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

[simplec1]

[citation][nom]vpiscitelli[/nom]"Unlimited" refers to the amount of data that can be downloaded and has no connection to how quickly that data can be downloaded. His plan is still unlimited; it's just considerably slower. Do they guarantee top download speeds 100% of the time? NO. Do they mention that speed can be throttled? YES. So what's the problem here?[/citation]

The problem is that people see what they want to see and hear what they want to hear. If the carrier says it's unlimited data and the only thing they did is slow down connection because of excessive usage that was causing other users to experience slow downs in the area then so what? Unlimited data does not mean unlimited speed 100% percent of the time. We all know that from time our home connections drop to crawl. That's life but it does not give you the right to scream lawsuit because you are being unrealistic in your expectations. Everyone assumes that they are owed something. When your car gets a flat tire do you complain to the dealership where you brought it from, or do you just replace the tire? When you run out of hot water in your home do you blame the water heater? (not mentioning that fact that you took a 45 minute shower)Or do you say "maybe I should have a took a quicker shower"? Seriously people always want something for nothing and have the most unrealistic expectations with no regard to the reality of what is feasibly or technically possible

 

[hellwig]

Et tu, T-Mobile?

It sounds like T-Mobile simply kicked him off the 3G and EDGE network, so techincally, he can still download unlimited data on the slower GPRS (dial-up speedes on his phone, go figure). For anyone that thinks reducing his speed is wrong, I agree on moral grounds. However, how many of you actually achieve 8mbps with your cable or 1.7mbps on your Verizon 3G phones? Throughput is a myth, every ISP says that bandwidth is a theoretical maximum and that actual speeds may vary.

I don't like this behavior from any company (stop using "Unlimited" if its not), but it could have been worse for this guy. After all, they didn't shut him off, nor did they start charging him for more data downloading, which makes this better than AT&T and Time Warner.

Still, I thought T-Mobile had our backs in the face of AT&T and the possible changes at Verizon, I guess not.

 

[Guest]

Wow, so the underhanded, slimy sales tactics are not limited to your broadband ISPs. At least in Canada they advertise all of the benefits and limitations of any service plan; They don't offer or advertise 'Unlimited' plans because they wouldn't be; Maybe the US companies should pickup a Webster's Dictionary and look up the definition of the word 'unlimited':

Pronunciation: \-ˈli-mə-təd\
Function: adjective

1 : lacking any controls : unrestricted
2 : boundless, infinite
3 : not bounded by exceptions

The origins of the word in the English language date back to the 15th century, so it's not like people are unfamiliar with the word. Maybe they should also look up "false advertising":

"Any advertising or promotion that misrepresents the nature, characteristics, qualities or geographic origin of goods, services or commercial activities"
(Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C.A. § 1125(a)).


SUE THE F@#$ERS!! That's the American way isn't it?!

I'm just messin' with ya'll, I love you America... well not really.

 

[azcoyote]

[citation][nom]Spike53[/nom]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[/citation]

True, unless one party attempts to misrepresent the terms of the agreement. THAT is the bait and switch. Selling unlimited but restricting use is such a case in my opinion... I hope he wins...

I am not a lawyer though, I just play one on the Internet...

 

[dextermat]

Niiiice up your you crooks!!!!

 

[jojesa]

I just hope he won't ruin it for all of us, causing T-Mobile to drop "unlimited" plan like AT&T and Verizon have done.

 

[Guest]

They are using the "sales" meaning of unlimited, not the definition in a Dictionary. The word should not even appear anywhere in an Advertisement or used by a salesman, then confusion cannot exist. It's like advertising something and then telling you that you may receive a substitute in the small print, another sales tactic.

 

[tokenz]

[citation][nom]bourgeoisdude[/nom]*sigh* .It's another "8% of the people use 80% of the service" thing (I don't recall the exact statistics but the rule still applies). To answer your point, yes, it's a huge deal.[/citation]

And where did you get those statistics Att, tmobile, verizon. BS its using all their bandwidth. The only time it should be okay to throttle a customer is. You have a 3MB pipe and 24 customer are using all of it and the 25th customer fires up the internet. How much data I consume isnt important. If you limit me the pipe doesnt get smaller.

 

[cadder]

I think if they advertise "unlimited", then what jury would side with them when they provide limitations in their fine print?

 

[Montezuma]

[citation][nom]sliem[/nom]False advertising or deviously hiding the fine print?[/citation]
What does the fine print say? T-Mobile will harm a customer's service for "customers who use a disproportionate amount of bandwidth"? If a customer exceeds what T-Mobile claims is the average customer use, then that is "disproportionate". The issue is that T-Mobile, as other carriers, are falsely advertising their products(and have been for along time) and it is past time that someone sued these companies for breaking the law.

You cannot tell someone that can have an "all you can eat" plan, then tell them there is a limit to "unlimited". What is "unlimited"?

Unlimited:
1. Having no restrictions or controls: an unlimited travel ticket.
2. Having or seeming to have no boundaries; infinite: an unlimited horizon.
3. Without qualification or exception; absolute: unlimited self-confidence.

T-Mobile, as with all carriers that have customers with "unlimited" data packages, all need to reigned in with all of these contract violations. These companies would sue their customers for not hold up their end of a contract.

 

[rexter]

There are 3 kind of sale personnel, 1) poorly trained. 2) Overly trained. 3) honest. I've seen lots of uninformed and misinformed people got taken advantage, and I've also seen some company give more than the service it sales.

It would be nice if there's law that any given superlative words like this that use on any market should be accompanied with some sort of confirmation to be valid. Like “Unlimited with Restriction”.

Unfortunately, these contracts are written by lawyers and put a loophole so they can dodge the bullet when things get ugly. And another lawyer could argue about it in the court....

But how can you put Unlimited but then put that there’s a limit, isn’t that contradicting the first word? Good thing I’m not the judge or I’ll fine them for not putting everything plain English that a 10 year old kid couldn’t understand.

Some of you might argue with me about this but not everybody who buy product like this have a higher understanding in English. You would be annoyed as well if your family, friends or love ones got taken advantage.

 

[Floydage]

I just wanna know if it's 10 Gb or 10 GB? There is a difference!!! Bit and Bytes are diferent things. I.E. a Gigabit (Gb) is only 1 Gigabyte (GB). If you get throttled at 1GB that's pretty low. It's still better then my 5Gb (or 500 Megabytes) I get per month on my "unlimited" plan from Sprint. I find all too often people don't pay attention to the second letter they just see Gb and assume Gigabyte.

 

[danwat1234]

[citation][nom]dhlee528[/nom]how did he use 10gb in month..[/citation]
10GB? That is nothing. A smart phone is a computer. Do the rest of the math yourself.

 

[Guest]

The data usage is unlimited, regardless of your connection speed he isn't being charged for how much bandwidth he's using. No case IMO!

 

[matt87_50]

we have the same 'unlimited' plans for everything in aus. but they clearly state in all advertising material that it includes X GB a month of unrestrained data, then throttled to Y kb/s after that.

as long as you have that provision, the use of the term unlimited is perfectly fair.

but they should NOT be allowed to be as vague as T-mobile is here.

 

[jitpublisher]

Another "Free Credit Report.com" scam. It's one thing to read the fine print, it is another to wow you with advertising, only to have most of what they just advertised rebutted in the fine print somewhere, at the back bottom side of page 47 in your contract. Sure you get a free credit report from the people, (like you can get on your own if you just call the credit reporting agencies) if you sign up for a deal that is going to cost a few hundred bucks a year. What a blatant scam. And people actually buy into this nonsense. It really is a buyer beware economy these days, and always expect that nothing is as it seems, ask lots of questions, and if in doubt, walk away. I have had salesmen tell me things, and then the company let me know later, "we are sorry, our rep mis-spoke himself" or "the rep was making false claims and we have since terminated him, but in the end, you are still going to pay us through the nose for something you were told you would be getting for much less".

 

[overclockingrocks]

He loses. The data he has is still unlimited. They just throttled it because he was using an excessive amount. Try and defend it all you want but 10GB on a phone or phones is excessive to say the least. They also didn't cut off his data service so he still has it so it is technically unlimited they are simply throttling it to make it so he doesn't have an adverse impact on their network due to his excessive usage. If he actually signed something without fully reading it that's not T-Mobile's problem, it's his and his alone. They did exactly what they stated they would do in the fine print,which every contract will have, so he's an idiot for not reading it. Damn sue happy Americans

BTW I'm Canadian and realize that there is fine print in everything so I ALWAYS read it.

 

[kingnoobe]

Some of you are idiots.. Unlimited is fucking unlimited. There should be no type of limitions on unlimited services.. Period. And just so you know reps are not able to misrepresent a contract even if it gets signed. If he can prove it was misrepesented at the very least he can get it canceled and maybe some of his money back.

 

[Guest]

There are problems with the terms of service, and what Tmobile is doing, so he may be successful.
It could be argued that ANY bandwidth usage "interferes" with their network, so they should be obgligated to identify what level of usage constitutes interference, which would negate their ability to advertise an "unlimited" plan.
If his "disproportionate" usage was actually interfering with the network or the experience of others, the bandwidth could, and should be throttled at the time the interference is taking place.

To severely limit bandwidth below what would be considered "normal", and to do at a later date, could only be considered punishment, which I wouldn't think would be a legitimate part of any agreement.

My hope is that he wins, and Tmobile has to advertise what they are actually willing to allow.

 

[hakesterman]

How does anyone use 10 Gig of data on a cell phone? That's way too much Porn and please stop talking to the Aliens............