Cellular Phone Forum / Providers / Sprint PCS / May 2007
Suspected Fraud By Sprint's "Premium Services"
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James - 13 May 2007 19:45 GMT In reviewing my recent Sprint bill I found $40 is charges for "Premium Services" (ringtone and game downloads) that I did not make.
Sprint "Customer Service" keeps saying that these were done by me since they were charged to my phone. Catch 22 here: I didn't do it, but I must have since they are on my bill, and since they are on my bill I must have done it. They did tell me that most of the downloads occurred in the middle of the night when the phone was in my house and I was asleep.
I talked to several people at Customer Service for over an hour, including a supervisor, all of whom told me that they couldn't or more accurately, wouldn't do anything to reverse the charges.
Since it appears that the downloads were made through their website, does anyone know if Sprint keeps the IP address of the downloader? Customer Service doesn't know or won't tell me.
Has anyone else had this problem with Sprint? How did you resolve it, it at all?
Tomorrow I call Sprint Corporate and try there.
So a WARNING to all: Check your bills carefully!
James
Floyd - 13 May 2007 22:35 GMT > Has anyone else had this problem with Sprint? How did you resolve it, > it at all? > > Tomorrow I call Sprint Corporate and try there. Luckily I haven't had this same problem, but it irritates the hell out of me that whenever there is a problem with SprintPCS you have to call, usually many times, including the follow-up calls to try to confirm the expected agreed-upon resolution, and even then the ugly problem can resurface when the next bill arrives. If sprint would streamline the grievance procedure, and give those CS agents the power to actually overide the automatic procedures, then it would cut the number of hours wasted by customers and otherwise well-meaning low level agents down to practically nothing, giving CS agents time to work on other customers.
Here are several suggestions to get their attention: ---file a report with the BBB ---file a report with the FCC ---send a through description of your problem to Sprint e-care and corporate. Having something in writing from them is like having evidence to support any resolution that they may offer verbally. I doubt that Sprint would tell you in writing that you are a liar and that they are going to bill you for something that you claim to have no knowlege of. ---threaten to leave sprint, agreement or not. Having to pay for fraudulent billing should be considered a violation of the agreement, no?
Back in the day, when all the phones were wired to individual houses, if a call was logged on your bill, there was a good bet that someone in your house made the calls. Nowdays, with cell pirates and sloppy computer programming, anything is suspect.
Karen in MN - 14 May 2007 13:22 GMT > In reviewing my recent Sprint bill I found $40 is charges for "Premium > Services" (ringtone and game downloads) that I did not make. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > occurred in the middle of the night when the phone was in my house and > I was asleep. It may have something to do with their converson to the new billing system (see my recent post on unknown international calls). The person I finally got through to said she got a call from someone who got a call from Sprint saying her phone was compromised, and it wasn't. One group found 196 minutes of calls made by me, the website says 1 minute, and another person can't find any record at all of the calls -- and I didn't make ANY, and I don't know anyone overseas, and no one else has any way of using my phone. It's all blamed on the new billing system. It sounds like it's a total mess over there right now. Or you may have actually been cloned.
PMP4Hire - 14 May 2007 16:52 GMT I agree, review your monthly bill if Sprint has converted to a new system. Last month, I called CS and they took one of the bogus charges off for me, no questions asked.
Tom
Steve Crow - 14 May 2007 17:21 GMT The billing system conversion (P2K to Ensemble) that others speak of in this thread *may* have something to do with it. My questions for you are:
1. How long have you had this phone number (not phone, not service, the actual phone number)?
2. Have you recently sold, lost, or otherwise parted ways with an old phone that was once active on this line/account?
The reason I ask is that "premium content" comes from two different places: the Sprint Vision Content Vending Machine (the "Downloads" area on PCS Vision) and from third-party vendors who peddle their goods via text messaging-- the stuff you see advertised on TV "send xxxxx to xxxxx to get x ringtone").
We'll look first at purchases from the Vision Content Vending Machine. Errors in these purchase records are very rare, but they do happen for a couple of reasons, which I'll get to in a minute. Every handset with 3G data capability is authenticated on Sprint's network through an NAI which contains a username (somebody@sprintpcs.com) and a password. This information is usually provisioned over-the-air, automatically, when the handset is activated on the line. It's also possible to program this information manually if the owner knows the Master Subsidy Lock code (MSL), which Sprint isn't in a habit of giving out-- except when they have to, like during the phone programming process.
If someone were to program their handset with your Vision NAI, they could very well purchase and bill things to your account. Your default Vision password is just a bunch of gibberish, but someone in-the-know who has access to your phone can fetch the information they need right from the handset and plug it into theirs-- and in some early Vision phones, they don't even need that lock code to get to it (a problem which was fixed via software updates in pretty much all affected models). If this has happened, logging in to your account at Sprint.com and modifying your Vision password will block the offender from future access.
A more common way people gain access to another person's Vision account is through the use of an old handset which hasn't been properly cleared of the old programming and loaded with new Vision NAI details over the air. This can happen if you sell a phone, lose one (and don't report it lost/stolen), etc. As I mentioned earlier, NAI programming is supposed to happen automatically, but there's nothing stopping the user from canceling it as soon as it starts, leaving the old username and password in place. There are also times that the information simply doesn't come down over the air, though that doesn't happen often. The phone will need to be active on another account to access the network, but if the Vision username and password that's programmed in is still associated with YOUR account, YOU get billed for purchases.
If you have recently parted ways with an old phone from your account, let Customer Care know that it's likely it was still programmed with your account information. They should be able to credit it back and change your Vision password for you.
Now, as far as those third-party services go, it's true that Sprint, like most carriers, has a policy of not refunding those charges. Think of them as the modern cell phone equivalent of 900 numbers. Someone else is billing you, Sprint's just passing along the bill. Many of the services you see advertised on TV where you send a certain code to a specific number to get a game or ringtone tell you in the (very) fine print at the bottom of the screen that you're signing up for a subscription or that they'll send you a text message once a day for the next fifty years at three bucks a pop. If you have been receiving these messages, even if you're not opening them, you're being billed.
If you didn't sign up, just about the only way you could be getting bills for these is if it's an error at the service provider, or if you recently got a new phone number and the previous owner was signed up for something like this. If that's the case, it's almost easiest to change your phone number. Explain the situation to Customer Care and they'll typically have a supervisor approve a credit for the charges.
Those are really about the only ways I've ever seen truly erroneous content charges wind up on customers' bills in my six years selling and servicing the Sprint product.
> In reviewing my recent Sprint bill I found $40 is charges for "Premium > Services" (ringtone and game downloads) that I did not make. [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > > James James - 15 May 2007 01:26 GMT >The billing system conversion (P2K to Ensemble) that others speak of >in this thread *may* have something to do with it. My questions for [quoted text clipped - 101 lines] >> >> James To all who responded:
Here's the update. I called Sprint Corporate and talked first to one of those CS reps who said, more or less the same as yesterday's unknowing CS reps: It's your phone, your fault. Tough.
I spoke to his supervisor who finally got things sorted out. She answered my questions and for a change, someone at Sprint listened. She asked a lot of questions, but at the end, she gave me a $50 credit in the event I am continued to be billed in May/June and told me how to remove anything that might be an ongoing rebilling.
And that was the secret door on their website.
The place to go is after the login page. Go to "My Content", then click on "My Content Manager". There you can ask for a refund or unsubscribe. Of course, the assumption is that you were the one to download things. But there is a problem in that you can ask for a refund, but the system only allows a maximum of two per month. In asking for a refund, click on the radio button for "Other" and say "Unauthorized".
I suppose it would have been nice if someone at a not-so-senior level mentioned that, but I suspect these people at first tier CS are in a call center somewhere outside of the known universe.
So to amend my warning: every couple of weeks, check your account for "content". And, if you explain yourself very carefuylly, politely, and succinctly to CS, almost universally, with one lone exception today, they still tell you that you are wrong.
Two other point: First, if your login name is your cellphone number, you've opened the door just a bit too wide. And second, and most important, if you go to "Settings and Preferences" you can prevent downloads of games, songs, and just plain old crap. (BTW, the first several CS reps told me that if I did that I would lose access to PowerVision and web access, which I still want. Today's CS supervisor told me that that was wrong information.)
James
jgrove24@hotmail.com - 17 May 2007 22:33 GMT > >The billing system conversion (P2K to Ensemble) that others speak of > >in this thread *may* have something to do with it. My questions for [quoted text clipped - 132 lines] > and succinctly to CS, almost universally, with one lone exception > today, they still tell you that you are wrong. Or just dump them and go with Virgin Mobile, Sir Richard's separate Customer Service is the only thing keeping spcs from total collapse...JG
> Two other point: First, if your login name is your cellphone number, > you've opened the door just a bit too wide. And second, and most [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > - Show quoted text - Juan Pablo - 16 May 2007 17:59 GMT >In reviewing my recent Sprint bill I found $40 is charges for "Premium >Services" (ringtone and game downloads) that I did not make. [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > >James Sprint most probably WILL NOT reverse those ring tones' download charges that might have been done by someone other than you via their Web site.
Assuming that to be true, then do yourself a big financial favor. Immediately go back to your Sprint Web site account and CHANGE YOUR PASSWORD. Do this NOW!!!
As a further precaution you might also consider downloading the free SPYBOT and AD-AWARE anti-spywares, and set them to automatic-run on a daily basis. You may be surprised at how many keystroke loggers and other spyware are lurking on MOST unprotected PCs, including those that also have activated firewalls AND activated anti-virus software! Anti-spyware and anti-virus are NOT the same. All PCs need BOTH installed and running on them.
Hope that helps. ---Juan
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