DrMoriarty
Moderator
- Messages
- 5,173
G'day, all,
I'd missed the recent radio discussions about Jamster's great ringtone subscription swindle, and possibly other users of AAM have, too..(?)
My own kid got sucked into this scam somehow, and I've just written to the shysters in the following terms. Sorry for the long post, but I thought some of the references might be helpful to others affected. I've been stung for a relatively small sum, but I shudder to think about the possible 'hit' on users with monthly billing, or who have a large amount of pre-paid credit on their 'phone...
I hope these b*stards are shut down soon, although I suspect the German authorities will find an empty bedroom in a rented flat...
Dr. M.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sent: 26 June 2005 11:58
To: 'info@ringtoneking.ie'; 'info@jamster.ie'; 'info@regtel.ie'; 'odca@entemp.ie'; 'info@asai.ie'; 'consumerline@comreg.ie'; 'info@meteor.ie'; 'customer.care@o2.ie'; 'info@vodafone.ie'
Cc: 'domain-admin@jamba.net'; 'info@jamba-ag.de'; 'support@ringtoneking.co.uk'; 'info@ringtoneking.co.uk'; 'info@jamster.co.uk'
Subject: Fraudulent ringtone subscription
Importance: High
Dear Sir/Madam,
Somehow or other, my 9-year-old daughter has fallen prey to Ringtoneking.ie’s – or Jamster, or Jamba, or iLove GmbH, etc… - ringtone subscription scam. On 17 June last I topped up her credit by €20, and within a day it had dropped to €4. When she brought it to my attention I looked up her call records on Meteor’s website and found the following charges:
17 Jun 05 14:26:10 0:0:00 [edit: number removed] 2.00
17 Jun 05 14:26:11 0:0:00 [" "] 2.00
17 Jun 05 14:26:18 0:0:00 [" "] 2.00
17 Jun 05 14:38:50 0:0:00 [" "] 2.00
18 Jun 05 17:37:00 0:0:00 [" "] 2.00
18 Jun 05 17:37:00 0:0:00 [" "] 2.00
18 Jun 05 17:37:03 0:0:00 [" "] 2.00
18 Jun 05 17:37:03 0:0:00 [" "] 2.00
Having first established that she had not voluntarily spent her credit buying ringtones/logos, I contacted Meteor customer care and they explained that these were reverse-charge SMS messages with a short code of 57757, and provided me with Ringtoneking’s premium-rate ‘customer services’ number, 0818-242311. I rang this from my landline and was thence referred to the 1890-943301 number for RoI ‘customers’. I then rang that number and followed the automated instructions for cancelling the ‘subscription’ (my use of quote marks is significant). Her phone then received another SMS, at a further €2 charge, confirming the cancellation:
25 Jun 05 20:26:05 0:0:00 [edit: number removed] 2.00
I then undertook a little further research and discovered the unsavoury truth about this operation, in Ireland and abroad. I refer you to the ODCA’s report at http://www.odca.ie/cfmdocs/news.cfm?article_no=5585 , to this representative UK discussion forum thread: http://www.the-scream.co.uk/forums/t15271.html , and to this report about a pending lawsuit against Jamster in the US : http://www.infoworld.com/article/05/04/05/HNjamster_1.html. I also ran a quick Whois.com search on the parent company and I will be posting hard copy of this e-mail to Mr (Messrs?) Samwer at Jamba’s registered address :
iLove GmbH
Pfuelstrasse 5
10997 Berlin
Germany
I need hardly express my distaste and anger at this cynical and fraudulent exploitation of – largely, it seems – vulnerable children, and of those who pay for their mobile phone credit. A quick read through the UK thread posted above and some of the links contained therein will give a sufficient sample of public opinion on the matter.
My primary concern now is to obtain an immediate refund from Ringtoneking of the €18 credit removed from my daughter’s Meteor account (and possibly more? She mentioned something similar happening a few weeks ago, but I can no longer access her call details for that period via Meteor’s site).
The ‘membership’/‘contract’ is and always was null and void, even by Ringtoneking’s own garbled terms and conditions – she is a child under 16 years of age and did not have the billpayer’s consent, and she did not receive the goods/services advertised – and I suspect that Ringtoneking’s activities are almost certainly unlawful under Irish and EU legislation. If they are not, they should be.
I further require formal confirmation from Ringtoneking – not just an SMS – that her ‘membership’ has in fact been terminated as advised; I gather that this is one of the major ‘gotchas’ involved, and I will not be able to top up her credit again until I am assured in writing that the charges will not recur. If within one working week I do not obtain full satisfaction, I shall institute legal proceedings against the company. I shall also advertise this matter as widely as possible with a view to coordinating a possible class action on behalf of Irish consumers stung by this scam (for that is assuredly what it is).
A final few comments for Regtel, for the ODCA, for the ASAI and for the management teams of the Irish mobile operators to whom I have copied this message. I find it incredible that (hugely profitable) providers of mobile services can just wring their hands and claim to be able to do nothing about these scams. At the very least, they should immediately provide – free of charge – the facility for parents to block their children’s phones from texting premium lines. I don’t know exactly through which media Jamster/Ringtoneking peddle their wares in this country, but I would urge the ASAI to investigate further. Finally, and with all due respect – the published advice of the Director of Consumer Affairs, to the effect that affected parties ‘should contact Jamster, who could issue a refund’ (my emphasis), appears to me wholly inadequate.
I welcome any comments you may have and I look forward to receiving an appropriate refund from Jamster/Ringtoneking.
Yours sincerely,
[etc.]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
End of rant... I'll post back with any developments...
I'd missed the recent radio discussions about Jamster's great ringtone subscription swindle, and possibly other users of AAM have, too..(?)
My own kid got sucked into this scam somehow, and I've just written to the shysters in the following terms. Sorry for the long post, but I thought some of the references might be helpful to others affected. I've been stung for a relatively small sum, but I shudder to think about the possible 'hit' on users with monthly billing, or who have a large amount of pre-paid credit on their 'phone...
I hope these b*stards are shut down soon, although I suspect the German authorities will find an empty bedroom in a rented flat...
Dr. M.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sent: 26 June 2005 11:58
To: 'info@ringtoneking.ie'; 'info@jamster.ie'; 'info@regtel.ie'; 'odca@entemp.ie'; 'info@asai.ie'; 'consumerline@comreg.ie'; 'info@meteor.ie'; 'customer.care@o2.ie'; 'info@vodafone.ie'
Cc: 'domain-admin@jamba.net'; 'info@jamba-ag.de'; 'support@ringtoneking.co.uk'; 'info@ringtoneking.co.uk'; 'info@jamster.co.uk'
Subject: Fraudulent ringtone subscription
Importance: High
Dear Sir/Madam,
Somehow or other, my 9-year-old daughter has fallen prey to Ringtoneking.ie’s – or Jamster, or Jamba, or iLove GmbH, etc… - ringtone subscription scam. On 17 June last I topped up her credit by €20, and within a day it had dropped to €4. When she brought it to my attention I looked up her call records on Meteor’s website and found the following charges:
17 Jun 05 14:26:10 0:0:00 [edit: number removed] 2.00
17 Jun 05 14:26:11 0:0:00 [" "] 2.00
17 Jun 05 14:26:18 0:0:00 [" "] 2.00
17 Jun 05 14:38:50 0:0:00 [" "] 2.00
18 Jun 05 17:37:00 0:0:00 [" "] 2.00
18 Jun 05 17:37:00 0:0:00 [" "] 2.00
18 Jun 05 17:37:03 0:0:00 [" "] 2.00
18 Jun 05 17:37:03 0:0:00 [" "] 2.00
Having first established that she had not voluntarily spent her credit buying ringtones/logos, I contacted Meteor customer care and they explained that these were reverse-charge SMS messages with a short code of 57757, and provided me with Ringtoneking’s premium-rate ‘customer services’ number, 0818-242311. I rang this from my landline and was thence referred to the 1890-943301 number for RoI ‘customers’. I then rang that number and followed the automated instructions for cancelling the ‘subscription’ (my use of quote marks is significant). Her phone then received another SMS, at a further €2 charge, confirming the cancellation:
25 Jun 05 20:26:05 0:0:00 [edit: number removed] 2.00
I then undertook a little further research and discovered the unsavoury truth about this operation, in Ireland and abroad. I refer you to the ODCA’s report at http://www.odca.ie/cfmdocs/news.cfm?article_no=5585 , to this representative UK discussion forum thread: http://www.the-scream.co.uk/forums/t15271.html , and to this report about a pending lawsuit against Jamster in the US : http://www.infoworld.com/article/05/04/05/HNjamster_1.html. I also ran a quick Whois.com search on the parent company and I will be posting hard copy of this e-mail to Mr (Messrs?) Samwer at Jamba’s registered address :
iLove GmbH
Pfuelstrasse 5
10997 Berlin
Germany
I need hardly express my distaste and anger at this cynical and fraudulent exploitation of – largely, it seems – vulnerable children, and of those who pay for their mobile phone credit. A quick read through the UK thread posted above and some of the links contained therein will give a sufficient sample of public opinion on the matter.
My primary concern now is to obtain an immediate refund from Ringtoneking of the €18 credit removed from my daughter’s Meteor account (and possibly more? She mentioned something similar happening a few weeks ago, but I can no longer access her call details for that period via Meteor’s site).
The ‘membership’/‘contract’ is and always was null and void, even by Ringtoneking’s own garbled terms and conditions – she is a child under 16 years of age and did not have the billpayer’s consent, and she did not receive the goods/services advertised – and I suspect that Ringtoneking’s activities are almost certainly unlawful under Irish and EU legislation. If they are not, they should be.
I further require formal confirmation from Ringtoneking – not just an SMS – that her ‘membership’ has in fact been terminated as advised; I gather that this is one of the major ‘gotchas’ involved, and I will not be able to top up her credit again until I am assured in writing that the charges will not recur. If within one working week I do not obtain full satisfaction, I shall institute legal proceedings against the company. I shall also advertise this matter as widely as possible with a view to coordinating a possible class action on behalf of Irish consumers stung by this scam (for that is assuredly what it is).
A final few comments for Regtel, for the ODCA, for the ASAI and for the management teams of the Irish mobile operators to whom I have copied this message. I find it incredible that (hugely profitable) providers of mobile services can just wring their hands and claim to be able to do nothing about these scams. At the very least, they should immediately provide – free of charge – the facility for parents to block their children’s phones from texting premium lines. I don’t know exactly through which media Jamster/Ringtoneking peddle their wares in this country, but I would urge the ASAI to investigate further. Finally, and with all due respect – the published advice of the Director of Consumer Affairs, to the effect that affected parties ‘should contact Jamster, who could issue a refund’ (my emphasis), appears to me wholly inadequate.
I welcome any comments you may have and I look forward to receiving an appropriate refund from Jamster/Ringtoneking.
Yours sincerely,
[etc.]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
End of rant... I'll post back with any developments...