PlayPhone
Reviews and Complaints

I had the same exact issue but only three months of billing had passed. ATT was able to refund two of the months which was wonderful! YOu may want to try that... I did try to call PlayPhone and after going through an arduous phone system finally got to "to speak with an agent, press 5". When I pressed 5, it said "goodbye" and hung up on me. ;o(

I have been charged $19.99 a month by something called Playphone. It says "to stop subscription, text STOP to the short code". I have done this and recieved a confermation text telling me that my subscription has been stopped. A month later now and the exact same thing happened. These people are ruthless!

They got me too. and the number I was given to stop it is not accurate. Does anyone have the number. My carrier is T-Mobile.

If a company or individual has to resort to "sneaky" (ref. l90ughboy above) tactics, then its a scam. period. (IMHO) A sad truth we unfortunately have to live with, in so may different ways.

:(

this is a scam. I just noticed i was charged 2 months in a row.

I was nailed in this months bill for $14.99. While l9oughboy has a point, I *did* reply with STOP, but was still charged, which I am sure was the case with other folks here.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Don't mean to be rude or negative but these charges are completely your fault; you just didn't realize you did it. Ever taken the IQ test on Facebook? Remember your asked for you cell phone number and carrier for a reason, your being signed up for something! Some of you just forgot after the test and when you received the text message you didn't do what your supposed to do, reply with STOP! I agree that it's sneaky, but stop blaming other when you're the one who was fooled.

This scam needs to be stopped. Auction Alert, SendMe, belong to a company called "VERISIGN". I just got off the phone with my customer service rep at AT&T, this is the fourth time I have had to remove a $9.99 fee for this AuctionAlert, I have put a block on purchases, but the last one was posted to my account hours after putting the block in place. I DO KNOW how this scam works . . . . because I remember when it happened. I was posting my resume (of all things), on a website that the employers sometimes ask for you to complete a profile and application form. At some time during the process, a Pop-Up appears (which does not look like one), and asks for your cell phone number, it looks like part of the application process. Well, I put in the # and reached the end of that section, and realized what was going on, instead of clicking on OK you I closed out of that window . . . It's too late! they have your # and the rest is history. How can we stop them? AT & T does not have a contact number for them, but they did give me their name, so I'm going to see if they have a website. VERISIGN.com and they will be hearing from my attorney.
I hope this was helpful to unsuspecting victims . . . Outraged in Dallas

Scammers, indeed. I just got off the phone with AT&T and they reversed my charges, as well. I am also taking it a step further and filing a complaint with AT&T on line, using these comments as a reference. NOTE: at the same time, I received another scam for 'Auction Alerts' from a company named SendMe, also charging me $9.99 per month (and AT&T also removed from my bill and cancelled for me)

I just discovered these leeches on one of my lines too. No idea how the subscription was started, but they've been blocked from doing it again.

I had the same problem and I have no idea how they signed me up and charged $19.99 to my cell phone bill.
I called At&T right away and they have reversed the charges and un-subscribed me. I have taken advantage of the free service AT&T offer called Purchase Blocker which will stop and block any more of these unauthorized charges. When you DO want to make a purchase you just put in a pin number first (which you create yourself )

A $9.99 charge showed up on my Dec., 2016 Sprint account. I did not sign/authorize or agree to this. Sprint says they will block 3rd parties from my account. They feel though that I had to agree or request, else the charge wouldn't show up. A scam for sure. Hope they get shut down.

i have had £10.00 taken from my pay as you go from a company i do not know{grass roots } and dont wish to,
they have no right takeing money without my permision i have no dealings with this company,
i rang 02 to ask why and they said i had a premium tex of them not true i want the £10.00 refunded a.sa.p
regards a very angry and upset Belinda Dimmer

i have had £10.00 taken of my pay as go phone by a company called grass roots who i donot know and do not wish to .
they have NO RIGHT TO TAKE MONEY WITHOUT MY CONSENT i have not recieved anything from this company and i want the return of my £10.00 A.S.AP
BELINDA DIMMER,

It sounds like AT&T authorizes it to start with as the charges went through your AT&T accounts.

This is exactly what happened to me two charges of $14.99 on my bill from payphone.com. Don't use payphone never heard of payphone and don't use any of their services. ATT only credited one month may call back to get the other month credited. ATT was not as helpful to me as to you ;( Thanks for the tip to stop any other charges.

Just FYI to everyone... this is a robbery service; but the carrier's (Sprint, Att, etc) arent innocent in all of this either. Believe it or not, they're getting a cut of all of the money these company's rob from you and arent doing anything concrete to make sure you're safe.. b/c they're making billions off of it ever year.

Let's put it this way... out of every $10 you pay to these companies, Att/Spring/VZW makes $3-$4. Do you really think they're going to try and shut down easy money like that?! It's rediculous and the only way it's going to be stopped is if a national presence steps forward and enforces some serious penalties to this kind of action.

The carriers need to be punished first and foremost.. Once they start being punished, all of these companies won't be able to survive b/c the carrier's will cut them off.

Trust me... i used to work for one of these companies and felt dirty going to work every single day.

i just got my (sprint) phone bill and i got that same issue im not paying 14.99 for something i didn't ask for this is a total ripoff

I've been charged twice for $13 a month. After I called the [protected] to remove my number, it only stopped for 1 month, and it started again! On this month's phone bill I found out that I got charged $13 on Mar.21, and 2 days later I received text from playphone telling me that I got 10 credits, which I was never asked for. This is absolutely froud! It's criminal! Wwhen I once again contact Rogers, I've been told there's nothing they can do to credit me back! I'm so mad!

Oh and yes the CELL companys WILL refund up to 3 months worth of charges (I know verizon will) but you have to not let them bully you they try to BARGAIN to see how much they can keep out of you, but if you get a person that isnt nice you can always hang up and call someone else and you might have a better person the second time around! just another FYI so dont give in even if you have to threaten to speak to manager they dont like that. lol

This is a premium Txt Charge! It is a SCAM its from some sort of subscription or you intering your number or txting something on TV example "American Idol polls, Ringtones txt number to blah blah blah" BUT your numbers are also recyclable so say you go get a cell the number your recieving could be from jo blow who possibly may have had this problem and got that number disco so in order for you to have this removed you need to ASK is this a PREMIUM TEXT MESSAGE. If you get a 5 digit text reply also w/ the STOP and by doing both of those things having your company cancel or block all Prem. Txt Messages and by replying you shouldnt be further charged "FYI" VERIZON will credit your account if you ask nicely 99 percent of the time if this isnt an ongoing problem and your a valued customer w/ a good payment history. (I worked for them for a little while they are pretty good about these things) These premium txt messages happen to alot of ppl and you would be surprised just by someone putting in your number on polls or anything online this can happen to you. so just pay attention to your bill, b/c alot of the times if you dont notice in a timely matter your just out of luck, and FYI I googled this company b/c I found this on my daughters line by filling out some stupid FACEBOOK IQ test (3rd party company/SCAM) has nothing to do w/ facebook, but she entered in her number also and yes I am a victim now. lol.

The charges suck, I've had the same problem. I feel dumb but it's the last time I'm giving out my phone number or other personal info. I didn't even know you could access the account with just a phone number. Mercifully Sprint was pretty good about lifting the charges from my bill as well as blocking 3rd party access to my account.

One heads up about Sprint: You have to request the removal of the charges, they won't do it automatically. Also they'll only remove half the amount you've been charged upon the initial request. I pressed on with the request to remove 100% of the charges and they did comply eventually. It's just a heads up that they can remove it all but will be reluctant to do so initially.

I am sitting here looking over my account right now and I have two charges on my bill on for the $14.00 and a charge for send me cont 778899 . also I did not sign up for any of this and I am calling my print acct to also have these taken off as I did not ask or want to be charged for them.

Vickie

Just had the same thing happen on my Sprint bill ... neice showed up with a 14.99 charge ... followed the directions of the previous post. Sprint was kind enough to credit the $14.99 and also put the block on each number on our account. Thanks for taking the time to post your response!

I have sprint too and I'll be goin to the office tomorrow to show my whole [censored]! I'm not paying no dam $261.84 for some BS charge!

I have just received my bill from Sprint and I have the same problem. No one to call to stop this and Sprint won't help at all. I have asked this to be stopped and or cancelled and I am still getting charged. How does someone get this off of their phone?

Okay, so here is my story, my kid downloaded an app from Apple Store that I was charge for. I called Apple got it resolved and block my kids account or phone from ever making any more purchases from apps that require them to pay for the apps or monthly charges. Today (July 8, 2016) I got a message on my email about my kids phone making a purchases that should not be possible anymore that has a recurring charges of $9.99. Guess what the name of the company is Playphone. Now, here is a FYI for those of you who think that just because Apple block it doesn't mean Sprint did. I just talked to sprint right now. They will get my refund and also block it off on their end too not just on Apple's end. Now, both of my kids phone are block from both Sprint and Apple's end from ever making anymore purchases. Let's see what will happen. Talk to your Sprint or provider about blocking kids account from making unknown purchases or should I say third-party purchases.

Found a mystery charge listed as "Playphone - 99555_PlayphoneSubs1 -08/16" on my mobile phone. I got wireless provider to block this company and reverse the charges but how can Playphone get away with this?

They charged me $15.00, and I never authorized this! Is there a way to get my money back?

I just realized the charge on my ATT bill and I hope to have all the charges reversed! I signed up for 1 quiz on Facebook - and I don't remember any opting in!

found charges for playphone on my t-mobile bill for my young daughters phone billing 19.95 a month
for what we have no idea this company from what I can tell from internet searches scams children on
facebook or wherever and then places fraudulant charges hoping you dont notice then the phone carrier
acts like they have no clue what is going on and offers a partial credit after an hour or two with customer
service just wish a smart lawyer would notice and file a class action suit against these con artists.

Hello,
I am living exactly the same situation... after passing the "IQ test" ... what a way of getting people to pay...
I tried to cancel thru my cell phone supplier (Telus, in Canada), but I have to get thru playphone... my account doesn't exist there ! So, a kind of a "cul-de-sac"...
Never give your cell number to any "offers" !
Jacques

I discovered outrageous charges on my ATT bill. One from playphone and two others from m-Qube Inc. It took me a few minutes to realize I'd been ripped-off by taking IQ quizzes on facebook. By giving out my cell phone number. How can someone who is smart be so stupid? I want a refund and to stop all "sevices" as of yesterday.

This is a scam for the unwary. Taking quizzes on facebook should be fun and free, but now I have to be on the look-out for predators. I cringe everytime I see the IQ quiz flashing on my facebook page.

Thanks a lot playphone and m-Qube Inc. This has been emotionally stressful, since you do not make it easy to undo this whole mess.

It was interesting that when I tried to email playphone at refunds@playphone.com, there was no such email address.

It's sad, that I, a grown woman, have to use "parental controls" on my cell phone.

Shame on you people!

I discovered a similar situation on my account as well. I called AT&T and had the charges HOPEFULLY removed. I say HOPEFULLY because PlayPhone has to agree to "refund" the charges to AT&T who will pass them on to me as a credit on a future bill. Mr. PlayPhone Customer Service Rep above - I do not dis-agree with what you are saying regarding your "policy". However, you utilize deceptive practices to lure unwitting consumers into paying for a subscription to your service. Why would I want to pay $14.99 a month for a text answer to a question when (a) I have unlimited texting and (2) IQ tests on the web are bogus and I know I'm smart anyway. Stupid, I can't believe I actually got caught in this one.

I too have put the free blocker on my account. I did notice that this is part of the "parental controls" which typically cost $5/mo. So I'm going to double-check that I'm not being billed extra.

Also, word of note: Shame on you AT&T. My monthly agreement is to pay YOU, not some third party that you shook hands with and you let cram their charges into my bill. This is bad business. I work really hard for my money and my money belongs in my pocket not PlayPhone's pocket. Shame on you BOTH. Get your hand out of my pocket!

I had a similar situation... charges from Playphone and m-Qube that I knew nothing about but had some tie-in with using applications accessed via Facebook. AT&T representative has put a free blocker on my cellphone for any download purchases. It requires a password which AT&T provided before any download purchase is finalized. I just had this done so I hope it works.

Any application that asks to access your Facebook profile to "analyze" your personality etc is getting your cell number if it is in your profile. Maybe you should remove your cell number from your profile.

I received a $14.99 per month subscription charge on my AT&T bill after having completed the IQ Test. I called AT&T, and they removed that charge, along with a 2nd $9.99 monthly charge from m-Qube, without question. Other than giving my cell phone number (which I will NEVER do again) there was no indication to me that I was signing up for any charges. I have no idea whatsoever these services even provide. I use my cell phone for nothing but phone calls... no texting, ringtones, games, mail...nothing but phone calls. I need to mention that after AT&T removed these charges on Monday, April 20th I received another text message from m-Qube today April 23rd.

Dave Simmons

If you want to file a complaint, I went to the Playphone site and there is a BBB (Better Business Bureau) Icon in the corner. If not on the main page, go to Frequently Asked Questions and it shows on that page. Click on the Icon and it will take you right to their site. There's a place to file a complaint with the San Jose, CA BBB where Playphone is located. I filed and if we can flood them with complaints, something is bound to be done. rkhaley

There is no way this can work if there is not a connection between the companies, the average Joe or business could not get these charges processed if they did not have the connection, remember this is a phone bill not a creidt card bill, do you know of anyone who could force the phone company to collect money on their behalf. If you have the charges on your bill and have not paid them then simply omit that amount from the bill, this is a non-regulated charge the only recourse is that the service(s) will be stopped and if you are like most you did not want it anyway! Your second step should be to call and get the service terminated immediately, otherwise you will most likely have to go thru this again and again. If you have paid then yes ask for a refund of all unauthorized charges, I think most likely you'll be sucessful. Final step is to put parental controls in place which does not allow any purchases for these types of services without entering a code.

I agree totally. My husband and I have wondered why our bill had jumped up almost 40 dollars a month, I finally looked over the detailed bill and found monthly subscriptions to things we had not subscribed to. I just got off the phone with AT&T and she was able to get me credit for 3 months worth of the charges for both lines. She was able to look back and found that the charges went back at least 6 months, but their system only would let her credit for three, I wasn't even expecting that, so thanks AT&T. I am going to make sure that from now on, I review our bill and make sure that the charges are correct every month instead of just paying it.

The amazing thing about this is IT IS STILL GOING ON! Wake up AT&T and tell this company they aren't authorized to bill through your company. Or are you [censored]s at AT&T to well fed by this fraud!

Playphone Inc just showed up on our AT&T bill. Never received a text from this company. Anyway to start a class action lawsuit?

i never text and never read any texts sent to me. got bill with 14.99 charge from playphone. this is ridiculous..these scam artitists need to be dealt with...any suggestions?

i was charged overnight at 3 am on my att Pay as you go GO phone from playphone as well when i pulled up my account on a computer, I saw the 9.99 charge from playphone listed as ringtones games applications. there were several more charges because texting costs 20 cents for each sms message i send or receive. I called the att #611 and got a live person and she was nice enough to reimburse the 9.99 and 40 more cents for the text messages. if this happens to you, please investigate your phone records online if possible and call your phone company and they might could help in eliminating the scam charges.

Received by wireless bill this month showing a down load charge. Did not authorize this and called about it. Was told I need to pay and would receive a credit in 1 to 2 billings. Was told if I did not pay my service could be interrupted for failing to pay. Talked to a manager he adv. me not to pay and it their was an interruption to call him and he gave me a phone number to call and he would take care of any problems that might happen.
I do not understand why or how unauthorized charges can be added and not just taken off just like they are put on. I can not run my business like this I would lose all my customers in a heart beat.

I am not sure how some of you got your refunds back. I was not so fortunate.

At & t are not refunding the Fraudulent transaction made to my mobile & the person whom I spoke to was constantly pushing the blame on me, saying I actually subscribed to this.

I am really cheesed off with this whole thing. I will try my luck once again to get a refund on that transaction.

Also hasn't the law taken any kind of action against these robbers?

My husband and my phone are on my moms account so i hardly ever bother to look at the bill and she never does. I just found a charge on the last bill for playphone inc on my husbands phone for $14.99. I went through the past bills and found out that we have been charged this fee from playphone inc since 3-12-09, over a year. I tried calling At&t but i needed some info of my moms that i dont have so Im calling back tomorrow. I know for a fact he didnt give his cell phone number online for anything. So we have no clue what this charge is for and he doesnt even have the same phone anymore...

I to am currently trying to get my money back from them! I have been fighting with this company since Dec 08! I also have my account through Sprint and they told me the same thing and gave me a number to call. I had to fax them a copy of my bills where they charged my account. Well, I did receive a check for 2 months. Then I got my cell bill and there it was again another charge after they assured me that they canceled the account. I fought again with them through emails. Now they said I got my check and cashed it so they dont owe me anything else! So, I just emailed them tonight and told them that they charged me for 2 more months and I prove it to them by faxing the bills. So, we'll see if I get a refund check for 2 months. I am really pissed over all of this. They have no problem charging you but its like going through a act of congress to get your money!