I don’t use text at all – I just talk on the phone. However, T-Mobile charges me for spam text messages. I call and complain every time. With all our technology, they can’t design a way to turn off testing? Of course they can – they just won’t. It’s a huge rip off.
Text messaging charges are way too high. Companies already charge a steep monthly fee for voice calls, even if you don’t make any. So why do they need to charge at all for a few bits of information? We already pay you for service!
Remember when long distance calls used to cost a ton of money? Here’s a prediction: Some far-sighted marketer is going to realize that “giving away” txt is like giving away long distance. Just do it!
OUTRAGEOUS .. Its all about greed and the dollar bill ..
Not to mention, text messages use far less bandwidth then actually talking on the phone.
Personally, I think text messages should be offered free as part of the plan.
Verizon, as an example makes you pay for EACH phone you have text messages enabled for. Why not just allow one fee for ALL the phones on your plan to use text messages.
If there is even ONE cellular phone service out there with any business brainpower at all, they would just offer up free text messages. Bet we would see a shift in the customer base really fast to whichever provider decided to do that ..
When I was in the US, I was surprised to see that even incoming message is charged. You cannot do anything about the incoming message, I mean you cannot decline a message. This is a scam.
Here in India, -
Message receiving is free
Sending a message costs 2.5 cents
Incoming call is free.
They are factually way too high. Take ATT for instance, one can get unlimited 3G data for the exact same price as to get unlimited *text* messages. Obviously one should just get unlimited data and tunnel text messages through their data network. The fact that this works shows that txt data is just priced as an accident of cell phones before broadband.
I have been told outright by a business strategist employed high level within a global telecom that telecoms openly collude on sms pricing. In other words, I was told point blank that telecoms run an illegal monopoly by someone who helped do so.
The time has come for text messaging rates to drop to 1 cent per text. What a great marketing idea for one of the majors. If one of them actually did this, they would steal many customers away from their competitors.
To eliminate text message spam, call your provider and tell them to disable text messages via email (typically yourphonenumber@yourprovider.com. Of course, this means that legitimate emails cannot be sent, but this limitation might be worth it in the long run.
The cost for text messages is far too high. A few years ago they were free incoming, and only 5 cents to send. Now both sender and receiver have to pay. US mobile carriers are far behind Asia and Europe in both service features and cost!
We have Cingular and it costs 15 cents a text. The thing that makes me angry is that we have to pay for SPAM text messages! If anything, you should be charged to send the message, not receive it.
But besides the text messages, how about Cingular designing their phones such that the biggest button in the middle of the control keys is to connect to their data network. They design it so that you always accidentally connect and get charged. We called and asked them to turn it off for our entire family plan and the customer service rep said they couldn’t. I should not have to pay for something that I can’t even turn off! This should be illegal!
What gets me is that both the sender and receiver pay. I have two daughters who are in college. When they text me we both get zapped. We have started a “call, don’t text” campaign. I’ll check out the unlimited messaging, but if it’s $20/month PER phone…we’ll be talking and not typing.
52 billion?!?!?!?! Why is it that I don’t have cell service at my house but cell companies made 52 billion? There must be politicians involved somewhere in the chain!!?
How many experienced this? I wanted to let my daughters try text messaging and put them on a limited plan allowing a fixed amount of text messages a month. I had NO idea they would go over the amount in the FIRST WEEK! I’m sure the carrier did! They got one big check from me. Now it’s turned off and so am I.
It should be flat-out illegal for companies to charge for incoming texts. If my friend and I are both customers of the same carrier, and she sends me a message, why on earth would we BOTH have to pay for it? Isn’t that double-dipping? It’s not like this in many other countries I’ve visited. You are charged only for texts you send (and oftentimes only charged for calls you make, as well).
It’s rediculous how much they gouge the consumer for sending a text message. I dont’ mind paying for the ones I send, but to be charged for the ones that are sent to me, that I don’t read, but just delete consitutes unfair billing practices in my opinion. It’s right up there with the “early termination” fees of $175-$200…nothing like preventing competition. Where’s the DOJ on this?
Given that the text message is easier and cheaper to send than a voice call, the carriers are hosing us to charge what they do. Yeah, they have to make money, but 52 billion anually is clearly a gouge akin to what Big Oil is doing to us!!
Text shouldn’t be included in voice calling plans. Believe it or not, some people don’t use text. Who wants to pay for something that you don’t even use? I text constantly. I clear my inbox before I go to school and by 12 I have over 100 messages. It’s my lifeline when I can’t talk to other people while in class. But, I also don’t pay for each text individually. I give my mom $10 every month and I get unlimited text. It’s really a good deal. So, don’t include it because not everyone uses it and no one wants to pay for something that they won’t use.
This may all be short lived if Goggle has its way. But I do agree, Wireless and Cable are very expensive. But lets face it, we the consumer have the control if we choose to use it. If we stopped supporting it, the prices would come down.
The way to go is to get on an unlimited data plan (on t-mobile) for 4.99 a month, and then send an unlimited number of text messages through yahoo, locally and internationally, for free. (thats normally charged at 15c / international txt and 5c per local txt) And whats with charging for recieved text messages? i say we all text the t-mobile ceo 6000 messages a day (using the free service described above) and send him to chapter 11 land…
Txt prices are exorbitant. Txt messaging in Asia and India costs a fraction of what it costs in the U.S. The entire industry needs serious reform.
prices are not high. If you can not afford or it’s getting to expensive, ask your provider to block text messaging all together.
http://consumerist.com/consumer/cellphones/why-are-text-messages-marked-up-4876-247518.php
Verizon’s max text message size is 160 characters. At 7 bits per character, that’s 1120 bits or 140 bytes. Without a text messaging plan, those 140 bytes run you $.15 (fifteen cents), according to Verizon’s website.
Compare that to the rate for data transfer (like when you would use your cellphone as modem). That rate is $.015 (one point five cents) every 1024 bytes.
That’s $.015 per data kilobyte versus $1.09 per text message kilobyte. In other words, a markup of 7314%. Other cellphone companies charge comparable rates.
Bytes are bytes. What makes a text-message byte so much more valuable than a straight up data byte?
Text messages in the States are outrageously expensive. In the Philippines, texts cost a little over $0.02 each and that is without a plan. There are plans which allow unlimited texts for less than $2 every five days. Oh yes, we only pay for text messages sent.
I am all for making a fair buck. But these companies are outright stealing. Just do as I have recently done with Sprint. I waited until they made the slightest change in my plan and called to request that my contract be voided. Their Accounts Recovery Dept tried to save my account by offering me an even crazier alternative. So, I placed my entire account in dispute, filed a complaint with my State’s Dept of Consumer Affairs and went to T-Mobile which now has a no contract plan, with the same features as the contract plans of the other cell phone providers, without the contract. There were some catches. First, there were no introductory discounts on new phones, but the third party vender was able to re-program my phone to work on this network and secondly, I was told that I had to pay my bill in advance every month, since this was not a contract. I was cool with that because in acturality, all plans are paid in advance and service will be interupted if you don’t pay on time. On one last thought, I was told that Sprint has this new policy about allowing you to “port” your old number. They just don’t. This issue was also included in my consumer complaint as a violation of the law. Who knows, with enough of these complaints, some major law firm will catch on and file a class action suit againt these carriers and maybe they can get back to the business of making a profit not robbing, stealing and raiding the pockets of their customers.
A 50% increase in the price of text messaging from US carriers. Thank God for competition in America, lol.
And the fed says their is “No sign of inflation”
The corporate greed from banks, cable companies, cellphone operators etc, is why the savings rate is negative in this country and the fact is most countries outside of the US do not charge for incoming phone calls, while we get reamed. TV used to be free and now it is $70-80 or more for cable for a bunch of commercials.
Banks said they would save money by closing branches and expanding ATM’s and now what happens, the banks steal $2-3 everytime you use a bank ATM machine that is not theirs, a 300% increase by Bankamerica, this year.
Citibank updated their credit cards with interest rates of over 30% if you are ever late on any card, bravo, greed monsters, glad you lost billions on your subprime junk.
While US corporations bank billions and billions of profits from surging fees, the middle class has been totally decimated. Welcome to the US economic collapse. At least Halliburton has moved their headquarters outside the US after winning billions in no bid contracts in Iraq.
E-mail is better, more reliable, and cheaper. The fact that consumers must rely on such an inferior service for messaging on our phones is a direct result of the worldwide oligopoly on communications.
Most new phones support e-mail and most smartphones support traditional instant messaging, but the carriers prevent the phones from implementing these features fully. The iPhone is a case in point — its chat feature only supports SMS though the phone could have easily been designed to support e-mail and IM via the same chat-style interface. iPhone owners are required to pay for unlimited data service, but must still pay per-message for SMS, which by any measure is itself a data service.
SMS messages are limited to 160 characters, do not guarantee receipt, and result in charges to both the sender and receiver. Soon all phones will have e-mail, and as soon as carriers are forced to offer consumers anything resembling real choice, messaging technology will be advanced and services will be priced fairly.
Text messaging is for losers. Call it the
morse code of the new millenium. Alexander Graham Bell went to all the trouble of creating live telephone calls. Now, everyone wants to type to each other. I think its annoying, rude, and makes us appear as though we are traveling backwards technologically.
I hate cell phones, I hate texting, I hate the bills. I had a cell phone for about 6 months and thought it was the biggest pain in the behind. Now my kids are addicted to theirs and “cant live without it.” Gag.
You think text messaging is a rip off? Your right! The entire cell phone industry is geared towards ripping off their customers. Try calling Sprint customer service, spend a hour on hold, then you get conveniently disconnected, try again, on hold again, finally speak to a CSR who does not speak english well enought to understand, get disconnected again.. They have designed customer service system to get you to give up on your $3.00 overcharge, which means millions to them each month from all their customers stuck in their contracts with rediculous early termination fees.
I would happily pay a reasonable price for *sending* messages–I am not happy at all to be responsible for charges for incoming messages over which I have no control. We therefore have messaging blocked on our AT&T wireless service. Now my kid complains that people send him text messages and don’t know that he doesn’t receive them–what a racket!
Unquestionably too high, and as users have no choice about text messages received, that’s outrageous.
YES!!! too expensive…especially when they get you for outbound and inbound both. Ridiculous and usurious.
Text messaging is the hot thing right now. The carriers will charge what the
market will bear, pure and simple. If it’s too high, then quit texting.
As for price-fixing, well, it happens in many industries. Airlines, car
rentals, hotels, you name it. Companies are very savvy at this. They can
“fix” prices without doing it illegally.
I agree that the carriers ought to practice a bit more compassion when a new
subscriber gets spanked with the first whopper bill. And the carriers
certainly don’t help things by making their plans so incomprehensible. But
it’s still the users responsibility to understand what they are doing.
No one is forcing anyone to use text messaging. This is capitalism at work!
The carriers provide a service and people are voluntarily using it. What’s
wrong with that?
People need to suck it up and start being so damn cheap. If you don’t want to text, then don’t text. But don’t complain when someone sends you a text saying they’ll be late, etc. It sounds really stingy and makes you look rediculous.
Just as cell phones, etc. are not a necessity neither is texting. People have survived without it. It is a choice like everything else – if you don’t like the price, don’t use it, but don’t complain about it.
Call you local congresspeople, start a new law to ban billing for incoming text message. Then they can charge as much as they want for sending it. At that point, it is supply and demand. Problem solved.
Matt in Philly is absolutely right. SMS is dirt cheap to provide. It scales incredibly well so the carriers can dramatically increase capacity for comparatively little cost. In fact, SMS was around before cell phones ever used it. Old text pagers from the 80’s were based on a form of SMS using a protocol called TAP. I know, I wrote software that utilized it. But I digress…
SMS is electronic crack to teens and 20-somethings today. I absolutely love it that SMS usage is subsidizing the 3G rollout. I enjoy unlimited email and web on my smartphone for way under $30/month, faily cheap anytime minutes, and unlimited weekend and M2M minutes, all because the carpal-tunnel teen set are paying millions, nay, billions, for SMS. I sent probably 10 texts during all of 2007!
So I say, heck no, SMS isn’t too expensive. Bring it on! lol!
For those on T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless, tell customer service to put a block on all forms of text/SMS messaging. They’ve done it for me on T-Mobile, and for my boss on VZW. You have to keep on insisting and they will finally do it. Caveat: On T-Mobile, if you do get text messaging blocked, you don’t get any voicemail notifications anymore. That’s because T-Mobile’s system is set up to send voicemail notifications as a text message. I just check my voicemail at lunch, evening, and before going to bed.
Yes, we pay more for SMS in the USA. In Kenya, you pay the equivalent of 7 cents for sending domestic messages and 15 cents to send international SMS. Incoming is free. India is even cheaper, about 1 cent for domestic.
I’m so tired of the donkey and carrot schemes that I plan on getting rid of my cellphone. I don’t have a landline too, and I can live without either. Methinks an information technology overload has got to me.
Texting is ridiculously expensive. As for telling your story to the customer representative, even if it work…a doubtful proposition…why do companies want to annoy me by making me call them when they are going to adjust the bill? Couldn’t they just use the cheapest pricing available for your actual usage this month? No. They just want to catch you using the service a little more than you expected to and then zap you with charges that can make your jaw drop. It used to be like this for voice transmissions as well…fifty feet out of your “roaming” zone and zap…additional charges….ten more minutes of usage than you intended and zap….overage charges. As soon as a smart company realized that customers really don’t like the unexpected, they started pricing “nationwide long distance” correctly and people flocked to their service. Now if they would just treat messaging like any other customer to customer communication, then people would use the cheaper texting more often. After all, I don’t always want to actually talk to my daughters, I just want to leave them a message most of the time. What forces me to leave a voice mail, and use up their transmission lines longer, is the fact that I will get charged for a text and I won’t for a voice mail. Really foolish on their part…they annoy their customer, give away the more expensive service (voice mail) while charging for the service that they should prefer that we use…really not thining it through, guys.
You mentioned you could “opt out” of text messageing altogether if you call customer service. I did that with Verizon and was told they cannot guarantee no text messages would come through as “this was a third party provider and they did not control it”.
I bluntly told them that I would not pay for any text messages, my contract was with them and, if they contracted out the text messaging and one got through, then it was contracturally between them and the third party. I would not pay for it, period. So far, so good.
Why do the cell companies pass the increased cost off as “new MDS” services? SMS has been a component of their voice networks for years, well before the first data-capable upgrades were ever done. Why? Simple. They can make a ton of $ doing it. As soon as one stops the practice in an effort to gain customers, they will all stop. Don’t hold your breath though.
I have an iPhone with 200 text messages and that’s plenty for me. But I would not like getting charged 15 cents if someone who has unlimited texting keeps text messaging me. Texting is dumb anyways. Just send an email, or better yet CALL them UP. I would only use text in a situation where I can’t talk, something is important that I need to get a message across. Ie, having to sit in a boring lecture or meeting.
Mary said it exactly. Double dipping is illegal, and I can’t see how charging for for received texts isn’t double dipping!
Defintely too expensive. Since it’s cheaper than connecting a voice message why doesn’t it just apply to your regular monthly mins. I for one go without and have TXT blocked on all of my lines. Next let’s talk about the TAX RIP OFF that comes along with the ridiculous cost of wireless.
It is a sad sign of the times when the greedy cell phone companies are charging as much as a costs to send a post card (when you add the cost to send and RECIEVE the text message).
I second the previous comment. It speaks poorly of US billing practices since their international counterparts offer the same service at much lower costs to consumers. For instance, incoming text messages are free and outgoing messages are priced at only 2.5 cents/message (Rs.1) Also, consumers are free to switch between networks, phones and plans without incurring any penalties or hidden costs.
“And if you do go over your limit, it doesn’t hurt to explain your situation to a customer service representative. Although there are no hard and fast rules, they may be willing to waive some charges or at least help you find a different plan that’s a better fit.”
It doesn’t hurt, but it doesn’t help either, in my experience. The reason these companies are raising their prices per message seems simple. They are trying to make as much money on new customers as possible, in their first month of service. The first month of service is where customers unknowingly exceed their plan and are hit with huge fees as a result. They call customer service and beg them to listen to reason, to switch them to a more appropriate plan for their obviously incorrect choice, but it won’t do any good as far as lowering the cost of that first bill.
I had such a problem with my first month’s bill as a new T-Mobile customer. I was charged $400 because I had incorrectly set up my office email to be sent to my phone’s email address rather than my Blackberry email address. One phone, two different email addresses. How was I to know that the phone’s “email address” was actually just a text messaging address? Every email, a $0.10 text message. Every attachment to an email or even a simple signature graphic, a $0.25 picture message. Was customer service willing to help me out with the charges at all? No way. From their angle, I used the service and I must pay for it. And you know, they’re right, I did use the service. I accept that. But were they willing to retroactively set me up on a plan that more appropriately covers my actual usage, given that this was my first month? No way. Why would they want to turn $300 in fees into $4.99?
A company full of scumbags wouldn’t. A company that cared about its customers would. A company with any kind of decency would admit the fact that if they can offer the service for $4.99 that would cover me with no penalties, it’s obvious that $300 represents extreme penalties. I bet if you were able to analyze a cell phone carrier’s client accounts, you would find an alarmingly high percentage of people that were totally burned by their first month’s bill.
It’s a truly sad thing that these companies are exploiting their clients, rather than trying to help them out. It amazes me that none of the cell phone carriers has come out with a gimmick like “Switch to us and use your phone care-free and we’ll adjust your plan to match your first month’s utilization. No penalties, no fees. One of the many ways is looking out for you.” You know they’ve thought about it. But where does that lead? If one carrier does it, they all have to do it. If they all do it, they all miss out on those huge first month bills. Angry customers? Who cares.
Well guess what, T-Mobile has lost me as a customer for life. When my contract is up, I will be switching to a different carrier. And if that carrier is as bad, they’ll lose me as a customer for life too. Eventually maybe I’ll find one that actually cares.
$5.00 per text would be about right. Sort of like lottery tickets and cigarettes. Let the cellphone / texting addicted subsidize only-when-necessary (cell & landline) phone usage.
These carriers are making DOUBLE the money by charging both for incoming and outgoing. It’s fair to charge for outgoing, ONLY. I don’t mind paying for the messages I send when the person on the other end pays for the ones he or she sends. It should not be legal to charge both ways!
For our family of 5, (2 adults, 3 teenagers) we pay approx. $300.00 a month for phone service. About 1/2 of that is our land lines, and 1/2 is 5 cell phones. I remember growing up we had 1 phone at home and it was $35.00 month. I can’t believe I’m paying $300.00/month for phone service. But I’m making changes this year. I will have the teens pay some of the cell with their part-time job money and I will discontinue the business line.
I wanted to block text messaging since I don’t use it and I get stuck paying for incoming messages. T-Mobile told me that they can’t block it because in an emergency they may Text me, which I would get stuck paying for.
I remember when my long distance cost over 30 cents a minute, now it is FREE, yet somehow the cell phone carriers have never lowered rates on per minute charges beyond the included minutes.
With text messaging they are increasing fees? Huh? Sorry, but technology, especially in THIS industry, has lowered the cost to do business.
Prices should be getting lower for consumers, not higher.
Unfortunately the cell phone industry in the USA is not a free market. Too few competitors essentially allows them to fix the prices.
The fact that text messages actually cost anything extra is beyond insulting. T-Mobile used to at least include “free” messages with their plans but no longer..
Customers need to realize how little the cost is to the carriers to do text messaging.
And finally, the most obviously evidence that the carriers are trying to exploit us for as much money as possible is the fact that they refuse to offer the service of automatic alerts telling us when we are close to hitting our limits on minutes and text messages.. This is VERY trivial to do yet they know they won’t make as much if they do it.
In Europe, they don’t pay for text messaging, its included. As a matter of fact, they think that what we pay for cellphone service is a joke too! Just another nickle and dime scheme to get you to pay for things that should be taken for granted as being part of the package. Like having to pay for a real spare tire instead of a donut.
Are the services in collusion.. Yes
Is it a rip-off.. Of course..
What can be right about charging for received spam ?? All problems are political, and all solutions are political..
Wm Arett, Alaska
The phone companies are ripping us off! During emergencies like 9/11 or Katrina, we are encouraged to use text messaging because it takes up much less bandwidth, thereby keeping the system from overload. This means during a disaster, the phone companies are rubbing their hands together adding up these outrageous charges. If something costs less to deliver, the markets should drop the price – but then again, these aren’t free markets. They are monopolies.
How can anyone complain about people text messaging? I would much rather people around me text instead of talking on their phones; it’s far less bothersome.
As far as prices go, way too high. It should be .05 cents a message max, more fair would be .01 or .02, which is still a huge profit margin for the cell companies.
They are an absolute rip-off-It didn’t take this article for me to realize that text messages take far less band width on the carriers’ network than a voice call.
And, I have T-mobile, I have no choice in the matter. I CAN’T prevent them from coming my way. So I get the “pleasure” of paying for Spam.
These are an industry rip-off and while I do not generally support regulation, I feel a law allowing me to opt out of texting completely would be a huge improvement.
I don’t care what the providers charge for text messaging… I don’t use the service, so they can charge $1.50/text as far as I’m concerned. What bothers me is that I have to pay for unsolicited text messages that I receive, despite never asking for this service in the first place!!! Invariably my bill has an extra couple of dollars on it every month for text messages that I received without my permission. To me, this is the real scam in text messaging, and companies like Verizon should probably revisit their business practices if they wish to remain competitive in this industry!
Rip-off high! 20+ cents a message? US Postal service delivers 10 times more for less. The actual cost to handle a text message on a network is less than a fraction of a cent.
Pony up, text messengers! You’re getting what you deserve. If only they could charge triple for people who text message while driving.
Absolutely the cost is too high. The only way it will come down is, if we all start complaining about it. Call your carrier right now and complain.
Does anyone over the age of 30 even do this? If your an adult, you can do what you want. If your a parent and have half a brain, youd best get an unlimited plan so Sally can talk to her BFF Jill, or block texting completely.
Why should a text message be any different than a phone call? It probably costs the provider less as the air time is only a fraction of a second.
Of course they’re too high! 20 cents a message? A freaking physical letter mailed at the Post Office only costs 41 cents…and that includes the costs for the truck, the driver, the sorting machines, gasoline, etc.
The actual cost so handle a text message on a network is probably less than a fraction of a cent.
This is profiteering of the worst kind.
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Ok, Why are we even getting charged for INCOMING text messages ??? There absolutely should NOT be ANY FEE”S AT ALL CONNECTED WITH INCOMING TEXTS !!! These are already paid for by the person who sends you the text messages in the first place !!! If the consumers in India can CRY FOUL (I meand FOWL) and put a stop to this illegal and unfair crap then why haven’t we? Why are we paying for someone else’s texts that they’ve already paid for? COME ON PEOPLE, WAKE UP !!!! We’re so used to being RIPPED OFF by these business’s, that we just say “OH WELL, That’s BUSINESS!! STOP, SEE, LISTEN, HEAR, and SMELL the STINCH these THIEVES emit with their STINKY BUSINESS PRACTICES. GET THAT !! WAKE UP PEOPLE, We’re being ROBBED of OUR MONEY, and in BROAD DAYLIGHT !!!!