OPINION
Shutting Down Text Spam: Just Good Customer Service

After their initial anger at getting an unwanted text message, people don't know what to do next. Is there a law against such things? Who enforces it? This lack of knowledge is a problem that should be remedied by the Federal Communications Commission and the wireless companies.

No Guidance

Wireless providers would be wise to keep in mind that customer satisfaction and faith in the service decrease with every unwanted ad that users receive, especially if they don't know where to go with their complaint. Though company representatives have said that users shouldn't let unsolicited text messages go without taking action, the Web sites of the four largest U.S. carriers -- Verizon , Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S) , AT&T (NYSE: T) and T-Mobile -- offer no instructions about what to do.

The FCC certainly should take a more active role in educating consumers. Not only does text-message spam irritate people, but, just like e-mail spam, many of those messages are attempts to scam people out of money and personal information.

The agency's first step could be to create a link about the topic on its home page.

Some Filtering

Cell phone companies, to their credit, do filter many unwanted text messages before they reach customers. Verizon Wireless says it blocks more than 200 million spam messages per month. some still get through.

Spam on cell phones is more bothersome than e-mail spam, not only because it can violate one's peace and quiet at any time but because in many cases, the recipient ends up paying something for it. The sum is small -- usually 10 US cents a message -- but it's offensive to have to pay for being annoyed.

Text-message spam is illegal, and the FCC has been the enforcement agency since 2004, when it voted to ban all unauthorized commercial text messages to cell phones and pagers. Further, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, which prohibits autodialed and prerecorded calls to cell phones, also applies to text messages.

How to Complain

Users can file complaints with the FCC, which can issue citations and imposes fines against violators.

Customers should save the spam message and contact their carrier. Many companies will waive charges for the unwanted messages. Most providers also allow a user to block text messages that originate from computers, the source of much cell-phone spam.

However, these remedies are useful only if customers know about them.