Mobile Subscription Services – Don’t Be Fooled!

I admit that I have always been skeptical of mobile subscription services. I have always been frustrated by the notion of some intangible and unknown entity/person or thing, taking money every day, week and month (depending what contract was signed). I even don’t reply ‘STOP to marketing messages my bank sent me. Just in case it was a ploy by some bank to get me signed up for something I did not want. Are I paranoid, or am I just being cautious?

Maybe…But I believe it’s justified paranoia. I have heard many complaints about mobile subscriptions services. It seems like so many people are ‘fooled’ into signing up to something, which makes it difficult to terminate. These sentiments are mine. Dodgy service providers handyabo.

I did some research and found that there are some very cool subscriptions available. Music subscriptions, for example, are growing rapidly. Janus Frries, one founder of Skype Technologies, says that “the whole downloading model is going to disappear.” It’s up for debate whether we agree or disagree. The point is that it’s possible to subscribe some cool stuff, provided we know what to look for. If farting monkeys is what you are after, that’s fine as long as it doesn’t fool you. Let’s get on with the uncouthy service providers ….

Service providers that do not follow the rules for mobile subscription services often cause problems. I thought it would help to outline some of the rules for mobile subscriptions in this article. The Wireless Application Service Provider’s Association (WASP), which is responsible for overseeing our mobile industry in large part, has established the following requirements for any mobile subscription service.

First, advertisements relating to subscriptions services must clearly indicate that it is a subscription and the cost of the subscription.

Secondly, you must specify the terms and conditions of the subscription. Also, it should specify whether the subscription will be for a monthly, weekly, or daily basis.

Third, all subscribers to mobile subscriptions must opt in two times. In other words, to confirm your intention to subscribe, you will need two SMS’.

Fourth, every subscriber must receive a monthly SMS reminding them of the cost and their option to unsubscribe.

To unsubscribe, the subscriber needs to text ‘STOP’ and the name to the short code where they first subscribed.