Dtac Really Screwed Up

[KKvampire]

I have been getting these sms messages in Thai for some weeks now , no idea what they are , But I have been concerned that my credit on the phone was lasting less time, So I checked with the customer service , It turns out that I have been paying 6 bht 2 or 3 times a day for horoscope messages , I never subscribed to this service but was informed that because I never phoned DTAC to cancel it then the service continues , it has amounted to some 500 bht in 2 months, and I have told DTAC I want a full refund. The whole company sucks and I want to know is there an independent phone/telecommunications consumer protection organization that I can complain to In this country. I doubt it because Customer service in Thailand sucks with most things but here's hoping. Anyone else had these messages? It was with a 488033 number then a message in Thai, beware if you are getting them you need to call 1678 and cancel.

Edited March 26, 2012 by KKvampire

[elshaheen]

AIS does the same thing. Spent like 150 - 200 thb a day in getting these messages.

[moradave]

I keep getting same type of messages, in Thai, from AIS. Of course they didn't stop

when I asked for them to so I got

rid of the problem by leaving my phone on MENU screen rather than THGSM screen when not

in use.

As far as I know it works and I have not been charged for any unwanted messages.

Edited March 26, 2012 by moradave

[beano2274]

Go to one of their shops and tell them to stop the messages. For other messages turn off the AIS service for AIS Users.

[Bosse137]

Perhaps a good business idea: Have Dtac and AIS to let me send (news)messages in Danish or something to Thaipeople,telling them,that if they do not cancel,they have to pay 10 Baht/day.

[h90]

Write an clear email to dtac....

I had some problems and they fixed it fast and friendly.

[Bosse137]

Write an clear email to dtac....

I had some problems and they fixed it fast and friendly.

So did I, but the point is,that you do not always know that you have a problem until it starts to hurt..The notion,that you have to cancel something you never ordered must be wrong! By the way,the friendly people at dtac also canceled my subscription of news from BKK Post!!

[Gone]

CAT is the only people you can complain to (Communication Authority of Thailand) however they don't give a rats arse. Truemove did the same thing to me. I called and told them to turn of sms except for the one that tells me when my bill is due and how much it is. They did however I still get spam sms's from other Thai companies I have no idea what they are but I don't really know if I am being charged for them. TIT and these kinds of thing suck for sure.

[WarpSpeed]

Had the same problem, do you have a Samsung phone? According to them it is tied to Samsung phones as it happened to me when I had to buy one suddenly when my other phone got wet during the flooding..

We complained vigorously and they reluctantly gave us a credit and we made mention in no uncertain terms that they never automatically add any charges like this again regardless of which phone I use especially when it was sent in Thai and we have standing order that all SMS messages be sent in English only or loose a good long term customer with multiple phones..

[h90]

Write an clear email to dtac....

I had some problems and they fixed it fast and friendly.

So did I, but the point is,that you do not always know that you have a problem until it starts to hurt..The notion,that you have to cancel something you never ordered must be wrong! By the way,the friendly people at dtac also canceled my subscription of news from BKK Post!!

yeah and that are small problems...my XM5800 goes online on dtac even I prohibit it.....OK causes me a 100 Baht extra, but there were news in Europe about huge costs...thousands of Euros, which would have cost in a different contract maybe 10 Euro....

[xen]

I too had the same problem with AIS .I went to the AIS Booth in Ban Chang and they giggled and told me i had to contact each sender to cancel .Too lazy to do anything was the bottom line and there were about 30 different horoscopes, games dating sites etc all using my money so whenever i went to use my phone i hade no credit. So i cancelled AIS and went to DTAC who may be no better as a provider but their customer service is excellent the times i have had to use it.

[Satcommlee]

I get something similar about a Facebook service I have no idea about?? Is this costing me money?

[bobl]

Personally i think they should introduce a compatibility test.

Only smart people should be allowed to use smartphones.

[lomatopo]

I get something similar about a Facebook service I have no idea about?? Is this costing me money?

Yes, you may be paying for this service. I remember some threads/complaints about this Facebook update service. Which service provider are you using? You may wish to contact them to verify the service, review any associated costs and cancel if necessary.

DTAC/Happy have many self-service options including Android applications, and their web-based e-services platform where you can review any/all subscribed services, and even see itemized billing, including Telephone Usage, Refill Service, Service Application Fee and VAS Package application Fee. You can also change the language of DTAC/Happy service SMSes to English. Bottom line: you can easily and quickly identify services and fees.

http://www.happy.co.th/home_en.php

https://play.google....ls?id=com.happy

https://play.google....mFuZHJvaWQiXQ..

IME DTAC/Happy have by far the best customer service and self-service/management tools of the major service providers here. AIS/One-2-Call are a distant second and TrueMove (H) are nearly worthless in this regard.

http://eservice.dtac...lt.asp?langid=0

In most cases any SMS services require the user to subscribe to them. In many cases users inadvertently subscribe to them, perhaps owing to them being in Thai. In other cases a third party may borrow the phone for a moment and subscribe to the service(s).

The OPs advice about contacting the service provider upon receiving unknown SMSes, from odd numbers is excellent.

Edited March 27, 2012 by lomatopo

[richard_smith237]

I had a similar issue with AIS. I was overseas and kept receiving MCOT (Thai news) multimedia messages.

When I got back to Thailand I called up AIS and requested they cancel this annoying service as I had never booked, requested or agreed to it.

When I received my bill I was shocked to see approximately B6000 worth of charges for receiving multimedia messages while overseas.

It took a month, but AIS credited my bill with a full refund. I also requested that they cut off any adverts, especially those originating from a call centre. They tried to tell me they couldn't do that, however, I no longer receive any SMS adverts with the exception of the AIS confirmation of my direct debited bill and my back account balance when I make a transaction.

I never give my phone number out to any marketing company etc, I believe this also cuts out a number of the sms adverts.

I was quite satisfied with the response and subsequent service from AIS.

[KKvampire]

I get something similar about a Facebook service I have no idea about?? Is this costing me money?

Yes, you may be paying for this service. I remember some threads/complaints about this Facebook update service. Which service provider are you using? You may wish to contact them to verify the service, review any associated costs and cancel if necessary.

DTAC/Happy have many self-service options including Android applications, and their web-based e-services platform where you can review any/all subscribed services, and even see itemized billing, including Telephone Usage, Refill Service, Service Application Fee and VAS Package application Fee. You can also change the language of DTAC/Happy service SMSes to English. Bottom line: you can easily and quickly identify services and fees.

http://www.happy.co.th/home_en.php

https://play.google....ls?id=com.happy

https://play.google....mFuZHJvaWQiXQ..

IME DTAC/Happy have by far the best customer service and self-service/management tools of the major service providers here. AIS/One-2-Call are a distant second and TrueMove (H) are nearly worthless in this regard.

http://eservice.dtac...lt.asp?langid=0

In most cases any SMS services require the user to subscribe to them. In many cases users inadvertently subscribe to them, perhaps owing to them being in Thai. In other cases a third party may borrow the phone for a moment and subscribe to the service(s).

The OPs advice about contacting the service provider upon receiving unknown SMSes, from odd numbers is excellent.

It's unacceptable that a customer should have to contact the provider everytime one gets an unsolicited sms . I asked DTAC if any others complained about these horoscope SMS messages, in particular Thai speakers/readers and I was informed , yes , and they would call immediately and cancel when receiving the messages.

The point about inadvertently subscribing to this service is not valid in this case, to subscribe I would have to call or reply to a message which I haven't and customer service did not tell me such when I called, the agent's whole point was you HAVE to call and cancel this service when it is sent and the sms's are not connected to DTAC even though they are sent via their network.

I have never been charged for a service by a mobile phone provider in any other country unless I subscribed to it. It would be unacceptable in most other countries but it;s the same problem in Thailand , consumer rights in the country are very poor and I saw in the bangkok post recently there was a small demonstration about this by a few Thais but not enough, too many here just shrug their shoulders and not complain, hence nothing is ever done!

Edited March 27, 2012 by KKvampire

[lomatopo]

It's unacceptable that a customer should have to contact the provider everytime one gets an unsolicited sms . I asked DTAC if any others complained about these horoscope SMS messages, in particular Thai speakers/readers and I was informed , yes , and they would call immediately and cancel when receiving the messages. But I have never been charged for a service by a mobile phone provider in any other country unless I subscribed to it. It would be unacceptable in most other countries but it;s the same problem in Thailand , consumer rights in the country are very poor and I saw in the bangkok post recently there was a small demonstration about this by a few Thais but not enough, too many here just shrug their shoulders and not complain, hence nothing is ever done!

Maybe take a deep breath and relax; losing your cool here never does any good.

No one, well at least I didn't, said that it was "acceptable" that you should have to contact a service provider every time you get unsolicited SMSes. Some suggested, and I would include myself in that group, that it is advisable to contact the service provider if you are receiving SMSes in Thai from strange, unknown or odd (like a number not begining with 08x, for example) number.

I suspect there may be multiple agencies one could register a complaint with. The NBTC (National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission) may be one? I believe CAT Telecom is DTAC's concession holder, so they may also be an option?

Edited March 27, 2012 by lomatopo

[KKvampire]

"Maybe take a deep breath and relax; losing your cool here never does any good"

Complaining to a company about a fraudulent debiting of money from me politely , clearly and asking for a refund is not losing your cool.

Edited March 27, 2012 by KKvampire

[Fookhaht]

I get something similar about a Facebook service I have no idea about?? Is this costing me money?

I just called DTAC about this (because I have been getting unauthorized SMS messages in Thai from Facebook also). They said I am charged 7 baht per message, and I had seven messages this month (49B !).

I have been getting these messages for over a year, and God only knows how much they have been charging me. I complained bitterly that these are unauthorized charges and that they need to reimburse me for at least a year of SMS charges. He said he'd take care of it and send me a confirmation.

As soon as I hung up, I got one more FB SMS--in Thai!

I believe if ThaiVisa users of DTAC protest/complain enough about this, they will stop this unethical practice. But, it's going to take a loud cry from a lot of customers. Please do you part if you are likewise affected.

Edited March 27, 2012 by Fookhaht

[NHJ]

the same happens with the free true sim for tourist, you'll receive a load of unwanted overcharged messages in thai unless you cancel the sbuscription to these services(subscription you of course never signed up for)...

[Fookhaht]

I get something similar about a Facebook service I have no idea about?? Is this costing me money?

I just called DTAC about this (because I have been getting unauthorized SMS messages in Thai from Facebook also). They said I am charged 7 baht per message, and I had seven messages this month (49B !).

I have been getting these messages for over a year, and God only knows how much they have been charging me. I complained bitterly that these are unauthorized charges and that they need to reimburse me for at least a year of SMS charges. He said he'd take care of it and send me a confirmation.

As soon as I hung up, I got one more FB SMS--in Thai!

I believe if ThaiVisa users of DTAC protest/complain enough about this, they will stop this unethical practice. But, it's going to take a loud cry from a lot of customers. Please do you part if you are likewise affected.

Update: DTAC just confirmed a refund of 200 baht for unauthorized FaceBook charges over the last year. Polite complaints do work sometimes!

Posted with Thaivisa App http://apps.thaivisa.com

Edited March 28, 2012 by Fookhaht