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man sues AT&T for Throttling unlimited data and wins Virgin take note!

Z

zaphodbblx

Member
So virgin is starting its throttleing of unlimited data in 1 day..I think im gonna get slapped.....and I think I may sue in small claims court if it happens. I mean what will i loose other than 35 bucks to file. In fact and now we have a precedent in court!....Man Sues AT&T For Throttling His iPhone Service -- And Wins! - The Consumerist
here is the original AP post in case you don't trust "the consumerist"
http://news.yahoo.com/judge-awards-iphone-user-850-throttling-case-195042925.html
yes I know the case is slightly different but would a small claims judge know or CARE?
 
Honestly, I don't think this affects us at all. AT&T with an iPhone means a contract plan, meaning he signed a contract that allowed him to use unlimited data. We have no such agreement with Virgin Mobile. No contract = no real guarantee of any service. Besides that, they've done a very good job of notifying all users in advance of this change.
 
zaphodbblx said:
So virgin is starting its throttleing of unlimited data in 1 day..I think im gonna get slapped.....and I think I may sue in small claims court if it happens. I mean what will i loose other than 35 bucks to file. In fact and now we have a precedent in court!....Man Sues AT&T For Throttling His iPhone Service -- And Wins! - The Consumerist
here is the original AP post in case you don't trust "the consumerist"
Judge awards iPhone user $850 in throttling case - Yahoo! News
yes I know the case is slightly different but would a small claims judge know or CARE?
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I thought it started March 23rd... regardless, the fact carriers are doing this is just down right ridiculous. The only network that has truely unlimited data anymore is Sprint, as long as you are on the Sprint network. This isn't rocket science. Unlimited means unlimited. No if, ands, buts, or however about it.
 
TrueJournals said:
Honestly, I don't think this affects us at all. AT&T with an iPhone means a contract plan, meaning he signed a contract that allowed him to use unlimited data. We have no such agreement with Virgin Mobile. No contract = no real guarantee of any service. Besides that, they've done a very good job of notifying all users in advance of this change.
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I would have to agree with this. That's the downside of no contract. But I am not a lawyer.
 
The fact that this is in VMs TOS
VM TOS said:
Our Right to Make Changes
Our service is provided at our discretion. We may change our Terms of Service, including our plans and pricing, from time to time. Unless expressly prohibited by law, we reserve the right to modify or cancel our service or your account or take corrective action at any time and for any reason, including, but not limited to, your violation of any provision of the Terms of Service. Check our website (Prepaid Unlimited Cell Phone Plans | Android | Smartphone | Broadband | Virgin Mobile) for the most recent pricing and Terms of Service. We will notify you 30 days in advance of any change to the Terms of Service that we determine to be materially adverse to you. If you do not terminate your service within 30 days of receiving such notice, you agree to accept that change.
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Means you may not get very far. They alerted you of the change and if you stay with them you automatically accept the TOS which would mean the throttling. It's not like this is sudden they were gonna start throttling October of last year, but moved it 6ish months.

And it's not fraud. Is it or is it not unlimited data? And also think about this if you are using your phone for tethering purposes you are in direct violation of their TOS and they have the right to terminate your account. So think about that.
 
TrueJournals said:
Honestly, I don't think this affects us at all. AT&T with an iPhone means a contract plan, meaning he signed a contract that allowed him to use unlimited data. We have no such agreement with Virgin Mobile. No contract = no real guarantee of any service. Besides that, they've done a very good job of notifying all users in advance of this change.
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True but when i bought my phone I was offered "unlimited text&data" with no restrictions. also i get to keep my grandfathered 25 dollar pricing as long as I don't let my account lapse. sounds like a de-facto contract to me and honestly the 40 or so dollars it would cost to file the small claims ticket is most likely worth it
 
zaphodbblx said:
sounds like a de-facto contract to me and honestly the 40 or so dollars it would cost to file the small claims ticket is most likely worth it
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But I don't believe it is a de-facto contract. I may be wrong, and you can try if you want, but the fact that it is pre-paid and no contract makes me think you won't get far. Have fun either way. :)
 
marc12868 said:
The fact that this is in VMs TOS
Means you may not get very far. They alerted you of the change and if you stay with them you automatically accept the TOS which would mean the throttling. It's not like this is sudden they were gonna start throttling October of last year, but moved it 6ish months.

And it's not fraud. Is it or is it not unlimited data? And also think about this if you are using your phone for tethering purposes you are in direct violation of their TOS and they have the right to terminate your account. So think about that.
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also think about this, I don't tether I do use Google music every day and netflix occasionaly thats why I bought a phone with data!
the case was about throttling so called "unlimited data"
I edited this post because I was getting defensive.....
any how i just wanted people to know 1 man stood up & used the system (small claims) and won against The BIG GUYS
 
agentc13 said:
But I don't believe it is a de-facto contract. I may be wrong, and you can try if you want, but the fact that it is pre-paid and no contract makes me think you won't get far. Have fun either way. :)
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thanks..I might do this..chances are I wont but I thought other forum members might like to know it has been done.it worked once..and if virgin has to fight off hundreds of these all over the country perhaps they will change their tune! at&t is bugging out about this...if they have to pay 800 bucks to every pissed off iphone 'unlimited" data customer they're gonna loose their shirts.
 
zaphodbblx said:
also think about this, I don't tether I do use Google music every day and netflix occasionaly thats why I bought a phone with data!
the case was about throttling so called "unlimited data" did you bother to read the article? at&t has the same TOS almost to the letter

from the AT&T TOS:

We may change any terms, conditions, rates, fees, expenses, or charges regarding your Services at any time.

and remember this is small claims court not a class action (which at&t's tos doesn't allow that's why this case went to small claims! small claims court is the one place where TOS thuggery might get bitch slapped!
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I wasn't saying that you were tethering, but more of a in general thing. I can kind of understand where you're coming from, but having no contract I think VM can get away with a lot more than if they had a contract. You can try I don't think you will get anywhere though. Also I think people who complain about being throttled should stop. It's not like it hasn't been out in the open that they were gonna throttle for at least half a year. I never even got above like 100kbps download except on very rare occasions so if you get faster speeds even throttled you should still be able to stream music, netflix may or may not work. Also how much data a month do you use approximately and did you get an email from them telling you about the throttling and whether it will effect you or not?
 
case has no relevance and means nothing to virgin throttling.

nor am i sure why this is in the all things root section.

do you really use that many GBs of data in places that you cant just flip on wifi anyways? my school, work, and home all have wifi to connect to, saves on battery too.
hell, even del taco has free wifi.
 
NewUser0 said:
case has no relevance and means nothing to virgin throttling.

nor am i sure why this is in the all things root section.

do you really use that many GBs of data in places that you cant just flip on wifi anyways? my school, work, and home all have wifi to connect to, saves on battery too.
hell, even del taco has free wifi.
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Good for you that you have the luxury of WIFI everywhere you go. So the rest of us who don't have that luxury are expected to just "deal with it"? Regardless of how much data you use, unlimited should mean unlimited. I don't remember VM stating that it's only unlimited when you have WIFI access. Throttling is a chicken s*** way of getting out of upgrading/expanding their service so they can better line their pockets. That being said, I don't even come close to using 2.5GB a month, so I won't be affected. I'll still get the crappy speeds I've come to expect. But as a whole, I don't think we should just accept it either. Regardless of carrier, prepaid or not. Zaphodbblx, I got your back bro! Sue those greedy SOB's!
 
Sure I did not sign a contract, but I still am paying them for the use of Unlimited. I do know that if I use tethering I would violate the TOS and then have the possibility of being terminated, but I do not.

Throteling the speeds is kind of on the fence if you ask me, they are still giving you access to unlimited data but they make you suffer by slowing down their already slow enough 3g speeds. I still believe it is wrong. If I lived in CA where I know lawyers are not allowed in small claims court, I'd sure take them up.
Plus I think they should provide a service to track your data usage other than a text saying that you are getting close. We should not have to rely on a 3rd party app to keep track if it was their decision to limit full speeds within a certain amount of data usage.

Thats my thoughts on the whole thing
 
pbf98 said:
Plus I think they should provide a service to track your data usage other than a text saying that you are getting close. We should not have to rely on a 3rd party app to keep track if it was their decision to limit full speeds within a certain amount of data usage.
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Ditto. This should *absolutely* be required. It's the principle of the thing...



My One Cent* on the throttling is: It's unlimited DATA, not unlimited BANDWIDTH. In theory, won't some folks' speeds increase as abuser's usage patterns are dissuaded ? Also - I know it's been said elsewhere, but if a person reaches the 2.5 GB in, say, 20 days - they can start the billing cycle over the next day and still be spending less than those "other" providers - another one of those non-contract features.



*: I'm not worth two cents for several reasons: 1) First smartphone 2) Only been a VM user for ~4 months 3) Not a power user, although i do my fair bit of podcasting, slacker, video downloading & streaming. Still don't know what my monthly usage is/has been, but i'll be installing something the first day of my next cycle.
 
A video has been uploaded by my favorite subscriber Jon:

Man Sues AT&T For Throttling His Data... And Wins $850! - YouTube

I brought it up because this is fitting and understandable. However, I have not honestly looked into what unlimited means to us and Virgin Mobile. So far I am satisfied for what I got :)

Reference: I went over 5GB most the time and I rarely tether because I have High-Speed net at home. For me, 3g at throttled speeds isn't as bad and at least we do not have a cap where we must stop somewhere.
 
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