Find Love through SMS

It’s hard to watch the telly these days without being bombarded by ads telling you to find your love match by matching your horoscopes, names, or even zip codes! And if you’re watching a little later at night, they can get really risqué.

I’m assuming there are heaps of people who believe they could fall in love via text messaging or else these services wouldn’t do so well. When you’re this gullible or desperate (take your pick), you really need some protection – from yourself! I’ve managed to get my hands on some info that you might want to consider before you send that text.

What You Should Know:

• They charge you “premium costs” for the so-called “premium services” it and some services cost as much as $5 per message!
• The one text you send automatically subscribes you to a service which you can only end by texting STOP.
• Most don’t state any clear terms and conditions so it might even take you a while to figure out how much you’re being charged or how to stop!
• There’s usually no helpline so you could be stuck with something without wanting it.

The Communications Alliance is making an attempt at self-regulation and has developed a draft code so consumers aren’t cheated. Also, just so you know exactly what you’re getting into, they’ve also launched a website called 19SMS.

To sum it up, I’ll leave you with the comment I read in the Sydney Morning Herald about these SMS services:

“The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman received nearly 14,000 complaints about mobile premium services during 2007/08 and it will be interesting to see what impact this new Code has. Premium SMS services are a license to print money and the ultimate proof of the old adage; a fool and his money are soon parted.”

If you really want to find love, don’t you think you could do better than an SMS relationship?

Already a member? Sign in or Join Now! to add your comment on this article!