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > dial out and voicemail. No PIM... No games... No IM... No Text... No > pictures... No downloads... Just voice with no extra charges. If you have not signed up (as part of your plan) for internet services, you will not be able to access them. As far as I know, you only pay for outgoing text messages, incoming are free. >As far as I know, you only pay for outgoing text messages, incoming are >free. Hum, I get charged for 10 cents per message for all messages, incoming and outgoing. >>As far as I know, you only pay for outgoing text messages, incoming are >>free. > > Hum, I get charged for 10 cents per message for all > messages, incoming and outgoing. I am only charged for outgoing and have confirmed with Billing that is the case. perhaps it varies by plan but it was not presented that way to me. >>>As far as I know, you only pay for outgoing text messages, incoming are >>>free. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >case. >perhaps it varies by plan but it was not presented that way to me. It also matters if you're a native cingular customer or are a "blue" customer (i.e. acquired in the cingular buyout of AT&T Wireless.) If you're in the latter category ATTWS never charged for incoming SMS while cingular did. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > As far as I know, you only pay for outgoing text messages, incoming are > free. This used to be true. Cingular now charges for incoming and outgoing. If you use a lot of TXT messages, then it would behoove you to look into a plan for adding these to your current plan. 10¢ a message is a bit extreme - and they do NOT come out of your minute pool. >> As far as I know, you only pay for outgoing text messages, incoming are >> free. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > plan for adding these to your current plan. 10¢ a message is a bit > extreme - and they do NOT come out of your minute pool. Just got my latest bill two days ago and incoming text messages show .00 for charge, outgoing .10 >As far as I know, you only pay for outgoing text messages, incoming are >free. If you're a cingular blue (former AT&T Wireless) yes. If you're cingular you pay for both incoming and outgoing messages. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - >>As far as I know, you only pay for outgoing text messages, incoming are >>free. > > If you're a cingular blue (former AT&T Wireless) yes. If you're > cingular you pay for both incoming and outgoing messages. Ahh that's it then, I am former Suncom/ATT customer. I believe that sending Media messages to your phone does incur a charge. When I first got my V180 I was able to find (somewhere) what items would be charged for and how much they would be. I send myself a few pictures and such as experiments and used one for my background (screensaver) on the phone. ANYWAY, I find that web-browsing on a phone is next to useless for me so I called Cingular and had them disable that service ON MY ACCONT, not on the phone. >I believe that sending Media messages to your phone does incur a charge. >When I first got my V180 I was able to find (somewhere) what items would be [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >called Cingular and had them disable that service ON MY ACCONT, not on the >phone. Same here. I played with web browsing on my phone and also found it useless. And, after my phone was lost/stolen, I found someone racked up $100 plus of Direct Billed charges, which I later found out was downloading ringtones and/or games. I had internet access and direct billing on my account disabled to prevent stuff like this from happening again. > I had internet access and direct billing on my account > disabled to prevent stuff like this from happening > again. Direct billing is not a good option for anything that changes because of usage or other things. Cellular, Electricity, Phone, etc...... all things that should never be direct billed. >> I had internet access and direct billing on my account >> disabled to prevent stuff like this from happening [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >usage or other things. Cellular, Electricity, Phone, etc...... all things >that should never be direct billed. True. But I was referring to "Direct Billing" where sites charge your Cingular account for downloads (Games, Ringtones). Per none: > All I need this phone to do is dial in and >dial out and voicemail. No PIM... No games... No IM... No Text... No >pictures... No downloads... Just voice with no extra charges. I'm on tMobile, but I've got a couple of v180's and the same mindset. The other poster's suggestion about calling Cingular and asking them to update your account sounds like the best idea. But I haven't done that (yet...) either. What I did was use the v180's Settings|Security|Phone Lock|Lock Applications to lock everything except the basics. That way, although I can still use them, I have to supply the phone's password before I can get to them. What prompted this outlook for me was reading a newspaper account of somebody who managed to ring up thousands of dollars in text messaging fees on her new phone without even knowing she was doing anything.  SignaturePeteCresswell > What I did was use the v180's Settings|Security|Phone Lock|Lock Applications > to lock everything except the basics. That way, although I can still use them, [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > who managed to ring up thousands of dollars in text messaging fees on her new > phone without even knowing she was doing anything. This newspaper story is exactly what I want to avoid. I understand the terms of my contract... basically, every feature is "pay per use" except for the block of voice minutes I get each month. What I don't understand is how to map those terms to some of the choices on the phone so I can know which features I can use without additional charges and which ones will cost me more money. Obviously, sending a text message or accessing the web browser results in a charge to the account so those are easy. But what isn't clear is when you're using the web browser and when you aren't. For example, is "MediaNet" the web browser? Or is "MEdia Mall" the web browser? Or do both use the web browser to access different things? What about "My Account"? Does it use the web browser? If so, are you really charged for getting access to your account information or is that given to you for free since you aren't really accessing the "internet". Then it looks like I can use any of the built-in ringtones or pictures without being charged extra. It's only if I were to select one of the "Shop Ringtones" or "Shop Graphics", etc. choices that it looks like I would download something and be charged. However, it isn't clear to me if the act of shopping for graphics or ringtones in itself would use the web browser and would result in charges just to look and see what I could download. In other words, even if I didn't download a ringtone, would I still be charged for the data/web access to see the list of what is available for download? (In essence, a double-whammy) So here's the list of what can be locked on the phone. Does anyone care to comment on what I should lock to accomplish my goal? MediaNet (LOCK - sounds like a web browser) MEdiaMall (LOCK - sounds like a web browser) MyAccount (Maybe lock... are we charged to view account information?) MyMEdia (Don't lock because you can use what is on the phone) - sounds (Don't lock, but don't access "Shop" option) - pictures (Don't lock, but don't access "Shop" option) - themes (Don't lock, but don't access "Shop" option) - MotoMixer (Don't lock, but don't access "Shop" option) AddressBook Settings -Tools --Calculator --Datebook --Shortcuts --AlarmClock --Chat (LOCK - would use web) --DialingServices ---FixedDial ---ServiceDial --SimApplications --AIM (LOCK - would use web) -Audio -Network (LOCK) -WebAccess (LOCK) --WebShortcuts (LOCK) --StoredPages (LOCK) --History (LOCK) --GoToURL (LOCK) --BrowserSetup (LOCK) --WebSessions (LOCK) >> What I did was use the v180's Settings|Security|Phone Lock|Lock >> Applications [quoted text clipped - 72 lines] > --BrowserSetup (LOCK) > --WebSessions (LOCK) Comments inline. SignatureEarl F. Parrish >>> What I did was use the v180's Settings|Security|Phone Lock|Lock >>> Applications [quoted text clipped - 70 lines] > > Comments inline. They must allow for some usage for My Account because I go there to check minutes and bill amount and have never gotten extra charges on my bill. And believe me, I check my bill with a fine tooth comb! I have also used AIM once or twice and only got text charges (which can add up if you don't have that added to your plan). I was also at ATT person who had to convert to cingluar but I now get charged for incoming and outgoing text messages. Anything I can do about this? I have been having MAJOR issues about texting because I have gotten repeat texts messages, sometimes continual 3-5 times per one message sent. I tested this with my daughters OGO too, so I know they were only being sent once. I called tech support, they said it was a tech issue and are suppose to be adjusting my account. Of course, I want them to go back a few months as this has been happening for some time. Anyone else ever have this problem? T Please do this! CALL CINGULAR and tell them to TURN OFF all internet and text messaging on your phone! I learned this the hard way. When I got my new V180 my 11 year old said he could put me some cool ringtones in the phone. I said ok gave him the phone and told him to knock himself out. Now it was after 9 at night so I knew we were in the free nights and weekends part of my time and all he had was the phone and his computer, no creditcards or anything, so the way I looked at it what harm could be done. Believe me when I say I had NO IDEA that you could order stuff off the internet and have it billed to your cell phone. When I got my first bill there was about $20 in Jamster, DirtyHippo and text messaging charges on my phone. To say the least I was one unhappy camper and to make matters worse there isn't no getting these charges reversed as they claim they are valid. At any rate these features have now been banned from my phone and Cingular swears there will be no more of these charges. As far as I am concerned this is one big Scam by Cingular. I can not imagine how many people have been ripped off the way I have. All phones should come with these features turned off and to get them turned on should require a special call to get them turned on where someone explains in detail what charges you could hit with. I still do not understand why my phone was set up with things turned on that are not included in my rate plan. Joe > I'm new to Cingular coming from Sprint. > [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > dial out and voicemail. No PIM... No games... No IM... No Text... No > pictures... No downloads... Just voice with no extra charges. Per Joe: >As far as I am concerned this is one big Scam by Cingular. It's worse with tMobile: you can't even have the account profile changed to disallow them. SignaturePeteCresswell >As far as I am concerned this is one big Scam by Cingular. I can not >imagine how many people have been ripped off the way I have. All phones [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >phone was set up with things turned on that are not included in my rate >plan. Maybe before you or anyone who has access to your phone you should learn what you might do on your phone to accumulate charges such as *using* it to make calls, text messaging, etc. It's not the company's job to make you aware of what you have on your account. Ignorance is no excuse. - - Per Joseph: >It's not the company's >job to make you aware of what you have on your account. Ignorance is >no excuse. But prospective customer might choose another company if they hear enough complaints here....-) SignaturePeteCresswell I am confused. I have had cell phones for close to ten years and none accepted billing for items ordered over the internet. I have also had internet since a 100MHZ computer was considered fast. I have also ordered thousands of dollars of stuff over the internet with my credit card and never once has billing the item to my cell phone been an option. How should I have know to inquire about something that I do not even know is possible? If Cingular would have said when I got the phone, Do you want Text messaging it will cost you a dime both ways I would have said HELL NO,Why do you need text messaging it is a phone just call me. If Cingular would have said do want the ability to change your ringtones for $15 dollars a month I would have again said HELL NO as the default tone was fine with me. I thought I was getting Phone service and only Phone service. If I had been ask if I wanted this garbage I would have never got it but nobody ask. Why should I have assumed I was getting it when the only thing ever talked about when I was getting the phone was minutes of phone usage. Joe >>As far as I am concerned this is one big Scam by Cingular. I can not >>imagine how many people have been ripped off the way I have. All phones [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > - - >I am confused. I have had cell phones for close to ten years and none >accepted billing for items ordered over the internet. I have also had >internet since a 100MHZ computer was considered fast. I have also ordered >thousands of dollars of stuff over the internet with my credit card and >never once has billing the item to my cell phone been an option. Guess you have never ordered ringtones or backgrounds before as that is standard way of billing them. > How should I have know to inquire about something that I do not even > know is possible? If Cingular would have said when I got the phone, Do you [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > $15 dollars a month I would have again said HELL NO as the default tone > was fine with me. Apparently not if you sent the little guy of to the internet to download more 'cool' ringtones. >I thought I was getting Phone service and only Phone service. You are, CELLULAR PHONE SERVICE which tends to include many extras just like a land line does. >If I had been ask if I wanted this garbage I would have never got it but >nobody ask. Why should I have assumed I was getting it when the only thing >ever talked about when I was getting the phone was minutes of phone usage. And I am sure you READ and signed the same standard contract everyone else does (you DID read it right?). It clearly describes other services and additional costs that may be incurred for their use. >>>As far as I am concerned this is one big Scam by Cingular. I can not >>>imagine how many people have been ripped off the way I have. All phones [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] >> >> - - > Apparently not if you sent the little guy of to the internet to download > more 'cool' ringtones. No I did not care one way or another. So long as the phone makes some sort of no abnoctious noise to let me know I am being called I do not care what that is so I really did not care if the kid changed it to something he thought was cool. >>I thought I was getting Phone service and only Phone service. > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > It clearly describes other services and additional costs that may be > incurred for their use. Have you read your contract? Who does? It is written in fine print that even most lawyers could not understand. I trusted the people selling me the service which was a mistake on my part as obviously Cingular is not to be trusted. I went to Cingular to buy a cell phone and cellular service and that is all that was ever discussed. I at no time ever ask about internet service or text messaging and that was never brought up. If Cingular is going to enable these features at very expensive rates do you not think they should tell you about it when they are signing you up? Do you not think the Cingular Rep should have ask me when turning my service on "Do you want text messaging at a dime per message" "Do you want the ability to buy stuff from the internet and have it billed to your cell phone"? Neither of these questions were asked and that is why I feel as if I was scammed. Why is what I say unreasonable? Joe >>>>As far as I am concerned this is one big Scam by Cingular. I can not >>>>imagine how many people have been ripped off the way I have. All phones [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] >>> >>> - - >> Apparently not if you sent the little guy of to the internet to download >> more 'cool' ringtones. [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > > Have you read your contract? Sure did! > Who does? Any one with half a brain reads any contract prior to signing it. > It is written in fine print that even most lawyers could not understand. I found the language quite clear. Especially the parts that talk about additional features and how they may incur additional charges. > I trusted the people selling me the service which was a mistake on my part > as obviously Cingular is not to be trusted. And the mistake on their part was assuming you were mature enough to be making such a decision without parental guardian present. Face it, this is not a Cingular problem, you did not spend even a moment from what I can see researching the product/service you were purchasing. Itr was an impulse buy! > I went to Cingular to buy a cell phone and cellular service and that is > all that was ever discussed. And that is all they sold you. You just took no time to see what the defiinition of 'Cellular Service' was or to ask questions about your particular plan. > I at no time ever ask about internet service or text messaging and that > was never brought up. Sure it was, you just (admittadly) did not read the service plan or contract before signing it. Maybe when you try to bail on your contract Cingular will post a message here about Joe and how they thought they could trust him but he bailed on us and never told us he did not want text messaging service before he signed the contract he did not read. > If Cingular is going to enable these features at very expensive rates do > you not think they should tell you about it when they are signing you up? If Joe is going to buy a service plan and sign a contract for it, do you not think he should read it and ask questions first? > Do you not think the Cingular Rep should have ask me when turning my > service on "Do you want text messaging at a dime per message" "Do you want > the ability to buy stuff from the internet and have it billed to your cell > phone"? Neither of these questions were asked and that is why I feel as if > I was scammed. Why is what I say unreasonable? No I do not any more than I expected Cox to warn me when I signed up for internet service that things purchased over the internet could be charged to my cell phone, credit card, checking account, etc. Or if I wanted email service or not. Nor did I expect them to ask me if I wanted long distance or directory assistance service (both incur additional charges) when I ordered my land line. > Joe > [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] >>>> >>>> - - > Please do this! > [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > As far as I am concerned this is one big Scam by Cingular. I can not > imagine how many people have been ripped off the way I have. Let me get this straight ...you (or someone you authorized) used a function of an internet site to download ringtones (that I am sure clearly stated the charge per ringtone), and you feel you got ripped off. Sorry no sympathy here. > All phones should come with these features turned off and to get them > turned on should require a special call to get them turned on >where > someone explains in detail what charges you could hit with. I still do not > understand why my phone was set up with things turned >on that are not > included in my rate >plan. Give me a break! Read your agreement and don't turn your cell phone over to an 11 year old without knowing what they are up to. Perhaps all cell phones should come with an IQ test you must pass before it is activated. >> I'm new to Cingular coming from Sprint. >> [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] >> dial out and voicemail. No PIM... No games... No IM... No Text... No >> pictures... No downloads... Just voice with no extra charges. How am I supposed to know my cell phone number is something that should be protected like a credit card number. The idea of a phone number is to give it out to where people can call you. If my kid would have said "Dad give me your credit card to where I can get this" I would have said no. I have bought thousands of dollars of stuff over the internet and having it billed to my cell phone was never an option how should I have known this was even possible when Cingular never told me? Joe >> Please do this! >> [quoted text clipped - 63 lines] >>> dial out and voicemail. No PIM... No games... No IM... No Text... No >>> pictures... No downloads... Just voice with no extra charges. > How am I supposed to know my cell phone number is something that should be > protected like a credit card number. The idea of a phone number is to give [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Joe Seems to me you should be upset with the kid, not Cingular. Any of these ringtone sites I have ever seen make it quite clear that the 'purchase' will be billed to your cell phone bill AND you must make some sort of acknowlegment that you understand this. Cingular does not offer NetNanny service (that I am aware of) >>> Please do this! >>> [quoted text clipped - 63 lines] >>>> and dial out and voicemail. No PIM... No games... No IM... No Text... >>>> No pictures... No downloads... Just voice with no extra charges. > Now it was after 9 at night so I knew we were in the free nights and > weekends part of my time and all he had was the phone and his computer, no [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > there was about $20 in Jamster, DirtyHippo and text messaging charges on my > phone. I can see your point. The web sites or where ever you can do phone billing purchases should require some type of PIN or password that is linked to your account. Apparently it is set up that anyone who knows your number can make purchases? If so, that is a crime and Cingular is just a partner in it. >> Now it was after 9 at night so I knew we were in the free nights and >> weekends part of my time and all he had was the phone and his computer, [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > that anyone who knows your number can make purchases? If so, > that is a crime and Cingular is just a partner in it. No, because after you send it to your phone, you have to have possession of your phone to accept it. Not like anyone with your number can just charge things to your phone > No, because after you send it to your phone, you have to have possession of > your phone to accept it. > Not like anyone with your number can just charge things to your phone so the phone itself downloads the ringtone or whatever? that would me you would have to have some type of data plan on the phone, correct? I really don't know how it works, but I would like to. Thanks for any info. |
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