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At&t let a third party charge me $9.99 without my consent



I got a spam SMS from 31850 asking me to sign up for some quiz, I just ignored it, I've always heard not to reply 'STOP' to spamers because then they know your number is real and being spammers they don't care what you reply. I've seen messages on this board where people reply 'STOP' and it does no good.


Anyway, I just got my bill and AT&T let this "third party" (it's in quotes because they have to be in cahoots with at&t for this to happen) charge me $9.99 for their subscription. I don't have time to deal with it now but I'll probably have to take time out of my day monday call At&t.


I usually don't get upset over stuff but I can't believe that AT&T lets someone sign me up for a  $9.99 a month charge without consent, without a password or pin or an email or anything.


By the way, you are all now signed up for my subscription service.  Please read this sentence to confirm.


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Message 1 of 94

Re: At&t let a third party charge me $9.99 without my consent

Just had to weigh in.  I am new to this whole third party subscription business.  Just emailed AT&T (which had to happen thru this Community Forum site because email is not offered thru their other sites) and told them I believe our phones should come blocked from third party purchases.  WE can decide if we want something so bad we have to un-block.  Not the other way around.  


Had this not happened, I don't think I would have known about such blocking.  In fact, I don't believe I would have known about third parties having access to MY BILL had my daughter not asked what "Snap for Mobile" was.  This was an app she had no knowledge of downloading and had never used (verified by folks at Snap for Mobile).   (BTW, Snap for Mobile is an app, available through AT&T (apparently) that will allow users to post pictures to their facebook, twitter, etc with "just one click". Cost?  A mere $9.99 (!) per month ON YOUR AT&T BILL!!!)  Who in their right minds would pay that much--or anything--for that?!


Yes, customer beware.  BUT, I remain convinced that AT&T and other providers are fully aware of the practices and tactics of these third parties and that they CHOOSE to let things remain as they are because they (AT&T and others) are PROFITING from customer ignorance.  


If customer service is TRUELY a priority, then PUT THIRD PARTY PURCHASE BLOCKING ON EVERY ACCOUNT and let customers know it can be removed should they want to purchase something.

Message 91 of 94




I don't understand why it's so important to you to defend AT&T here when it's clear that they too are culpable?  


I was charged for this scam and ABSOLUTELY was not actively or passively complicit in the product being added to my monthly bill.  I've founded and led 3 large direct-to-consumer businesses that specialized in high-volume low-ticket products so I know a bit about consumer marketing and acquisition rules, as well how certain co's "hide" their authorizations.  That said, similar to many on this and myriad other threads online, I was "slammed" (not "crammed") for the AT&T NAVIGATOR product.


I mean, it's got AT&T's friggin name on it, and they very likely make considerable income for tolerating all the consumer friction that goes with billing for this fraudulent enterprise.  The emergent realization that only you seem to be struggling with is that not only can AT&T do something about this fraud, they should.  


But they haven't as of yet, so as a result, those of us who value our finite time on this planet are well within our rights to complain about it.


Christian Hunter

Austin, TX



Message 92 of 94
Former Employee


Hello, Christian_Hunter!


Thanks for posting. I'm so sorry to hear that AT&T Navigator was mistakenly added to your account. We would definitely like to investigate further, so please click here to send us a private message.







Message 93 of 94

I know this was a while ago but it didn't look to me like...

I know this was a while ago but it didn't look to me like the original poster was being nasty. I was hit by this scam. I figured that since a password had to b
Message 94 of 94
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