Perry Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 I will NEVER EVER EVER allow texting in this house again. EVER. We have had ongoing issues with texting. We had a basic family plan, and 2 months ago, I decided to just let my oldest dd have the maximum number of messages available, which was 5000. I thought there was no way she would use that much, and I wouldn't have to check up on her all the time. Luckily, I did check on her and she was getting close to the limit. My husband has a new job and will need to use texting, and younger dd wanted it, so I caved and switched to the upgraded family plan so we could have unlimited texting as a family. It was to take effect immediately. I also enrolled in the parental usage control plan, figuring I could just limit their use when I thought it was too much. (Note to self- read the fine print next time. It doesn't let you control anything, really.) Well, after a week or so, I was reconsidering and decided to set dds limit at 1500 messages. I changed the plan, on the website, and it was supposed to take effect yesterday, the day of the new billing cycle. I KNOW I checked that box! So I look at it today, and they have the limit set at 1500 for last month. So she is 6000 texts over the limit! That's $2400! But I have this really bad feeling that somehow I misunderstood something and I screwed up. Anyone had this problem? We have Verizon. Are they going to be reasonable? This texting bit has been nothing but a nightmare. I have learned my lesson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Oh no, Perry! That's awful!!! :grouphug: I'd call them immediately and try to get things straightened out. I've been fortunate with Verizon, but I'm sure it's all about who answers the phone when you call. If you get someone reasonable, they will certainly see that no one in their right mind would downgrade their service when the action would result in a $2400.00 bill. (If you get someone who isn't helpful or hasn't got a clue, hang up and call again. If you still can't get the rep to reverse your action, speak with a supervisor.) This is such an all-around blatant error that I am sure you'll be able to get it cleared up quickly. It's so easy to check (or forget to uncheck) a little box when there are a million little details on those phone company websites, and it seems like right when you're about to doublecheck everything, someone in the house spills something, you get flustered, accidentally click the "Place Your Order" button, and then you sit there staring at the screen, silently screaming, "NOOOOOOOOOO!!!" Please let us know how it goes! Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orangearrow Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Whoaaaaa. Surely they will be perfectly reasonable. We've had internet charges on our cell phone before from when my son was playing with the phone. It was around $20 and they credited my account immediately without any trouble (We don't have Verizon, though...). 7,500 texts, though? In one month? I'm trying to wrap my brain around that number and am having trouble. lol My oldest is only 11, though, and has no cell phone (although she wants one SO badly) and I don't think she knows yet what "texting" is. I will enjoy this while it lasts... :001_smile: Good luck to you on getting those charges reversed!! I bet they'll give you no trouble at all when you call... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renthead Mommy Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Well my husband's friend is customer service rep for either Verizon or Cingular. All the customer service reps were given extensive info on a case where the dad was given 3 chances to purchase the unlimited plan and he turned it down to save around $10 a month. The first month the bill came in and it was several thousand dollars ($3,000 or $4,000 I can't remember). They tried to fight it, but lost because it was documented that he turned down the unlimited plan. That said, if you don't have proof (email reciept of the plan or something) I think you'll be responsible for it. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaxMom Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 If I'm reading that correctly, you attempted to put in what you thought was a parental control and it retroactively reduced the number of text messages on the plan? Yeah, I would just call them and have it set back. We've had Verizon Wireless for about 6 years and they've always been good with customer service. I'm pretty sure we've been told, more than once, that if we find we're hitting or going over limits, we can just call and move up to another plan. It's one thing to repeatedly refuse a higher plan, then not want to pay for it. Something else entirely to make an error with your plan details and have it billed retroactively. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 That makes me glad we have texting blocked from our phone! I would think you should be able to get it changed based on someone looking at your account and seeing what happened... It's definitely worth a phone call ASAP. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamela H in Texas Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 I'm sure you'll get someone on the phone and it'll be okay. We had originally turned down a feature. My hubby used that feature just a couple times. He was told there was a charge but didn't get what KIND of charge. So it came to $50some! I called and asked to put the feature on and they applied it a month before so hubby's charge would be $10, not $50. I was very thankful :) I'm not sure what I'd do in your situation. Probably, since I was cool with unlimited texting originally, I'd just tell dd her limit and check twice a month (and teach HER to check so she stays out of trouble). BUT....that is some SERIOUS texting which I would be concerned about. My family, altogether, probably uses almost 1000 texts (last month, *I* Had the most at 341). 5000 texts would come to 166 texts per day! That is just inappropriate. Anyway, I see nothing wrong with texting. It's GREAT for us just for a quick "I love you" or question or statement. It's great for a mini conversation while we're doing something else. But 5000 texts by one person is ridiculous, imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynn Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Did they e-mail you something after you changed the information in the system to confirm? I am sure if you call and explain the timing of everything it should be fixed in a timely manner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaT Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 We have had Verizon for years and they have always been helpful and have taken some charges off before that we disputed. I think a phone call should remedy this for you. If you don't get an agreeable, helpful person I would call back and try to get someone else. We have unlimited texting and my 15yo has 3,000-5,000 texts every month. It's crazy I know, but he is SO social and it is his way of keeping up with his friends. I don't have a problem with it, unless he starts texting during school or at the dinner table! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orthodox6 Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 We have Verizon wireless, and "selectively block" texting by phone number. Although this is minority opinion, texting is "fun", but not necessary. I have e-mail for "quick" written expression, voice mail for recorded messages, and landline or wireless phones for spoken communucation. I just can't see any need for texting -- and do see a lot of negatives. Try your best to work it out with Verizon ! If dd is old enough to find work, and you are stuck with this charge, -- well, you see where I'm headed ! (Blocking her phone line from texting is assumed.) I don't mean to be unkind, but it seems that if dd is old enough to have a cell phone, she is old enough to accept repercussions. All the best with Verizon ! (We always have had very good customer service from Verizon. I have read posts on WTMm though, from people who have had poor service.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marylou Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Have you checked out www.jott.com ? For $ 3.95/month you can have unlimited voice to text messaging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 We have unlimited texting and my 15yo has 3,000-5,000 texts every month. It's crazy I know, but he is SO social and it is his way of keeping up with his friends. I don't have a problem with it, unless he starts texting during school or at the dinner table! We also have unlimited texting and my dd reaches at least 5000. I've never seen a problem with it because it's really no different from sitting with a friend and having a conversation. Even adults can sit together for a couple of hours and converse. Until texting came along, no one ever had a reason to count the back and forth talking. Also, many of my dd's texts are 'I know!' and 'OMG' and 'LOL'. But each time she hits send, it's counted as a text. My dd doesn't have any opportunities to see her friends face to face. They live an hour away. It's really not unreasonable for her to do at least 166 messages per day. I'm sure I talk as much if not more to my DH and kids all day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenNC Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Don't know if this will be helpful, but suddenly last month I started getting text messages from people I do not know (or at least recognize). They just started showing up on my phone. As we do not have a texting plan and you are charged for texts you send *and* those you receive (and you don't have to do anything other than turn on your phone to receive them, no option not to do so), I called and had texting totally blocked from my phone. Since I blocked it, they also took off the charges that had accumulated (but it was only a dollar or so in our case). At this point my daughter is too young to have need of a cell phone and no one I know would send me a text because they know I don't have the first clue about how to respond to it. It made me a little more sympathetic to the teens who run up lots of texts. I'm sure they do send a lot of them, but it doesn't look to me like they have an easy option about refusing texts if their friends are sending them lots as well. Looks like that could rack up levels pretty fast if they have friends who are heavy texters. The blocking by phone number may be a really good way to go if talking to the friend about not sending so many texts doesn't work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remudamom Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Merciful heavens, that's insane. My kids have unlimited and they send about two a week, if that many. I'd have a talk with dd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry Posted May 28, 2009 Author Share Posted May 28, 2009 Don't know if this will be helpful, but suddenly last month I started getting text messages from people I do not know (or at least recognize). They just started showing up on my phone. As we do not have a texting plan and you are charged for texts you send *and* those you receive (and you don't have to do anything other than turn on your phone to receive them, no option not to do so), I called and had texting totally blocked from my phone. Since I blocked it, they also took off the charges that had accumulated (but it was only a dollar or so in our case). At this point my daughter is too young to have need of a cell phone and no one I know would send me a text because they know I don't have the first clue about how to respond to it. It made me a little more sympathetic to the teens who run up lots of texts. I'm sure they do send a lot of them, but it doesn't look to me like they have an easy option about refusing texts if their friends are sending them lots as well. Looks like that could rack up levels pretty fast if they have friends who are heavy texters. The blocking by phone number may be a really good way to go if talking to the friend about not sending so many texts doesn't work. Yes, many of those are messages she received that are unsolicited- kids are constantly forwarding ridiculous mass mailings. However, she is still using it far too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry Posted May 28, 2009 Author Share Posted May 28, 2009 duplicate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry Posted May 28, 2009 Author Share Posted May 28, 2009 Update: I finally talked to a live person (they sure don't make that easy), and she verified that any texts from prior to the 26th will be covered under the unlimited plan. She doesn't know why it went retroactive, but I'm clearly not responsible for the bill. What a relief. I didn't get much sleep last night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinag Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 We Have Verizon too and have had the same problem a couple of times. WE just called Verizon and they would let us change our plan to cover the minutes for that month and we could call back and have our plan set back to where it was before. Just this last month my son went 700 minutes over our plan(we have 1400 minutes a month) and they moved our plan to the 2100 for the month so we ended up paying twenty dollars more to change the plan instead of the 300 dollar in overages. At first they said they don't really do this anymore, but somehow my dh got them to do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry Posted May 28, 2009 Author Share Posted May 28, 2009 Merciful heavens, that's insane. My kids have unlimited and they send about two a week, if that many. I'd have a talk with dd. I agree that it's insane. I've had many talks with dd. I was really hoping she could monitor herself, but obviously she can't. No more texting for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peek a Boo Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Update:I finally talked to a live person (they sure don't make that easy), and she verified that any texts from prior to the 26th will be covered under the unlimited plan. She doesn't know why it went retroactive, but I'm clearly not responsible for the bill. What a relief. I didn't get much sleep last night. just another plug for Verizon customer service :) The few times we had communication issues w/ them, all we had to do was ask to speak to a supervisor and it was straightened out pretty quickly. We don't have texting on our phones, but I would likely view it as NightElf does. Good luck finding a happy medium [or just a break for awhile?]. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elise1mds Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 I'm glad it's all going to be covered and you don't have to pay that gigantic bill! Yikes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_12097656 My dd was just sharing this story with me this morning. EK has unlimited texting to other Verizon customers, and she probably sends/receives a few thousand messages a month. It hasn't been a problem at all. We don't let her text while she's doing her school work or at the dinner table, etc. It's all about setting boundaries and expecting her to respect them. That's what we should be doing as parents anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 (edited) We also have unlimited texting and my dd reaches at least 5000. I've never seen a problem with it because it's really no different from sitting with a friend and having a conversation. Even adults can sit together for a couple of hours and converse. Until texting came along, no one ever had a reason to count the back and forth talking. Also, many of my dd's texts are 'I know!' and 'OMG' and 'LOL'. But each time she hits send, it's counted as a text. My dd doesn't have any opportunities to see her friends face to face. They live an hour away. It's really not unreasonable for her to do at least 166 messages per day. I'm sure I talk as much if not more to my DH and kids all day. :iagree: Our situation is very similar. EK uses her phone to stay in touch with her friends, none of whom live close by. She has unlimited texting to other Verizon customers. Texting is the main way we stay in touch with ER, our college student. He has unlimited texting to other networks in addition to Verizon, since most of his school friends don't have Verizon. Dh & I text each other a lot too, and we text other family members. Like EK, we both have unlimited texting to other Verizon customers. I even text back and forth with my MOM (65 yo)! She's on Verizon too. Edited May 28, 2009 by ereks mom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 I'm so glad to hear everything worked out for you, Perry -- I wouldn't have gotten any sleep, either! Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry Posted May 28, 2009 Author Share Posted May 28, 2009 http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_12097656 My dd was just sharing this story with me this morning. EK has unlimited texting to other Verizon customers, and she probably sends/receives a few thousand messages a month. It hasn't been a problem at all. We don't let her text while she's doing her school work or at the dinner table, etc. It's all about setting boundaries and expecting her to respect them. That's what we should be doing as parents anyway. In theory, I agree with you. Texting can be a convenient, practical way to keep in touch and check in quickly. Unfortunately, what I observed looks a lot like addiction. She seems obsessed with it- sneaking and being dishonest, texting at inappropriate times, interference with school and family. We had plenty of discussions about boundaries before we ever agreed to let her have it, and she seemed to understand fine. She just isn't able to control herself, and I find that a little scary. I know she isn't the only one like this; I see it all the time. Some people can drink responsibly and never have a problem. Some become alcoholic. I think we'll see the same thing with phone technology- in a few years we're going to have a problem with cell phone/texting addiction. Obviously not everyone who texts is "addicted". But some people will be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orthodox6 Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 There may be a practical result in the future from the widespread addiction to text-messaging: Eventually doctors will reap millions of dollars for treating all those aging, arthritic thumbs ! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rita Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Very relieved to hear that you are not responsible for that huge bill!!! We have verizon, and my brother and I find it very easy to text a quick question, knowing that the other person will respond when they get a chance. For us, it's much less interruptive than a phone call (and he doesn't have email during the day). My husband, on the other hand, only learnt to text when I was in Ireland without him for 2 weeks! It meant we could communicate without a big phone bill, and send little messages when we felt like it :) Rita Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vettechmomof2 Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 My family has had a horrible time dealing with incorrect bills and verizon. It was finally resolved after 8 months but it was very stressful and time consumming. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeatherLynn Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 My DD used a ton of internet when I thought it was blocked on her phone and her bill alone was $600. I called them, they put a block on it, and adjusted our bill. So, I would just call them, explain you wanted it changed for the next billing cycle and not previous, and get them to work it out. In my experience with Verizon, SPrint, and AT&T, they are more than willing to help and adjust your bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deb in NZ Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 texting is just part of all cellphones here. My dc have to fund their own cellphones & my ds#1 pays $10 / month into his phone & that gives him 2000 txts to cellphones with the same company. Of course my phone is with the rival company, so he doesn't like to txt me! Teens here txt all the time as its heaps cheaper than phoning. JMHO, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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