Amazon Fire text messages being converted and CHARGED to multimedia messages

[Anonymous]

I am disgusted with the complete lack of customer support I have received, over christmas I sent out numberous text messages on my amazon fire phone wishing my friends and family a merry christmas. As I have unlimited text messages as part of my package I foresaw no problems occuring. I couldn't have been more worng!

On Boxing day I received a message on my phone informing me I had gone over my text message allowance and now owed an extra £30.00 on top of my bill. As it was boxing day I wanted until the next day to contact O2 customer support, when the next day came and I phoned O2 I was informed I now owe £45.00 on top of my bill! It turns out my text messages we're converted to multimedia messages, I wasn't given any warning nor was informed it might happen prior to purchasing the phone! I was given a wide range of excuses as to why this could happen including: sending more than 2 text messages at one time, sending a contact, to sending a smilly face!

Customer services would only say that they have passed it over to the network investigation team and I would have to wait a few days for their decision. A few days passed and I called again only to discover it could take up to a week for someone to get intouch with me, and I should await their call / e-mail. After A WEEK AND A HALF I called again and the Network Investigation Team had made the decision that all charges we're valid and hadn't bothered to let me know.

I was then informed to send a complaint to the Complaint Review Service via e-mail informing them of everything that had happened to me. This I did on the 5th January, I have been waiting 21 days for a reply! I was orginally informed it would take three working days for someone to get intouch, then seven working days, after fourteen I requested customer services get intouch with the Complaint Review Service, or if I could have their number niether of these we're possible as Customer Services dosn't have the contact details for the Complaint Review Service. I have never been treated with such a complete lack of customer service in my life. O2 are after one thing YOUR MOMEY and are more than happy to scam you out of it!

[Cleoriff]

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@Anonymous wrote:

You can add up to 10 recipients to a group message. Group messages will be sent as MMS.
Copied above from Amazon Fire User Guide

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Can I ask @Anonymous  Does this mean anything up to 10 will go as normal SMS...or any group message will convert to MMS...even if for instance, you only send to 5 people?

[Toby]

Hi guys,

Thanks for offering advice here.

@Anonymous , sorry top hear that you feel that this wasn't clear and if I may ask everyone; Do you think MMS criteria should be clearer? If so, how would you include the info if it were up to you? 

[Cleoriff]

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@Toby wrote:

Hi guys,

Thanks for offering advice here.

@Anonymous , sorry top hear that you feel that this wasn't clear and if I may ask everyone; Do you think MMS criteria should be clearer? If so, how would you include the info if it were up to you? 

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I thought it was clear @Toby  until I heard of the bulk messaging. I didn't realise the implications of this if honest?

[MI5]

The clearest way is to bin MMS altogether.
O2 can do this easily by just turning it off.

[Bambino]

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@MI5 wrote:
The clearest way is to bin MMS altogether.
O2 can do this easily by just turning it off.

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I agree. There have been too many instances of people being caught out by this MMS problem. We've seen it time and time again, and it's always more prevalent at Christmas time.

[MI5]

Very little need for it these days and the fact that the data has to be different from the normal data we all get is nothing short of a rip off (all networks btw, not just O2)

[Anonymous]

@Cleoriff It's as clear as mud in the user guide!

[Anonymous]

https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/customerdocumentation/Fire+Phone+User+Guide_UK.pdf

[Cleoriff]

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@Anonymous wrote:

https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/customerdocumentation/Fire+Phone+User+Guide_UK.pdf

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Thanks @Anonymous ..As you say ...as clear as mud...

[Anonymous]

The messages we're under 160 characters and no smilies we're used. The only reason I can see O2 converted the text messages into multimedia is bulk messaging. But I have never been charged extra for bulk messaging text messages. 

At the very least O2 should advertise such things before you get a phone, if I would have known I would never have choosen O2. Maybe that's why they don't tell you.