Providers, please don't text soliciting business

go to any convenience store and you can buy a disposable phone your poor wife won't know about.

Unprovoked texts are definitely a bad idea. It shows the provider has no clue about security and will probably endanger your privacy in other ways as well.

Heck, I wouldn't even do business with a legitimate business if they texted me looking for business.

(Unless, of course, you've told her it's safe to text you at any time.)

Having a hobby phone is a good idea. It doesn't excuse gross negligence on the part of a provider. This is like telling a gunshot victim that it wasn't the shooter's fault, he should have been wearing a bulletproof vest.

I think you should post the lady's handle as a warning to others.

yes, by all means out her, I might want to get on her text list. I enjoy hearing from the girls I see!

If you can't figure out not to add a line to your current plan then maybe you should quit the hobby. There are prepaid plans available that do not send bills to your house. Verizon being one of them. Trying to add the additional line to your family plan might be hard. Hell worse case get a freakin tracphone.

Put me on the 'don't mind the texts' side. Speaking of such, I drove into town once and not even a mile into city limits I get a text from my ATF, seeing what I was up to. It was almost as if she literally saw me coming into town. Worked out for her, because I was looking for some fun while in town. Though I was initially feeling experimental and wanted to seek out other venues, her texting me lured me in (and we had a blast...as usual).

Got a well timed text from another provider as well on a different occasion. Had a good enough time with her before that I thought, 'Sure', went to see her and we made it happen.
Who WOUDLN'T be flattered by a hot, young woman 'thinking of you' out of the blue? And how hard is it to send a return text saying, 'I'm with family' or something politely declining her requests? Seriously. If you're at the point where you're bothered by women texting you, I don't know what to tell you other than get out of the hobby.

Now, if you insist on staying, don't save any provider numbers, so that any text from them looks random and you can pass it off as such. Do they know beforehand that you don't want any texts? How are they to know not to do this if you don't tell them?

I am single and I get text from a couple. Usually they will play lets make a deal at that point if they text you. And I am not looking to cheapen then they usually just say it!!


Also Tim if you have gmail, get a google voice mail account set up. You can make a number and that will be your hobby number

Sorry dude, but I don't feel much sympathy for you. Do you really mean to say that you were not aware that some providers will make unsolicited texts without prior OK? Hell, even if you explicitly say "don't text me," there's still going to be some providers who will. Is it right? No! Will it happen? Yes! As monkmonk said, look out for your own best interest and don't rely on any one else to do it for you.

much ado about nothing, like already mentioned, buy a hobby phone if you are married or have a SO.

providers should never initiate contact - doesn't matter what kind of device it is - hobby phone, personal phone,etc.

If you want to get "cold calls" from a provider, by all means let her know. The provider should know better than to call you unless you tell her it's all right. If the provider does "cold call" people, she may eventually cause someone a lot of trouble, and may cause herself some big problems. Look at the number of providers who've ended up with an enraged wife as a stalker.

There's also the general hatred for e-mail spam, text spam, phone spam, etc. these days.

However, I do HEARTILY endorse the idea of a safe hobby phone. That doesn't excuse the lady for cold calling someone who hasn't given her permission.

I agree with the OP in that I would not want a text from someone I had seen unless I had given the OK, which TBH I would not do and I am too paranoid, if I got a text out of the blue, I would wonder what is going on

However Prepaid Hobby phone is the way to go, no names, addresses, paperwork or bills needed. They are that cheap these days and available anywhere, you could even just get one. use it once and toss/recycle it, I did that a couple of times. just do a search on Hobby Phone, there is plenty of threads on the board on.

Failing that you just need to get google voice, or get an invite of someone.

I tell providers to call or text my hobby phone whenever. I leave it stored in a safe place. As a married man you should take more precaution. Some of the best deals I've ever has for P4P were from texts like the one you describe.

I too don't have an SO, but even so, texts & phone calls are still to invasive. A PM or email works, but a provider should never ever call or text without permission. Originally Posted by DFK Hunter

+1 on that. I sure as hell wish my ATF would text to go bone her brains out, FOR FREE! Ain't gonna happen. The only reason that would happen, is that a lady needs funds. And for whatever reason she feels you are an easy target. I saw a young lady only once and she texts me often, I've been busy working. Maybe I'll see her if the mood strikes when she texts, I doubt it.

If the text message wasn't personalized, she may have one of those phones which allows a single message to be sent to multiple contacts. The main difference between that and an email is that receiving emails don't cost anything.

Being single, I don't mind texts. I get them often. Got one today, gal needed help and not cash. That is something I can always find time for.