LCN’s Mathieu Belhumeur has exclusive video that cellphone service providers allow their customers to purchase images of scantily-clad women.
The video report is, of course, filled with examples of such images, just in case you’ve forgotten what a scantily-clad woman looks like.
The real scandal here is that people are expected to pay $2 to download a thumbnail-sized image of anything.
Got this text message yesterday from a shady outfit called “Cell Unlimited” (typos are theirs, not mine):
Appels Sortants Locaux et Interrubains Illimites a partir10$/Mois!
Info:514-227-6240
www.cellunlimited.net
Unlimited Local and Outgoing Calls for 10$/month!From: 514-291-7194 (4pm Nov. 30, 2007)
I have, of course, never even heard of this outfit, much less had any business dealings with them that would give them the impression that they could text-message-spam me.
I’ve requested an explanation and will update this post if I get one.
(For the curious, the company is an automatic callback service that turns outgoing calls into incoming ones so those with unlimited incoming call plans can get free minutes. The fact that it costs $10 a month makes me wonder if it’s really worth it for most people.)
I’ve always found it odd that Canadian wireless consumers are forced to pay a “system access fee” of about $7 every month on top of their rate plan. It sounds like something that should just be included in the plan itself. I mean, would you accept it if Wal-Mart imposed a mandatory cashier’s fee, or if the public transit authorities started charging you a monthly fee for accessing their network?
Virgin Mobile is one of the few companies not to charge this fee. Their service is more expensive, but at least it’s honest, and it doesn’t force you into 3-year contracts.
Well it seems the dishonesty of telling someone a plan is worth $20 a month when it’s actually $30 plus tax has hit a nerve. Hou-Hou points us to a story about a Regina lawyer whose lawsuit has just gained class-action status.
It’s potentially the largest class-action in Canadian history, and it goes after the three cellphone giants at once, who will no doubt throw about a quadrillion lawyers on the case.
So … good luck with that.
