Don't let Jamster take your money....
unless you want them to.
I am sure you have seen these advertisements while watching your favourite shows. Just in case you haven't, click the image below.
So what is Jamster all about anyway?
Jamster is a company that offers games, apps, graphics, and of course, ring tones for you cell phone.
For $10 a month you get 25 Jamster credits that you can use to purchase ring tones, mobile games, apps, and graphics through their site. Every month Jamster charge your phone $10, plus any applicable taxes. This will appear on your cell phone bill and most likely be under your usage.
Until today, I did not know I had a subscription to this devious system.
Let me back up a little . . .
A couple of months ago I received a text from Jamster about choosing a ring tone. When I attempted to do as instructed and sent a STOP message back to them, I received a message saying that my message could not be sent.
. . . hmmm . . .
Because I had not actually ever subscribed to Jamster, I thought nothing of it.
However, when I received my Virgin Mobile bill there was a charge for overusage. The first time I saw this I chalked it up to going beyond my data plan... but I really didn't believe I had.
This month, . . .
I again had over usage charges that I could not account for. SO after I paid the bill and it ate at me for a while, I decided to call Virgin and get an explanation of how I could be charged of over usage when my usage based on the bill was not over my limit.
When speaking to a billing representative at Virgin, I learned that
I had been billed for Jamster for the last two months!?
I told them about the texts and how my messages to STOP "could not be sent" which basically meant they have set their system up to not accept a message saying "STOP."
STOP does not compute in Jamsterland . . .
Jamster somehow uses those mysterious and unwanted texts to set up your account whether you use their services or not. When you respond with STOP to cancel as per their instructions... I think that is registered as a confirmation somehow . . .
The Virgin representative told me that they get a lot of calls about Jamster and they also know that people will put in a fake cell phone number (not their number but one close to it that could easily belong to someone else, like me) hoping to get the service without having to pay for it.
Well, my Jamster expenses were promptly refunded by Virgin and I even sent an email to Jamster requesting a cancellation.
If you ever get an unsolicited text from Jamster . . .
DO NOT respond or click on any links they may have included but promptly email them requesting a cancellation and a stop order for receiving any more emails.
According to their terms:
You may stop receiving promotional text messages by emailing your request to opt-out, along with your cell phone number, to info@jamster.ca, or following the opt-out instructions in the text message. If you choose to opt out from receiving promotional messages, you may not opt out of service-related text messages. Please note that you may receive your password confirmation text message multiple times until you complete the sign-up process. If you send us a "STOP" message pursuant to section 8 below, we may send you a confirmation message confirming your election. Additionally, if you are not a subscriber to the Jamster Service and you send us a "STOP" message, each time you do so, we may be send you a text message advising that you do not have a subscription to the Jamster Service and that no further messages will be sent.
Email Communications: If you provide us with an email address, you agree to receive promotional and account related email communications from Jamster. You may unsubscribe from promotional email communications by unsubscribing here or by sending an email to info@jamster.ca.
Note: If you are American, simply substitute .com for the .ca in the above email address.
Then, watch your cell phone bill closely and really look at your usage and every detail of your charges and usage for those $10 charges from Jamster.
Cell phone users BEWARE because you do not even have to buy to get billed.
Yours in marketing for success,
Randine
