Winnipeg Man Speaks Out Over Preset Texts, Broken Relationship
The Winnipeg man at the center of the preset Virgin Mobile text message fallout is speaking out.
Darren, 49, lived with his common-law wife up until earlier this week when she found suggestive factory-installed text messages on his cell phone placed there by Virgin.
Now, Darren has been displaced from his own home, and has a protective order against him for yelling at his partner trying to explain what had happened.
We met with him Thursday, but he didn’t want to appear on camera.
Listen to what he had to say:
ChrisD.ca video
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Tags: Cell Phone, Winnipeg
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February 5th, 2010 at 7:42 am
I am not buying what this guy is selling. This guy is trying to scam Virgin and get some $$$.
February 5th, 2010 at 8:15 am
This story just makes me shake my head for a number of reasons. I am a former Virgin Mobile customer, and I also had those preprogrammed messages in my phone. What’s the first thing I did when I found them? I showed them to my common-law partner, and we both had a good laugh about the cheekiness of them. That’s a good relationship.
If the woman in question happens to be reading this: THAT’S THE WAY THESE PHONES COME. Trust me. I have absolutely no vested interest in your relationship either way, but your man didn’t program those messages into his phone. And, seriously, what 49 year-old uses terms like “What’s the 411?” and “Booty Call” anyway?
Some other thoughts:
– If their relationship was so “good” and “stable”, why didn’t she believe him in the first place, and how did this relationship devolve so quickly?
– I’m assuming that the messages she found were in the “preset quicktexts” section. If they were indeed in the “Sent Items” folder, then, well I think our buddy here is, as he says, a little “SOL”
– It’s rather telling that, when asked what he wants from Virgin, his first answer is “money,” and the second is “Virgin to take these messages off so other people aren’t hurt.” What about a letter from Virgin to his wife explaining their preset messages, and sincerely apologizing for the grief it has inadvertently caused. Maybe that might be more important than money?
The worst thing that can happen to a good relationship is something completely innocent and untrue to botch things up. And it’s really unfortunate that it’s come to this. But really? REALLY?!
I often shake my head at the lack of critical thinking skills from young teens when it comes to things like “sexting” and so on . But it looks like this lack of judgement and common sense isn’t limited to the younger set.
OsborneGuy Reply:
February 5th, 2010 at 9:31 am
re: My second bullet point (The “Sent Items” folder)
I just read in The Free Press (I always read chrisd first) that this guy claims he didn’t even realize his phone was text-enabled. What phone sold in the past 5 years ISN’T text-enabled?!
I work with people older than Darin, and even though they don’t use texting, they know it’s on their phone…
A little bit of a fail on the retailer for not mentioning the texting features/plans when the guy bought the phone (if that is indeed the case), but again, I say…
Really?! REALLY?!
February 5th, 2010 at 8:34 am
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February 5th, 2010 at 9:36 am
This is Winnipeg’s answer to the Balloon Boy family! It’s just a big work to get some money out of Virgin.
February 5th, 2010 at 10:09 am
There are a lot of technology-retarded people out there. This guy and his wife are probably both in that category. If the wife saw these words and doesnt know what preset texts are, she would flip out just as if she saw these in the Outbox of the phone.
February 5th, 2010 at 10:14 am
She was just waiting for an excuse to dump his sorry ass. He is about as bad an actor as balloon boy’s dad. He is not fooling anyone with his story, and certainly proving HER case for wanting to get rid of him….dumbass!
February 5th, 2010 at 10:22 am
Has anyone considered she might be in on this with him? If they’re after money it wouldn’t be the first time a couple faked a situation for money…..maybe Virgin should just give him enough to join Lava Life!!
OsborneGuy Reply:
February 5th, 2010 at 11:00 am
Maybe they’ll go to Sizzling Wok in St. Vital to celebrate and “find” some baby mice in their food.
Funny how we haven’t heard more about that story, either, once the couple decided to have their lawyer keep the offending pieces as opposed to turning them over to health inspectors.
Greedy, greedy, greedy.
Chris D dot ca Reply:
February 5th, 2010 at 11:03 am
Either way, I haven’t visited Sizzling Wok since that story came out. True or not, it turned me off.
February 5th, 2010 at 10:55 am
After the explanation and all the media coverage, if she still doesn’t believe him, then I call either (a) SCAM or (b) she’s using it as an excuse to leave him. If (b), then he’s better off without her.
February 5th, 2010 at 11:29 am
I call shenanigans on this whole farce. This is how viral marketing efforts start. Virgin sales are going to go up from this, not be hurt. I bet by February 14th (Hmmmmm…) it will all be sorted out.
I mean, wouldn’t you love a his & her’s phone pre-loaded with sexy texts that you can share, put that spice into the relationship? With Virgin phones, you can!
If I am wrong on this, sorry. I’m suspicious by nature. But this is the age we live in.
If this IS the real deal, Virgin may have f*cked up one guy’s life, but you cannot BUY publicity like this. Wait for this to hit The National, or Globe & Mail.
Here’s a marketing tag for this dude:
“Virgin? Not anymore ..wink
“
February 5th, 2010 at 11:32 am
Between this guy and the class-act couple who were caught apparently having sex at the Motley Crue concert, it’s been a very slowwww news week in Winnipeg, obviously.
February 5th, 2010 at 2:28 pm
This is the most ridiculous story I have heard in a long time. Either both the man and woman are ignorant beyond belief or they are trying to extort Virgin. I’m thinking the later. Do these people lack common sense? Come on!
February 6th, 2010 at 2:37 pm
This could be a good thing for the guy. The women he’s with is obviously a flake if she isn’t willing to listen to reason.
Dude! If you read this, don’t waste your time on her. If she’s this unreasonable now, wait until you marry her. Really, save yourself. There are plenty of other fish in the sea.
Oh and what was Virgin thinking?