T-Mobile Sued For Throttling ''Unlimited'' Data

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danbfree

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50kbps is ridiculous... I may understand the need to throttle but that is simply too low of a speed to be functional. They also need to make the details/terms of the throttling more prominent to see before someone signs up.
 

Spike53

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If it says in the contract which he signed that they can throttle the data, then they can throttle his data legally. Signing a binding contract means that both parties have read and agree with the contract. Meaning his signature signifies that he agreed to the contract.
This seems to be a bait-and-switch method though, however, he should have rejected the contact if it talked about throttling. It seems like his fauly
 

mrecio

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I hate marketing gimmicks like "Unlimited" data, companies use words that dont accuretly define the service. they use a lot of clever wording or advertisements to bring you in and get your signature then hide behind all the fine print. we really need better regulations on the words companies can use to describe their product or service.

Also was that 10gb per phone or total? either way 5GB used in a month on a phone is a lot and knowing he was going to use that much he should of read the fine print instead of trusting the rep when they said it was really "Unlimited"

IMO both sides messed up, but i agree with the lawsuit only if it would help get these companies to actually describe their services fully without over complicating them requiring 10 pages of fine print for something that is suppose to be no strings attached when you use the word unlimited.
 

sykozis

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Most states require the "fine print" to be clearly printed and obvious in it's existance. The fact that the T-Mobile representative "expressly represented … that the data plan [Alvarez] was to receive would be 'unlimited.'" may give him a shot at winning. The T-Mobile representative mis-represented the contract to get the customer...which is illegal in all states.

 

Onus

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If an "unlimited" plan permits throttling, then it is not "unlimited;" the only exception I could see is if T-mobile had reason to believe the customer was specifically intending to cause harm, but that is covered elsewhere.
At the very least, that makes this bait-and-switch. At worst, it is outright consumer fraud.
Come on, cell carriers, enough with the weasel-words!
 

jhgoodwin

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In my opinion, advertising should not be allowed to contain all inclusive words if they are not. You should not be able to say unlimited if you have some limit. Technically speaking, even if they didn't do this, there is a limit, since the speed is not unlimited, there is some max limit to the data that is possible. The correct term would be unmetered if they did not restrict his usage. Additionally, terms like, endless, all-you-can-eat, bottomless, unlimited, best, fastest, and so on just continue to propagate unrealistic expectations and cause this kind of problem.

If you can't measurably deliver on your promises, you should be prevented by law from promising it.

If your claim to fame is that your company cares, you should be required to care, or if I call and get some apathetic customer support rep, you should be held liable for false claims. This time of marketing at all costs needs to end.

I also find it disgusting how these carriers want to offer unlimited usage, get people on their network, then revise the terms when they cannot meet demand after they've already roped you in. This feels like classic bait and switch to me.
 

Parsian

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i hope T-Mobile loses. I hate these crooks who try their best to deceive and shove their product down your throat. What could be the harm in selling good and legit product and services and profit from that? why one has to deceive to gain temporary profit?
 

drutort

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the fine print cant always fly, esp if this fine print is on the net and if he does it over the phone.... how is he signing anything? or reading the fine print? when an associate is the representative, ya you can say his agreement to getting the plan is a signature but then how did he read the fine print?

If he is purchasing in store or over the phone then the associate has to disclose such things like the small print IMO

otherwise its false advertising... and having it on some website or in some document some place doesnt fly IMO
 

drutort

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can you imagine if each associate says that if they exceeded a limit that there unlimited becomes very limited... i think even the avg joe will think twice before buying and will express there concern
 

f-14

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he was assured by a T-Mobile sales representative who "expressly represented … that the data plan [Alvarez] was to receive would be 'unlimited.'"

lesson here kids is never trust anything a salesperson says with out getting it in writing.

"Consumers must click on the Data Plan Terms link to read the unlimited limitations."

with that said this reminds me of the people that tried suing bestbuy for their zero percent zero payments financing when they failed to read the fine print at the bottom that said customers must back $10 payments for the length of the balance until the balance is paid in full and would be refunded their payments or have said $10 payments applied to the end balance for final payment or else they would be charged interest at a rate of 15/16 percent of the balance every month with best buy financing.
was a real bad deal and as a salesperson at the time i heard no end to the ranting. it wasn't very long and i had to explicitly tell every one inquiring about getting the financing.
 

gm0n3y

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[citation][nom]dhlee528[/nom]how did he use 10gb in month..[/citation]
He's probably using his phone as a mobile hotspot for his laptop.

IANAL but in regards to the legitimacy of the case, fine print doesn't mean much if its not explicitly mentioned or highlighted when you're signing the contract. This was advertised as 'unlimited' and if he asked the salesperson if this indeed meant what it sounds like and was told it was then he has a good case.
 

bison88

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[citation][nom]dhlee528[/nom]how did he use 10gb in month..[/citation]


Very good question indeed given the average smart phone Internet use hovers around the 250-350MB range according to recent reports. I think the only way that cap is attainable is via tethering. Tethering is the WORST idea these ill-prepared cell phone giants have ever created. They need to drop it and do so quickly until they get a network in place that can handle 10x the load they get now and be scalable. They say LTE/WiMax are capable but I have my doubts they can scale in a timely fashion based off just the rolling out process.

Wi-Fi was built into phones for a reason. Tethering limited bandwidth on the carrier networks makes no damn sense anyways. Lets be honest though, they are still going to screw you and overcharge you regardless so the entire argument is moot. FCC needs to start crushing balls FAST. Somethings wrong when you get 8 hours a month in talk time, unlimited texting (which has LITTLE network impact), and Internet with 2-5GB caps cost you nearly $109+ a month. I can get the triple play package from Comcast for $99 in my area right now.
 

renniz

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Arrgghh. I hate when they do this. Comcast also has unlimited data, but not if you go over a certain amount of data. They say that it is in the contract and that only a small percentage go over this amount. Well, it isn't unlimited if it is limited.
 
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