Virgin Mobile Rip Off Warning

[JohnR]

I can only say that I am more than a little disappointed that Virgin Mobile engages in such underhanded tactics such as what I just experienced with my son's phone.

I purchased a phone for him at Christmas from Virgin Mobile with a pre-paid plan that I stated that I would top-up on my own, During the first 4 months he had the phone, he topped only once and in fact did not even use the initial $20 I put on his phone. However, he began using text messages and this is where the problem began. So even though I gave no access for Virgin Mobile to CHARGE MY CREDIT CARD and automatically top-up his phone, VIRGIN MOBILE began sending him "your balance is low. would you like to top-up?" text messages to my 13 year old son. Also I'd like to point out that Virgin Mobile is aware of his age as I signed him up with his birth date as the primary user.

So my THIRTEEN year old son begins getting these text messages to top-up his account, not me, the parent who owns the credit card, and he chooses OK. In fact the only time I'm notified that any activity is going on is when he changed his account status to automatic top-up online - at which time I received an e-mail from VIRGIN MOBILE 'thanking' me for switching to this - and which I immediately turned off BECAUSE I WANTED TO MONITOR HIS SPENDING.

Then the visa bill comes and it appears that not only did VIRGIN MOBILE send him one text message asking him to top up, but TWENTY ONE! And suddenly I am saddled with a bill of nearly $450 WHICH I NEVER AUTHORIZED, WAS NEVER SENT A RECEIPT FOR ANY OF THE TWENTY ONE CHARGES, NOR NOTIFIED THAT THERE HAD BEEN A DRASTIC CHANGE IN USAGE AND CHARGES!

So my wife promptly called Virgin Mobile's customer service who told her that she had to take more responsibility for her child (because apparently even though she was never told that Virgin Mobile was blatantly marketing to our child, on our child's phone and never to us, never alerting us that this marketing was being done or that CHARGES WERE BEING PLACED ON OUR CREDIT CARD, that she should somehow have known that this activity was occurring and should take responsibility for it). Mind you, my son is not getting off easy in the least and the first thing we did was cancel his phone, among a myriad of other punishments.

However, what gives VIRGIN MOBILE the right to make charges against my credit card of nearly FOUR HUNDRED FIFTY DOLLARS when I set the account as no auto top-ups? And do they think that sending notices to a 13 year old's phone, a phone they KNOW is to a teen, to top-up and then never informing the card owner, never sending a receipt for any of the twenty one charges, is ethical or even legal? Let alone that unlimited texting is all of $19.95 per month, yet VIRGIN MOBILE choose to charge me $450 for this service. Not to mention not a single word or e-mail or phone call that a sudden flurry of activity and charges are occurring against my account on my child's phone. It is deceptive and underhanded and we plan to fight the charges.

This is deceptive practices and needs to be stopped.

JohnR (FORMER Virgin Mobile account owner)

[PhonePromoCodes]

You really need to start hammering corporate on this issue. I know a few people who worked at VM's call center in Dallas, and they would not be able to do anything about this issue.

I remember hearing about this a few years ago, and I don't understand how they get away with sending those text messages to a minor who obviously can not own a credit card.

[fordp]

Having worked there, I know the system does not recognize the users age or ability to consent to the charges, nor the fact that the account name does not match the credit card. I had a few calls regarding this issue and the way they trained us to handle them was terrible. It's pretty much a "suckkkerrr!" policy for them.

If you contact headquarters (do some major calling and complaining), they would be the ones who could do something.