April 11, 2007
Group Questions Cellphone Fund-Raising
A new program that lets cellphone users send text messages to donate to the American Red Cross in major natural disasters has come under fire by a consumer group that contends the program is a business development strategy masquerading as charity. The New York Times reports.
"The program, Text 2Help , enables customers of participating wireless companies to make $5 donations to the Red Cross in natural disasters. Donations are added to monthly cellphone statements or debited from prepaid accounts.
What rankles the consumer group is that each donation is capped at $5 and will incur standard text-messaging fees, which on AT&T are 15 cents. “If you want to contribute $20, you have to send four text messages and you’ll be billed for four text messages,” Mr. Court said. “These contributions are structured so that consumers who want to give more pay a higher price for doing so.”
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