This is in response to the letter TM, TV stations luring kids to gamble .

While I perfectly understand the writer's feelings, I must agree with TM that its subscriber does need to be more responsible for his/her phone. Phone companies around the world (not just Malaysia) have several ways of making money and that is their business. They have no way of knowing who (if it is the house owner, child, or a friend of the home owner) is using the phone at any specific time. Thus if calls are made from a certain number, then the person whose registered for that line must be responsible for that call.

I also understand the writer's concern that it could have been his/her six-year-old child who made the calls after seeing a TV commercial. But why does it fall to TM's to supervise his/her children? He should not allow them to use the phone without his knowledge.

When I was younger and in the US for schooling, I made several calls to various numbers I had seen advertised on TV. These were for friendship etc, what we call 900 numbers in the US. I remember running my parent's phone bill up to more then US$350 a month for a couple of months.

The calls were billed from US$1 to US$3 a minute. My parents came down hard on me and even grounded me the second month. The phone companies in the US (at the phone owner's request) can bar 900 numbers but the phone line owner has to first make such a request as 900 numbers are a free service to all customers.

When my parents complained to the phone company, they said they could not refund the money raked up by the 900number calls. They said it in a nice way though; that they (the telephone company) did not know who actually made the calls.

Too many times in Malaysia people want to blame the phone company, or the hand phone companies, or any company in general when in fact they need to be more responsible. What is wrong in just realising that someone in your family has made the calls and that you should pay the bill?

After all, I am sure many other families would have seen the same TM commercial on that TV station - but did their children make any calls? And what is wrong if the telephone company does run commercials encouraging viewers to call in? After all, there is the small print which says that children should get their parent's permission before making such calls.

Lastly, just because a company has commercials encouraging us to keep calling in order to win prizes, doesn't mean that they are at fault. It remains with us whether we are going to call or not and I'm sure there are many people who see these commercials and only make one to five attempts.

It's just a question of when to say no and teaching that to others too.