Cell phone problem ... some sort of virus, perhaps?

Good grief!

I got onto Vodaphone (my service provider) & spent about 5 minutes talking to a robot-like service, in which no one actually speaks to you, but tries to sort out your needs by the words you speak.

Sigh.

After 5 maddening minutes, I finally got onto a real person & explained the problem.

It seems that the messages had been sent by Vodaphone, BUT ..

... To check my cell phone they needed me to put my sim card into ANOTHER cell phone! (Can't be done. 1 person = 1 cell phone.)

OR, they required my email address (!!!??) before sorting out my problem. (What?)

No, no, no! A thousand times no! No amount of telling them that my computer has absolutely NOTHING to do with my cell phone problem would suffice .... No way they're getting my email number!

so, I'm transferred to Help Person # 2

More refusal to give them my email address.

Can they stop their company's non-stop text messages or not?

More requests for my email address!!!

Finally, I threaten to make an official complaint to the Telecommunications Ombudsman tomorrow. Ridiculous that they can't assist unless I disclose my email number!

Anyway <sigh> to cut a long story short, I'm taking my cell phone to a Vodaphone centre tomorrow, as we couldn't fix the problem over the phone.

Bloody hell, what is it with these places?

I think I need a good, stiff drink!

OMG!

I just managed to delete all the messages. Text message box empty. Phew.

THEN

I receive another barrage of messages. According to my cell phone I now have 80 text messages!

OK, I'm now leaving this alone for the rest of the evening. I feel that this would be best!

Ah, ya gotta larf!

I swearI haven't made any of this up!

And now, at precisely 8:29 pm, I will proceed to cook dinner.

Jeez what a complete waste of time that little episode was!

How old is your phone.

Oh ... a couple of years old, I guess. Not exactly heavily used.

It may be the problem, for all I know.

(But that still doesn't excuse the email nonsense, though.)

Vodaphone centre then the ombudsman would be the go, but might be difficult tomorow Msolga. I seem to recall something about a horse race tomorrow.

The reason they want your email is so they can communicate with you in their own time.

Nah, I'm not going to do the ombudsman thing, dp. Life's too short, really.
I was just very annoyed that they initially said they wouldn't help in any way at all unless I gave them my email address. They were very insistent/pushy about it. Later helper # 2 said it was something to do with whether to send me promotional information or not. Which had nothing to do with anything, really.
For all I know, the problem might be my phone. Who knows? I was more interested, initially, in verifying whether they were the source of the emails or not ... & to get a bit of advice on how to go about fixing the problem. In the end, they did as much as they could, over the phone. But that was only after a lot of wasted time over the email nonsense.

Yep, Cup Day tomorrow. And no, I won't be going. What about you & mumpad?

Blimey.

Dealing with telephone people is the pits.

Hope the Vodaphone centre folk can help.

Yeah, it was the pits, Deb.
Absolutely unnecessary, most of the frustration, too. I don't like being pushed around. At all.
Not too worried though, as I can still receive calls on it. Though texting is out of the question, because of the (apparently) 80 messages sitting there!
Lucky I'm not a mad keen text message sender, hey?

As far as giving them a email account just go to yahoo or google and set up a throw away account and give that to them.

Throw away accounts can prove useful in many situation where someone ask for your email address.

Good advice.

I have my main email account, my in-between email account (signing up for promotions and sales and stuff from places I'm actually interested in), and my absolute throw-away account (if it's spammed, it's spammed, I don't care).

This problem sounds maddening though, hope it's resolved soon! (I just knocked heads with an annoying credit card rep -- they put a security hold on my card but wouldn't say WHY. They took off the hold, but I was trying to figure out why both for a) did someone actually do something with my card? and if not, b) how can I avoid getting another hold on the future? damn inconvenient to have my card suddenly not work. The person was profoundly unhelpful and bristly and spouting bureaucratese. Grrr..)

The person was profoundly unhelpful and bristly and spouting bureaucratese. Grrr..)
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They had software that monitor your use of the card and anything out of your normal pattern can set off a lock.

If you are traveling out of the country for example and you never had done so in the past that in and of itself could set off an alarm and lock your card!

Have more then one card and if you know that you are about to do something that out of the normal with the card call them ahead of time and let them know such as foreign travel.

Security is alway a balancing act and as the credit cards companies are going to be eating any false charges they care more for catching the real misused of the cards then annoying you by shutting down an account just to be on the safe side.

But that's the thing. There was nothing along those lines. The two things they questioned me about were a grocery store purchase at a place I always go and for a very typical amount; and a fee for a parking garage about 5 miles from my house. They wouldn't tell me why either of these were suspicious or how I can avoid raising suspicion with similar actions in the future. Bah.

Anyway, hijacking. Hope things will be resolved for msolga soon.

They are not going to tell you as they do not wish for the bad guys to know what might trigger an alarm.

My guess is either or both places had a numbers of bad charges in a short amount of time and the places was place under watch, but that is just a guess.

That is a very likely cause. I would further suggest that sozobe keep an eye on her credit card statement.

Thank you, soz. I hope so, too!
But I can't do anything about it today, as it's a public holiday here & all the shops are shut. My mobile phone beeps every now & then, to remind me that I have a squillion text messages & "no space for messages" in the text folder. Not too worried, though. Hey ho!



They won't say why?! Good grief, what are you supposed to make of that?

Grrrrr, indeed!

Good luck in sorting this out, soz. Let us know what eventuates!

When faced with a situation like this I have set up a temporary email address on Yahoo or Gmail. When the problem has been resolved I simply delete the account. It only takes a few minutes.