Getting a cool ringtone is one of the first things almost everyone does when they get a new mobile phone.
But did you know you might be getting ripped off?
Around the world, fair trade departments have been investigating the behaviour of ringtone companies and their representatives.
That is because a lot of these companies don't make the charges for ringtone downloads clear prior to the customer signing up.
This means "buyer beware" so you need to get in the habit of reading the fine print on the websites of the ringtone companies.
This even includes offers of "free" or "no cost" ringtones. That is because, the company may not charge you for the first ringtone, but may sign you up to a monthly membership fee without properly informing you. In fact, the word "free" in any advertising to do with ringtones should set off some alarm bells in your head and force you to investigate the offer more closely before you decide to sign up for it.
The short lesson in all of this is to carefully read the terms and conditions of any offer page before you give away your cellphone number.
With phone companies profits going through the roof, the occurrences of questionable marketing practices in ringtone downloads is only going to increase.
Make sure you don't get a nasty surprise on your phone bill by making sure you know exactly what you are signing up for with any ringtone offer.
If you feel that you have already been the victim of a phone company, then you need to contact them directly. If you are unable to get and satisfaction from them, inform them of your intent to contact the ombudsman about their marketing practices, before doing so.
The best way to avoid all of that though, is to be careful of the ringtone download services you use.
Matt Derrington runs a ringtone downloads site at http://ringtonedownloads.com.au
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