Amex: "We're Gonna Text Message Your Cellphone And You're Gonna Pay For It"
Several readers have pointed out that American Express has made some changes to its contract "in response to the challenging environment" — the most offensive of which seems to be a new clause that gives them the right to call — or text message — any phone you use to contact them including cellphones, for the purposes of offering you American Express products and services.
Reader San says that there's no opt-out information anywhere in the 4 pages of changes Amex mailed to her. The clause reads:
Amex doesn't seem to want to offer the opt-out information in this mailing, but hey, that's why you read Consumerist, right?
To opt-out of marketing by telephone, call: 800-297-8378. Remember, you can also tell American Express and any other company that contacts you via phone to stop. If they subsequently call you again, they may be subject to a fine of up to $11,000. Your phone number does not need to be registered on the Do Not Call list for this fine to apply.
We were not able to locate any way to opt-out of the text message program, so we suppose you really shouldn't borrow your friend's cellphone when you need to call Amex. Buyer, er, caller beware.
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Comments:
hmm...the first thing i was thinking was "guess i'll have to call them from my friend's cell phone instead."
does that make me a bad person?
"By calling, texting, mailing, e-mailing, carrier-pigeoning, smoke signalling us you are authorizing us to shit all over you at anytime convenient to us (and most likely, inconvienent to you)."
Thankfully I've been able to 'leave home w/o it' for a long time now.
Get a grandcentral.com number. Give it to every company you do business with. Problem solved.
AMEX gives me no desire to own one of their cards.
@yajjo: not really, since it says they can use any number you call them from. This would only work if you never had any need to call them.
Close your AMEX card if you don't like it. The best way to get back at these companies is to simply not use their services.
I would write them a letter and give them a new, bogus, phone number for the account. Them having my correct phone number does nothing for me.
How do you tell Discover to stop pushing marketing when you have one of their cards?
I've started marketing back to folks who send me unsolicited offers. It's my way of saying thanks and getting my Etsy store address out there.
@menty666: incidentally, this so thoroughly confused Symantec that they extended my AV subscription for 30 days to say sorry I was having a problem they couldn't resolve. I wasn't having a problem and even told them that. They get points for going the extra mile for customer service, but I got a good chuckle out of it.
@prag: Them having your correct number is good for things like fraud alerts. I find it somewhat comforting when my credit card company calls me to tell me a large purchase has posted to my card.
Oh, so now they can text me to let me know they've cut my credit limit yet again rather than sending me a letter *one week after* they cut it? Oh boy. I'm so tired of finding out my credit limit has been cut only after my card gets rejected.
@K-Bo: With some minor annoyances, it is possible to call out from your GrandCentral number. (You click on a contact in the GC address book, the site asks you which of your phones you want to use, you choose, and the site calls your phone and connects you with the number you wanted.)
All the party being called sees is your GC number.
@mac-phisto: That was mine too haha!
But, what if you use your friends phone, then they text you "REPLY 'YES' TO SIGN UP FOR _______ AT $19.99 A MONTH!". If they send text to any phone you ever use, how do they know it is you?
Why is it called an agreement if it can be deleted at every whim and fancy? Or was that part of the agreement too? Now I'm confused.
May not work for everyone, because it requires a dedicated fax line, but that's our strategy: use only the fax line to do business with credit card companies.
Since we have to have that line for employment reasons, we've used it for the past 12 years as our main phone number for EVERY credit card, store account and cable/satellite company.
Before the days of the do-not-call list, it stopped telemarketing cold. They could place all the marketing calls they wanted, but would get only a fax tone.
With the ringer off, we were never bothered by these incoming nuisance calls--and when we need to do business with these folks? We just use the fax phone.
@prag: Oh no, please don't do this! One of my business lines (voicemail only; I don't answer it) was clogged with messages for six months from some college wanting to speak to "Kate". No amount of phone calls or emails could convince them that I'm not Kate, or that I've already graduated from college. They gave up after two semesters.
Same thing with debt collectors calling for "Ian and Hillary Grant" on our home phone. If I ever meet them in a dark alley... I'll ask them to start paying their bills on time. ;)
I'm going to have to opt-out of you texting me, Amex. However, if you want to be considered for re-instatement, just fax over your last 2 years worth of tax returns and your last 3 quarterly earnings statements.
I already WENT thru this cockamamie back in the day. So they're making me jump thru hoops they damn well know I hate jumping thru AGAIN?!
I guess AMEX thinks that, following the Finanapocalypse, I'm in dire need of Mumbai phone pals?
Isn't there a way to block specific people/entities/numbers from texting you?
@Joeb5:
I would rather cell-phone companies only allow texts from numbers that are on an approved list. How this is difficult to implement, I don't understand.
Wow, thanks AMEX, just what I always wanted: the privilege of paying to get your advertisements.
I don't have a cell phone despite every person around me having one, and I will likely be dragged kicking and screaming before I get one. So I admittedly don't know much about them, but...I have a general question. Since stuff like this is getting more common, is there any way anymore to get a cellphone and just...NOT have texting? Or, only allow certain people to text you? Block numbers? .....Is there any way to prevent the above from happening with a cell phone or do people simply live with the charge?
[Note: While there may be free texting plans on some phones, I'd never get anything more than pay as you go, considering I'd only ever use it for REAL emergencies...so, a few minutes a month at most. I'd be surprised any contract out there wouldn't be a waste of my money.]
Just got off the phone with Amex "Tech Support." After a 20 minute wait, I finally reached a customer service rep. She was completely unaware of the change of terms and put me on hold for a while to speak with her supervisor.
She claimed that this really only applies to people who already received text messages. I asked her if she "guaranteed" that I wouldn't receive any text messages and she answered in the affirmative.
We'll see.
Also there was a constant beeping indicating that they are indeed recording every phone call.
@Rectilinear Propagation: Verizon has a block option on the web tools for your account. The problem being that you have to know what number they are going to call you from in order to block it. Blocking after the first text would work as long as they continue to use the same number.
Debt Collection 2.0
@sleze69: Because once they grant themselves, in writing, the legal right to do something, they will never ever go back and use it in a way other than originally promised over the phone.
Coming from a company that used to be affiliated with Primerica, this does not surprise me one bit.
@Dr. Jonas Venture, Jr.:
Oh, that wouldn't be impossible to implement, but are you willing to pay an extra 5-10 bucks a month for the privilege?
In case anybody was thinking of using caller ID blocking to prevent them from getting your number - that won't work, they can still get ANI (automatic number identification).
@Adrienne Willis: I did a search on Grand Central and got this: GrandCentral invites are temporarily unavailable, but will be back soon. We appreciate your patience.
Sorry :\
So stop being a victim. Start sending bills to AMEX and all the other fools that do this to you. Just track down how much each text is costing you (20 cents is the norm, right?), add it up, throw in a fee or two, and fire off the bill. Make sure you put that you will only take checks and postal money orders, and a due date as well. Do it for cell phone calls as well. Or time spent at home waiting for Comcast to show up.
Seriously, give it a shot. There's no reason you have to just sit on your ass and mope. It's not any different from what they're doing to you, anyway.
Just stop playing the victim.
Me to AmEx: "You're going to kiss my ass and you're gonna like it!"
In the last 20 years, I estimate AMEX mailed me 100 unsolicited credit card applications. I never wanted an AMEX card. I never took an AMEX card. Somehow, I have survived without an AMEX card all these years. I have left home without an AMEX card thousands of times. Imagine that.
@Ber'Zophus:
I have AT&T and was able to block all incoming and outgoing texts on my phone just by asking them to do it.
@Dr. Jonas Venture, Jr.:
It would be fairly easy to implement, but then how would the carriers sell so many pure-profit text packages?
We need to have free incoming texts but what will it take some getting hit with a $1000 bill for TEXT spam?