This Question has been answered many, many times. trying looking around before posting repeated threads.
Advertisement
uhhuh22 Posts: 1
Wed Oct 22, 2008 4:10 pm
no, you wouldn't see a name on the bill. Just the phone number, whether it was a text or phone call, the date and time it took place.
wvansickle Posts: 3
Phone Model: Samsung BlackJack II/Razr V3R
Service Provider: Cingular/ATT
Sun Mar 15, 2009 3:09 am
No, they can see when you send them and who you send them to but they can not read your messages that is illegal.well i think
Tama Posts: 1
Thu Jul 02, 2009 3:28 am
On the bill you can only see:
Phone numbers, not names
Origin location of the call/ txt
Call/txt time
How long the call lasted
As far as getting a detailed report in which you can actually read the texts, for most cell companies they do require you to have a court order before they will release that information.
Depending on the amount of data used, they can retrieve text messages up 2 yrs old.
Some cell providers, like AT&T, will provide the full text massages for a hefty fee, but will only go back as far as 6 months before a court order is required.
I have AT&T, and we had to retrieve text messages when there was a cell phone bullying incident at my little brothers school. The kid who was getting bullied killed himself, and so when the police got ahold of his cell phone, they investigated every number that called, got called, or texted his phone.
My little brother being one of those numbers, they wanted a detailed report of the texts, and thats how we found out we could just pay for the past few months, and it was much quicker than having to wait around for the court order and then waiting for them to mail it.
Any ways point being, not all cell companies require a court order for a
-6 month history report.
It just depends on how much you're willing to spend, we cleared $300, getting a 2 month report and rushing it.
elmo01 Posts: 2335
Phone Model: Samsung SPH-M510
Service Provider: Bell Canada
Sat Jul 04, 2009 2:26 pm
that 300.00 spent is not for a service that att charges for. call/SMS records can only be obtained through the National Compliance Center and only with a Court Orders / Subpoena.that 300.00 was probably the legal charges involved. att doesnt actually charge ANYTHING for it. but the consumer does not have direct access to it
broken_heart Posts: 3
Mon Jul 06, 2009 4:59 pm
I would spend $300 for the peace of mind that my spouse isn't lying about the texts exchanged with a "co-worker" (or $300 for proof!). Any idea who I can contact at ATT? Is it only by court order? The bill is in my name and I pay it.
cellwiz09 Posts: 7
Thu Jul 16, 2009 6:59 pm
Not yet, but I'm sure they will be able to soon enough if they are paying for your phone and your under 18.
mark540 Posts: 11
Tue Jul 21, 2009 11:09 pm
NO
gerio Posts: 476
Phone Model: (Long sigh) 'Nother iPhone (keeping my Moto Q, though)
Service Provider: AT&T & Cellular South
Wed Jul 22, 2009 8:23 am
broken_heart wrote:
I would spend $300 for the peace of mind that my spouse isn't lying about the texts exchanged with a "co-worker" (or $300 for proof!). Any idea who I can contact at ATT? Is it only by court order? The bill is in my name and I pay it.
Buying trust (or proof of it) is like buying love.
I'd get another spouse. Or be alone.
I'm not being flippant. I did just this years ago (admittedly before the days of text messaging. Gee, so our lives are supposed to be better now?)
And I'm pretty certain that obtaining those text message through the courts would have to be part of a case on trial being heard by the courts. You can't just walk in, hand the court $300, or whatever, and get a court order for text records. Both the courts and the providers would melt down fast from all this.
Please, you'd do better to sit down and evaluate your situation with the spouse and see if there's more going on between the two of you than just worrying about some text messages. I would suggest that you could approach the spouse about allowing you to see the messages, if there's really nothing to hide. But that seldom helps.
Just happy to offer the hard-nosed to-the-point side of things.
Good luck, Geri O
broken_heart Posts: 3
Fri Jul 24, 2009 8:59 am
Thanks Geri O. I wish it was as cut and dry as you make it sound. The texts, which happen rarely now, were and are deleted, so that's not an option. Alone is not a problem for me, but we have two kids that adore their father (and he is a great father). Which is all more than you wanted to know! Suffice it to say I thank you for your advice and candor.
View more 
