Cell phone users rack up accidental data charges
August 26, 2009 By PETER SVENSSON , AP Technology Writer(AP) -- Verizon Wireless is looking into ways to prevent subscribers without data plans from accidentally starting up the Web browser on their phones and racking up $1.99 in fees each time.
On many phones, including ones on other carriers, it's easy to inadvertently hit a button that brings up the Web browser.
"It is obvious to us that we need to fix this aspect of our service," spokesman Tom Pica said.
He said the company is refunding data charges to subscribers who complain.
Customers of the No. 2 carrier, AT&T Inc., have the same problem. Their phones will usually warn them of extra charges the first time they try to start up the company's MediaNet browser, but if the customer agrees to the charges the first time, there is no warning on subsequent access.
Customers at Tracfone Wireless, the largest prepaid carrier, report similar problems.
The Plain Dealer in Cleveland tapped into a vein of frustration among Verizon Wireless customers in columns on the issue this month.
Most carriers will turn off all data access at the subscriber's request, but readers the newspaper talked to reported conflicting information from Verizon Wireless customer service representatives, with some being told that turning off data access would also stop picture messaging.
©2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
-
Tracfone tests cheap unlimited plan on Verizon
Jul 15, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Verizon offers to cut exclusive time for phones
May 08, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Verizon offers small carriers fresher handsets
Jul 17, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
-
T-Mobile adds 325,000 net subs, mostly prepaid
Aug 06, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Verizon gives free Wi-Fi to Internet customers
Jul 27, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Engineers build first sub-10-nm carbon nanotube transistor
Feb 01, 2012 |
4.9 / 5 (33) |
30
-
Something old, something new: Evolution and the structural divergence of duplicate genes
Jan 31, 2012 |
4.6 / 5 (7) |
1
-
The hidden nanoworld of ice crystals: Revealing the dynamic behavior of quasi-liquid layers
Jan 30, 2012 |
5 / 5 (5) |
1
-
Stock market network reveals investor clustering
Jan 27, 2012 |
3.9 / 5 (23) |
8
-
Of microchemistry and molecules: Electronic microfluidic device synthesizes biocompatible probes
Jan 26, 2012 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
-
How to tilt a object
9 hours ago
-
How to calculate total compressibility in liquid porous solid system
15 hours ago
-
Need help reading 3-D
Feb 11, 2012
-
A way to send and receive wireless data
Feb 11, 2012
-
Calling function with no input argument
Feb 10, 2012
-
Force free body diagram problem on gym equipment
Feb 10, 2012
- More from Physics Forums - General Engineering
More news stories
Hacker claims porn site users compromised
A hacker claims to have compromised the personal information of more than 350,000 users after breaking into a disused website operated by pornography provider Brazzers.
46 minutes ago |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
AT&T customers surprised by 'unlimited data' limit
(AP) -- Mike Trang likes to use his iPhone 4 as a GPS device, helping him get around in his job. Now and then, his younger cousins get ahold of it, and play some YouTube videos and games.
1 hour ago |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
Google might launch Drive for cloud storage soon
(PhysOrg.com) -- Google's next big move, according to the Wall Street Journal, is a cloud storage service called Drive. Hardly first to the plate, Google is simply catching up to introducing its cloud reposi ...
23 hours ago |
4.2 / 5 (6) |
5
|
Japan's Fukushima reactor may be reheating: operator
Temperature readings at one of the crippled Fukushima nuclear reactors have risen above Japan's stringent new safety standard but there was no immediate danger, its operator said Sunday.
Technology / Energy & Green Tech
2 hours ago |
3 / 5 (2) |
0
Iran blocks email, restricts net access: reports
Iran has further restricted access to the Internet and blocked popular email services for the past few days, in a move a top lawmaker said could "cost the regime dearly," media reports said on Sunday.
16 hours ago |
5 / 5 (3) |
5
Rapunzel, Leonardo and the physics of the ponytail
(PhysOrg.com) -- New research provides the first mathematical understanding of the shape of a ponytail and could have implications for the textile industry, computer animation and personal care products.
Climate change causes harmful algal blooms in North Atlantic: study
Warming oceans and increases in windiness could be causing of an abundance of harmful algal blooms in the North Atlantic Ocean and North Sea, according to new research.
Scientists discover molecular secrets of 2,000-year-old Chinese herbal remedy
For roughly two thousand years, Chinese herbalists have treated Malaria using a root extract, commonly known as Chang Shan, from a type of hydrangea that grows in Tibet and Nepal. More recent studies suggest that halofuginone, ...
Cognitive impairment in older adults often unrecognized in the primary care setting
A new study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society reveals that brief cognitive screenings combined with offering further evaluation increased new diagnoses of cognitive impairment in older veterans two to ...
Integrated pest management recommendations for the southern pine beetle
The southern pine beetle, Dendroctonus frontalis Zimmermann, is a chronic insect pest within pine forests in the southeastern United States. Under favorable environmental and host conditions, it is an agg ...
Botox developer rues missing out on billions
Botox developer Alan Scott says he rues the day he handed over rights to the best-selling wrinkle-smoothing drug to a US company for just $4.5 million, saying he might have become a billionaire.
Aug 27, 2009
Rank: not rated yet
Aug 27, 2009
Rank: not rated yet
Typically I'd say caveat emptor however, Verizon requires that all their provided devices carry Verizon's firmware. Anyone with a Verizon phone feel free to break it out and take a look how close the "internet" button is to all the other normal function buttons.