FTC sues AT&T for limiting “unlimited data”
“Unlimited data” sounds great, right? Browse the Internet, stream videos, use GPS, even make video calls – all to your heart’s content. But what if you bought an unlimited data plan and then weren’t able to do all those things? That’s what happened to some AT&T customers.
From 2007 until 2010, AT&T offered unlimited data plans for smartphones. Even after it stopped offering unlimited data, AT&T allowed customers who already had unlimited plans to renew them.
But here’s the catch: AT&T then began slowing the data speed for “unlimited” customers who used large amounts of data. As a result, those customers with “unlimited” plans no longer had the bandwidth to do everything they wanted to do on their phones. That’s called data throttling.
Data throttling isn’t always illegal, but when it’s done in a way that’s deceptive or unfair, it most certainly is.
Today, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued AT&T Mobility LLC for deceptive and unfair data throttling. The FTC’s complaint says that AT&T’s data throttling is deceptive because the company promised unlimited data, and then reduced the data speed without telling consumers. The FTC also says that AT&T’s data throttling is unfair because it kept people from using data they paid for, and then made them pay early termination fees if they tried to leave AT&T.
The FTC’s case, filed in the U.S District Court for the Northern District of California, seeks to stop AT&T from using data throttling on customers who have been promised unlimited data plans. It also asks for refunds for people who paid early termination fees when they cancelled their unlimited data plans after their data was throttled.
The lesson to mobile companies: if you promise unlimited data, you’re on the hook to deliver.
The FTC’s website has information on a variety of mobile technology and consumer issues.
Comments
FTC/FCC do something right
Finally, I am still on unlimited data and has been limited to about .3MB Download while other people on the same network on the same sport got 10MB download.
Someone from AT&T called me about two years ago telling me that they were going to be slowing my data services because I was an unlimited data user.
Now only if the FTC would do something about them charging extra for when you decided to tether your mobile data connection to another device, such as a computer. Data is data. I was forced off of my unlimited data plan in 2011 and onto a more expensive plan with just a little bit of data because of it, without receiving any prior warnings. Cost way more in the long run.
NO KIDDING
THEY HARASSED ME ABOUT IT! That I hung up on them thinking it was a prank but their rep called me right back and said I shouldn't hang up on them and that they'll switch me to a 'regular' data plan without warning just a big-ass bill.
I was too!! I am paying extremely too much money now. They refused to let me keep my unlimited plan... Why ?!
I have an unlimited data plan from 2008 and I flatly refuse to give up that plan just to be able to use my smartphone as a hot spot. So, have my smartphone data plan with AT&T and my iPad data plan with Verizon.
Read the contract. One of the services they do not offer to unlimited users is tethering. (I wonder why.) So if you are tethering, . . . you are using your phone in violation of your contract agreement.
GOOD NOW GIVE OUR MONEY BACK CROOKS
that's the way it goes with big business, they think all is okay for them.
wasnt only at@t net ten also did the same thing
about time someone brings those crooks to justice probable is they to big and just a small slap on the risk for them I have there service but if i had an altate i would use them cause i get tired of att bullcrap .
them great at appoligising i don't need appoligizes just wish they get my bill straight for 207 billion dollar company and its all done buy computer .they still
keep adding lit but steady boges charges on to your account .i dont always look on my bill every month but every six months or so they keep adding extra charges for numbers i call most of the time its a att costomer also which is suppose to be free .but with all that money they charge i should have to keep calling them for those kinda corrects period
Thank you FTC for standing up for us. I have been throttled down to unusable speeds by AT&T after using 6gb of data in a single month when I have an Unlimited plan from 2009.
Good! I never felt what AT&T was doing was appropriate given what I had paid for.
I just signed up for U-Verse, Internet & T.V. and wireless for a free small tablet. Several things they said were not true, like for instance, the GB usage, they didn't tell me my GB were being used up so fast, they did not inform me of the not a 30 day to cancel, the cancellation days were limited to 14. I was quoted approx. 176. monthly for everything listed and I'm paying close to 300 per month and their cancellation fee would be 700.-800.! Can you believe that? They prey on people with their discount schemes when you call and address these issues. They will tell you they will discount the installation fee or some other discount but then adds up to the same amt. So if you think you've resolved or have been given a discount, you haven't! I so feel taken advantage of. I'm a 60 year old woman with limited income. This was such a bad decision on my part.
You can file a consumer complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at www.ftc.gov/complaint and report your experience. If a trend is detected the company could be investigated.
this happened to me just last week.
This happened to me in June. Here's the text message I received:
ATT Free Msg: Your data usage on your 4G LTE smartphn is near 5GB this month. Exceeding 5GB during this or future billing cycles will result in reduced data speeds, though you will still be able to email & surf the web. Wi-Fi helps you avoid reduced speeds. Visit or call 866-344-7584 for more info.
This happened to me also, They would profit more if they were honest. Now I don't even have a cell phone. I traded mine in & went back the same day to ask for my phone back, they said it wasn't there. I was suppose to have seven days to change my mind.
what about the intentional ripoff of no information about a pricing choice with AT&T, and perhaps other carriers, when you "qualify for the upgrade" to a new phone, IPhone 6 for example, and are billed monthly additional charges by the carrier, making them a few hundred dollars extra per transaction, not a real good business practice. People should be informed about their choices from anyone authorized to sell the product.
I have been using att for year,and still em have unlimet prepaid everything, exept data but having trouble with sending pictures. And feel att as a bigger company as it is second largest,compare to smaller companys who offer unlimeted everything $50 to even 35 a month is also very unfair, for a company who's been around longer then other competitors.
I am charged $1, 495.00 for services, but I left ATT on August 8, 2014. I was charged every month for extra data for two phones. ATT advertised a phone for $49.00, for a two year subscription, but charged me $450.00. I lost a phone, and ATT charged me $200.00 dollars for the phone, but I had insurance on the phone, which I paid very month.
What I don't understand is that cheaper cell co.like net 10 ...use att towers and they have unlimited data plans..I find that a little strange..
Att lies, bait& switch, keep you on hold forever. God help you if you hang up. They charged me because I hung up, I told them to tape the call the I gave the lady the information. I told if she had any question to listen to the tape.
Great just changed plans because of data trotting can we get our unlimited plan back
Where do I sign up to get in on this, I was grandfathered in on a plan, and get absolutely poor service.
Have been a customer with AT&T for a long time. this issue has happened to us. We had unlimited data and when we got to a certain number they would reduce the speed. their data speeds to the point that many common mobile phone applications – like web browsing, GPS navigation and watching streaming video – become difficult or nearly impossible to use. yes they did this to us, they told my son they were eliminating this plan, they very frustrating
I don't believe wireless companies when they say they have to do this to manage traffic on their networks. In reality, they are trying to force people who have the "unlimited" plans to switch to the shared plans where they can be charged for overages. In addition to throttling, they also don't allow people on the "unlimited" plans access to features others have such as tethering, or FaceTime calling via the mobile network. Perhaps we should throttle our payments and send them in a few dollars a week. When they complain, tell them our terms of payment changed. Did they not read the fine print on the last check we sent in?
Thank you, so much, FTC! It is about time AT&T hears from our regulator about AT&T deceptive practices. I am an AT&T unlimited data plan consumer and felt so alone in this struggle until I read about this today. Bravo, FTC....thank you for doing the right thing.
Thanks TedJ!!! I am with you on this!!! I called AT&T and complained and was given excuses on the throttling. Bogus!! I kept names of AT & T CSReps with time and dates. Even my Netflix movies were throttled.
I was with at at four 10 years I was wondering way my bill went her and her each time
Yes I had the unlimited data and I was eventually kicked out of Att bc my phone suddenly started to "roam" no matter where I was.... I was sent a letter stating they would either put a throttle on my account or I would have to leave... I would Love to see a resolution to this
I have it done to me all the time but what is even more funny that voice and data are on separate channels voice goes over older 3g and data uses LTE i know that the end result is data but, voice or call quality should not be effected by LTE. I think the FTC is doing the correct thing by bring this to light.
About time they do something I been getting throttled and complaining about it for years on something that I pay for
FTC I'm one of those customers! Keep up the great work. Add me to the lawsuit.
How about AT&T and HULU charging money for kids cartoons that have been in the public domain for 50 years ! That is ill and illegal.
I have ATT unlimited data plan and many times have they attempted to get me to cancel it. I have seen throttling happen personally I only was notified AFTER I noticed for a few months it seemed my connection would slow down at the end of my billing cycle and called ATT on it.
I would that FTC prevent scams...Thank you
Thanks FTC. Every point against AT&T is true. I cannot wait to see the proof you have against AT&T who obviously said they did nothing wrong. My phone is unusable 25 out of 30 days a month unless I am on wifi. Thanks again!
I was elated to read about the FTC's decision to stand up for the 3.5 million customers affected by At&t's fraudulent business practices. I have been throttled to the point that my internet is nonfunctional. When I spoke with AT&T they said I should try to use WIFI more often, but I do not have WIFI at home because I already pay for unlimited internet. Of course AT&T offered to sign me up for their home internet plans, but I should not have to pay AT&T twice for the same service.
Thank you, FTC. I have patiently waiting for this for a long time now. Thank you thank you THANK YOU !!!
Thank you FTC! Have a grandfathered unlimited plan and recently got a text saying I hit a 5GB limit and would be throttled. I called them on the number listed and they tried to sell me a new plan.
Please let me know where to forward the evidence!
The week before Christmas they throttled mine to the point I couldn't send or receive photo texts . After numerous phone calls the night before Christmas they fixed by telling me they had to remove my phone from the network and then put it back on the network to remove the throttling. The made sure to sound all bully like by telling me it was a one time thing they would never do again .
We use AT&T home Internet. When we signed up, we were offered unlimited Internet service. Unfortunate for us, they do not really offer unlimited Internet service, at all. I tried to get a copy of the phone conversation, proving we were offered unlimited Internet service upon signing up. How fortunate for them, they do not keep their phone records past 3-6 months. Our bill was actually what it was supposed to be for the first couple months. Their records even show this. We called the retention line, they gave me the same Internet service for just under half of what we are supposed to pay; however, we actually pay, at least, double of what we were told our bill would be for unlimited Internet, that they do not really offer.
it's about time they have been doing this to me since 2011 been a customer since 2008
when I called several times to complain
I was told to switch to a different plan
I told them to call your plan some limited
hope they sue the piss out off u
Please check Sprint for the same violation. We have experienced significantly slower data in recent months, and we are on an unlimited data plan.
I have been a customer of AT&T since 2003 and purchased an unlimited data plan for my daughter around 2008. The throttling got so bad my daughter could not use her data at all we were finally forced to switch to a data sharing plan so I could be sure she could use her gps when she was away from home at college.We called the company and complained but all we got was a suggestion to switch to the shared data plan. I was mad because I felt I paid for something I did not receive. I also lost my grandfathered plan which I had for years and was happy with that I cannot get back. I hope they have to refund money because we were squeezed out of our plan by this deceptive practice. Now I have to pay more for our plan and I dont get to use the data because the Gigabytes are so low and i cant afford more.
Solavei with T-Mobile did this to the users in Puerto Rico USA and I am almost sure in the states as well. We all lost lots of money and there traps and tricks.
I have had AT&T for years and I have had the unlimited data. I have been throttled and I have called and complained and advised them that I pay for unlimited data and that they legally can not Throttle my phone. I was given a bogus reply. I feel AT&T owe me since the beginning of my service. I have service with them from Beginning changed company names Suncom to AT&T To Cingular to AT&T again. I have notes names, dates, & times I called with in the last few years. Even when I watch a movie on Netflix. I called AT&T and complained. I was advised to go to McDonalds and sit in their dining area on use their WiFi. I have walked into AT&T offices/stores and given same bogus answer. I feel that AT&T needs to pay all their customers back to beginning.
Now what about them blocking data use over the network. Unlimited data users were blocked from using FaceTime video data unless connected to a wifi for "unlimited" data plans
Now, if the FCC would do something about the limiting of land line data. This used to not be done, now that the Internet competes with Cable TV all the cable companies are limiting data to keep you from watching only the internet video. This is just as bad.
I was on an unlimited plan up until last week when our family switched to the new Family Share plan. I never realized any slow downs but because I use WiFi whenever I can I never come close to using 2 gb of phone data. If you read the fine print on the unlimited agreement, it states that if you use an excessive amount of data it will slow down or throttle the service. Because of the ones that used an overly excessive amount of data, probably because they either didn't use WiFi when it was available or just aren't smart enough to use it when they have it instead of the phone data plans, AT&T had to stop offering the unlimited plan. If you are going to use that much then you should be paying extra for it. I can't believe that the government doesn't know that AT&T has to follow FCC guidelines when it comes to things like this. As far as customer service goes, I feel that AT&T has every other company beat! I have always been treated with the utmost courtesy and taken care of in a timely fashion with just one telephone call. Never have I been told that they couldn't take care of any issue I had to my satisfaction. I would recommend AT&T over any other company out there! That goes for phones, phone service reliability and customer service. If you don't like them why are you staying with them? Just so you can complain about them? Go ahead and try Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile or one of the little ones. I am positive you will be switching back to AT&T as soon as you can. No I don't work for AT&T but I would if I was looking for employment!
Thank you FTC for doing this. We're among "those" users, and yes they seem to throttle us to a trickle. All while we pay approx $80.00 each month, since 2010. About time ATT sees some sweet sweet justice.
I'm glad that this is happening I looked through every bit of documentation I have from att (which is everything they have ever sent me, yes I'm kind of a pack rat with paperwork) and there is nothing describing any type of "throttling". I signed up for this program for the exact reason of UNLIMITED DATA. Thank you FTC.
The FTC needs to sue Verizon too. They are guilty of the same sin. All these carriers are ripping of their customersoff . I had to increase my data plan to prevent from being charged overage. The next suit should be for unlimited calling. I used to have a unlimited for 69.00 dollars no problems. I switched to ATT next with unlimited calling, and texting; and now my calls drop four or five times a day.
I have been with ATT since Sept. 2008 with my purchase of the iPhone 3G! I too was promised unlimited data at the same speed! ATT brushed me off when is called them back in June 2010! I have been ripped off! Please Help! A promise and a proformance should be just that!
Thank you FTC! I have been a AT&T customer for 8yrs. I too have unlimited data. While my son last year was in AIT for the army. AT&T decided to throttle is data! When I called to complain AT&T told me even though I have unlimited data they will slow it down after 2gb. I asked them how can you do that when I have been paying for unlimited! Thank you again FTC!
This is baseless. The government restricts the spectrum therefore causing att to throttle.
AT&T actually changed my plan, didn't tell me and sent me a $399 bill. I was so mad, I discontinued my service and they tried to charge me an early termination for terminating 14 days early, really?? I am on board with this law suit. I want my money!
Thank you FCC. I was throttled down to 0.49mbps during a trip in Feb. I was so shocked at the speed I had to take a picture of the speed test. This throttling was the direct reason I was forced to switched plans, I would have love to keep my unlimited plan. ATT should be forced to return any unlimited customers plans back. Go get them FCC!!!!
As soon as they got rid of the $30 per month unlimited Data plan, my internet was never the same. If they are found guilty which will for sure be that case. How does one go about getting back the money they owe you?
AT+T is very dishonest, unethical and each person you ask the same question gives you a different answer.
Have had an unlimited AT&T plan since 2009 (currently usage approx 3Gb/month), not much for conspiracy theories, but I am entirely on board with this. In Orlando AT&T's network cannot be as bad as it is at times. My wife and I have been sitting next to each other using our phones and you can visually see the difference when I hit a certain usage per month. I used to get text messages stating that my bandwidth was going to be reduced due to usage, when I called AT&T about it they told me that it did not apply to my plan...
Ive been battling with At&t over this issue for months! It's an act of deceptive unfair business practice and justice must be served. Please let me know when I can use my unlimited plan the way it was intended!
Way to go FTC! With all the comments and justifications here, FTC should know it's the right thing to do...protect the consumers from these crooks.
I hope the FTC is investigating (Sprint owned) Virgin Mobile's Broadband2Go $40 Unlimited-data month-long plan. When I started, in 2010, there was no throttling on the unlimited plan. Then, in 2011, they started throttling the "unlimited" plan, and still do. Throttling can occur within days of a new month, down to a max speed of 128kilobits per second.
I am so glad this issue has been acknowledged. I notice one day as I was at work and wanted to watch a video on YouTube. I had all 5 bars with 4g and the video kept on stopping. So I called at&t to see what was going on and they told me that I had unlimited data but after 2gb of data is used, the service is slowed downed. I asked if there was a certain amount of data that can be used before the internet completely shuts down. Of course the representative tried to get me to get in a different data plan. So basically, they notice that there can be more money made if they throttle our data service. They can't penalize the att customers that has been grandfatheredin so they slow us down. I HOPE THE FEDS GET YOU GUYS FOR THIS! !!!! I REALLY DO!
I've been with At&t for a long time and my data plan is unlimited "grandfather". I thought that it was just me who was questioning why my data get so slow when I use more than 3gb. I just deal with the slowness because i did not want to lose my unlimited data plan. I am glad that FTC is doing sometime about this and making it right for us consumers. Unlimited should be Unlimited. Not Unlimited with a Limit. Thank you FTC.
I had this happen to me after I got a faster phone last month. I was calling them and asking what was happening. I asked about my unlimited service and why was I getting slowed down. First people u talked to didn't know why my phone was slow on the videos. But they knew. They we're lying to me. I called 3 times before someone told me that I had reached my data for the month. I had to download my apps to my phone so I told them I was being penalized for buying anew phone. I have been with this company for mire than 15 yrs.
Hate AT&T, but it's what I have......nothing but problems and excuses, but they want their money on time......
what we need to do is to get the FCC to force the cell phone company's to go back to the unlimited data
I called AT&T shortly after I received a notice that I would be throttled back for overages and at the time I maintained that this was unfair... The deal had been made and the money had changed hands. What right do they have to change the plan? Do I have the right to change the amount I pay them? No. But according to what they think is "fair" if I send them notice after the fact that I've decided to arbitrarily reduce my payments, that's just business as usual ....and that's ok. I'm sure they would take issue with receiving less money from me in a heart beat...! In other words, they can change the deal with impunity but we cant! It's not a question of their lack of understanding the hypocrisy, unjustness and lack of empathy in their position... they simply place profits they can make over any penalties they may incur... the same reasons all big businesses like car manufacturers systematically hide defects until enough people die. Did the FTC bring this because 190000 people including myself took action with a letter or call...while the rest suffered in silence? Did the FTC get tired of watching the FCC not do its job and stretch its jurisdiction to bring this suit on behalf of us? It's AT&T throttling back simply because they can ... and they don't care for a second how much collective lifetime they've wasted from all of us. The only way they will care is when the judgement comes back and they actually feel some financial pain... and hopefully some of that money will make it's way back to the consumers. I still have my 3GS from 2009 and I've stuck with the unlimited plan for a long time because for a long time people who got off the unlimited plan were eventually forced into a higher plan and for a time were paying $130.00 for LIMITED plans... Twice victimized : once for being throttled back then again for no option except the higher costing plan to satisfy their data needs. I currently pay approx $100.00/month for my grandfathered plan....thought I had a good deal with unlimited ... Then they lowered the price to $50 for unlimited with Sprint and the AT&T 2G plans ... I thought they were trying to pressure me out of my grandfathered plan and then jack me up on an unlimited plan... But I held on hoping for a suit like this because I knew it would come... But look how long it took? 2011 is when the throttling started and its been 4 years!!! Complaints were filed in 2011 but were ignored by ATT AND the FCC!!! Thank you FTC for finally bringing this suit...hopefully for the right reason..... If fairness was the reason it would have been brought long ago in my opinion. No my friends the cynicism in me says the prospect of high atty fees drives this case... and maybe it should... Capitalism has as it hallmarks supply and demand... a high supply of atty fees may mive this in the right direction as long as a high supply of lobbying fees (synonym for BRIBERY) doesnt move it the weing way....as long as the consumers end up with JUST compensation! And what would that be? For me:
How about 4 years of FREE unlimited data at 4LTE speed for all unlimited customers who were throttled down AND while we re at it... ALL customers who had to pay early termination penalties to get out if their misrepresented unlimited plans. Certainly there is a lot of traction and Inertia within the FCC but better late than never for the FTC . Sorry for the rant but I'm very upset! Looking forward to see how this plays out and hopefully more than a token reparation will find its way to the consumers. Goodluck to us!
Amen! Well said.
Where I live, I get around 18 Mbps with LTE on my iPhone. When AT&T throttles my data, that speed goes down to 0.25. That means they throttle my speed by 98.7%. At 0.25 Mbps you can no longer watch videos or stream audio. You can barely load a web page or send an email, each of which takes about a minute. What happens is that your data connection is to the point of useless.
The throttling that AT&T does is beyond crippling and over aggressive.
I believe they illegally charge people for data they don't use as well. I am constantly going over my data, but rarely use it. I'm always in wi-fi range. One time the charged me overage charges and I was only a couple of days into my new bill. How is this possible?????
I've been att customer 14 years, little choice until lately (Alaska). Wished I could sue att, ty FTC for stepping in. They have larger plans than 5 gb. They don't even let us reach add high as their largest plan, before our "unlimited" becomes unusable.
I been ripped off by At&T on a landline service, T-Mobile, Boost and Version. Who can help me?
I thought that was a scam for years they have beensending exts to all 3 phones on the plan saying the data is 65 percent used the 2nd day into the new month, what a joke, I just got another one today we pay over 300.00 for 3 smartphones on the family plan and then they charge another 15 dollars per phone when we go over, this has been going on for years, thanks and we would love to see a chunk of that $$$$$
I have the unlimited data plan dating back to 2008. One of my first questions regarding the unlimited plan was.. is there a data cap?... the answer was no. Use as much as you like... then they did away with it.. I still have the unlimited plan but get throttled to near edge speed at 3 gigs!!! Not right..
Ummm, it's not "only" at&t, people & the fcc.....t-mobile does it too. If it weren't for being able to connect to my home wifi at times, my phone would "think" indefinitely..and i would venture it's safe to say other carriers employ this practice too.
This is no way for any business to treat their longest and most loysl customers!! I have contacted them many times about this practice but of course nothing was done.
Thank you for stepping in and holding them accountable.
As a customer service manager i would NEVER think to take advantage of any customers but especially my long time loyal ones!! Get a clue ATT...
I didn't even sign up with ATT. I got my "unlimited" plan via Cingular whom I was very happy with. All the bad practice happened after ATT bought them out. Now I'm an unhappy customer without another option. :-(
AT&Ts claims of "network optimization" ring hollow.
If we are throttled because the network can't sustain our data usage; then why are we offered non-throttled data plans at significantly higher data rates with no throttling?
Ultimately I'd like to see the throtteling caps go away. I don't care about re-reimbursement if the caps go.
Thank you FTC,
I don't believe in big Government but do believe in fairness and the need for a Government to monitor the rights of it's people. This is a great example of a Government program doing the job that the majority of the people believe to be appropriate. I will follow this in it's entirety to see if FTC is successful in not ONLY changing bad business policies but applying an appropriate disciplinary action to ensure AT&T understands "not to do this again". Also, it is important to see how other companies receive FTC's message as well.
Now let me tell you about my father's experience with AT&T and why I'm not surprised by this investigation but was wondering how to "make a difference". My father has AT&T Universe, a home, land-line, and is experiencing the exact same thing. This seems to be a policy that extends throughout AT&T's various corporations. As these conglomerates get bigger and bigger, they seem to also get more brazen with the law. (Lobbyist might be the problem here.) Previously, many business use to talk about ethics but lately it seems the level of ethics has been blurred by our Governments history of inaction, week-action, or "bailouts". My hope is that FTC will extend their investigation and let corporate know that when you deceive or fraud people there is a debt to be paid back. Enough is enough.
I had unlimited as well & complained often. Their shameless bushiness tactics worked on me. How do we get in on this lawsuit or complaint? It's not the point of money ...it's the point of being scammed and not able to do anything about it.
At&t is not the only company I have virgin mobile and they do the same thing and I don't believe that it's fair......... Just recieve this text yesterday... VMUFreeMsg You used 85 percent of your data usage cap. Once you reach 2560.000MB of usage, we'll reduce your data speeds through 11/22/2014.
My phone is throttled so bad most of the time, i need to hook up to wifi to revive all my emails, and browse the web, if you are not on wifi forget about trying to use YouTube, it buffers until you lost intrest in what you wanted to watch! I could go on,and on.
AT&T is just money hungry and wants to take your money any way they can. I have "Unlimited" and I am always on WiFi and when i do use my LTE its great for a while then slow down and i cant use my gps or internet to look up a location check my work email and so much more. Thank you FTC let AT&T HAVE IT!!!!
Is there any way to join this sue? My phone has been real slow due to Netflix use and I bet this has a lot to do with it.
This is an FTC lawsuit, but you can file a consumer complaint at www.ftc.gov/complaint and report your experience.
How can we get our money back? I'm leaving ATT because of this issue and switching carriers, but for YEARS I paid ATT and I'm pissed off.
For 9 months I have fought AT&T on data and cellular signals in Miami. I have opened several cases with the FCC and the FTC regarding AT&T's practices (4 of which AT&T called asking Why I did it, my response, because I won't stand by). It has become atrocious what AT&T thinks they can get away with... the long and short of it, I live within 2 miles of 3 towers and can't even get text messages since their so called upgrade to the network in December 2013, their solution, upgrade me to a Microcell, OH! it'll cost you $199 then you'll be able to call and text, OH! also we are going to charge you for any data pushed through the Microcell EVEN THOUGH you're using your own high speed data carrier, yeah we love raping our customers! Long and short of it, I DID NOT PAY for the Microcell, which now hasn't worked going on 4 weeks now and suddenly I am able to make phone calls and receive text messages again in my home office like I did before December 2013. AT&T even assigned me a special envoy to talk to anytime I had issues with the Microcell. I also received several phone calls from the "Executive Office" of AT&T who were flat out disrespectful and rude in so many ways. If I had another GSM carrier to switch to I would've a long time ago, however, the other GSM carrier isn't any better and I need to have both voice and data available when assisting my customers. I have documented AT&T's network signals religiously so as to provide our watch dogs the information they need to help us fight the battle. At this point all we can do is hope and pray we get some sort of resolution.
Frustrated 20 year customer of AT&T
I have Cricket, owned by AT&T. They falsely advertise their data plan. They sell you a plan for certain amount at high speed. Then Unlimited at slower speed. They repeatedly shut down my Internet access, sighting over limit. This is false advertising and poor business. Something needs to be done about this.
MetroPCS does the same thing. They slow the data down several times a month and demand another $5.
I've been on AT&T's Unlimited plan for years. I never gave it up because I it's clear that more and more bandwidth will be needed in the future due to services like streaming music, streaming video and cloud services like Dropbox, Google Drive, and thousands of other services. And, as expected, my data has gradually crept upward and I've started noticing the throttling. AT&T should be ashamed of itself. Other companies like Virgin Mobile (I use this company as an example because I have used their personal wi-fi product when traveling home to Texas where data service is spotty) are upfront with their data packages. It was very clear that my plan was not unlimited data and even at a certain data download point, they MIGHT throttle the data speed, which they did. It was annoying but atleast I knew what I was getting. I'm glad the FTC is taking these steps and I hope other retailers understand that when they use the word "unlimited" to describe a product, that they have to back it up and not just use it as a ubiquitous marketing term that doesn't have to mean anything.
Att mislead me into believing that I'm on unlimited data which in fact I'm not. Yesterday my data was throttled to an unusable speed. It's less that .3 GBPS from up to 20. I could not listen to online music or watch any videos. I spoke with 4 att representatives. Last 3 stated they are supervisors !? Derrick Ale, Clifta Smith and Kevin Dailey. All of them pointed to the issue but failed to offer a solution. Actually they tried to lure me off my unlimited plan to go to a shared plan. WHICH COSTS MORE. They are offering less for more. DOES THIS MAKE SENSE. Also they lied telling me that they informed me about the data cap. They failed to provide proof. All the conversation was recorder if anyone is interested in that.
Hi, I also have an supposedly unlimited plan since I believe 2010 or before. Suddenly with no notice they started reducing my internet speed after using 3g of data. I called so many times to ask them to fix this problem, but after many failed attempts I just gave up. I hope with the FTC help we can all get our plans back to was it was before.
Yes, we have the "grandfather" data plan too. Only recently (2 months ago) found out that the reason for the slooow internet because for the unlimited data plan that we have, any usage above 2.5gbs will slow down after reaching that. And again, we were only informed and found out about that recently. We were "surprised" to hear that all these while we were not informed about this.
We never received any email notice or whatsoever from AT & T. And of course, we were not happy to hear about this at all.
But the customer service managed to convince us to go for the alternative of changing plan to 2Gbs plan, according to them better and cheaper. We agreed to try that for 30 days and finally decided to go back to our old plan in less than 30days. Felt like being tricked to that options. When we called AT & T gave us a HARD time about changing the plan back to the old ones. Where they promised us it can be done just for the 30 days trial period to the new plan. They're just full of bogus!
Thanks FTC for looking into this issue - big time!
AT & T has to change/honor the unlimited data plan to at least a reasonable like 10GBs datas to the existing customers! 110% agred!
I actually don't mind being throttled so much, it beats the days when their mission objective was to bump you into a measured plan. The throttled rate is a reminder who AT&T are as a company.
I am an ATT customer who had an unlimited data plan from 2008 until 2013. In 2013 I started to recieve text messages from ATT advising that I was in the top 5% of data users and that if it continued my data would be throttled. It was a bit like telling me I could make unlimited calls, but if I hit a certain level that I could count on enough static during the call that I couldn't use it. If in fact I were in the top 5% and myself and all the rest at this level were to stop using data the next month, then of course the 90 to 95 percentile would move to the top spot, the next month the 85 to 90's until a little old lady who checked her email once a month would be indentified as the top user/abuser of data plans. All ATT was trying to do was force us off the unlimited plan on to a new, more expensive defined plan. I hope ATT pays dearly for these deceptive pracitices.
first att was going to start throttling at 2 or 3 Gigs and when everyone Started raising hell about it they stopped the warnings once you reached that limit. Just last month after ordering the new iPhone I had a message they were throttling at 5 gigs. First time I had seen it on there. So unlimited is whatever they want it to be no matter if you complain. After they found out they could rape customers with data plans it was time to get rid of the ones with the unlimited plans or make their service so slow they would have to buy another one !
Like most of you, I too have an original unlimited data plan. I've called multiple times to complain about download speeds, only to have them explain that they throttle my data back for overusage. Some months I use upwards of 8-10gb worth of data, watching Netflix on my lunch breaks and listening to Pandora while at my desk and on the drive to and from work.
I think I may have my original contract, but I'm going to venture a guess to say that no-where in my original contract did is say anything about their ability to "throttle" back my data.
To the best of my recollection, I've never received a text message that indicates they are going to slow down my data service because of overusage. Heck, when I called to complain once, a representative of AT&T admitted they receive many complaints of this and that he was sorry for not having the ability to reset my data usage. I believe that post 2011, for a period of time, managers had the ability to go in on your account and reset the statistics and provide full flow data service. That flexibility has been taken away from them by their management overlords...
Thankfully, I work for an amazing employer that provides Wi-Fi at work for no expense, so after getting sick and tired of calling every month to complain, I just turned on my wi-fi and called it quits. No more! Screw you AT&T. You'll be hearing from my people at the FTC. I have no expectations of getting a big refund check in the mail, but I can say that I would love to see AT&T having to take all the restrictions off their data for us old school users. I mean, c'mon, we've all been paying our bills religiously for years, as evidenced by us all having the original unlimited data plan. Haven't they made enough money on us over the years to pay for unlimited data for everyone?
According to the contract, AT&T is allowed to throttle to manage network congestion. Dear AT&T, network congestion does not start when I reach 5MB of data use, and you network congestion doesn't magically clear up at the beginning of my building period. And if you have network congestion, are you throttling your "Shared Data" plan users too. They have the same contract term that we unlimited data users have. AT&T you really aren't managing your networks, you are aggravating your unlimited data plan users so that they will switch to a shared plan, or leave AT&T.
I've been on their grandfathered unlimited plan for the past 8 years. This throttling happens to me every month like clockwork. Serves them right that the FTC would step in and stand up for us since we as individuals cannot. Can't wait to see where this goes.
Long over due!! Crooks!
T-Mobile does the same thing. They sell an unlimited plan that gets choked to nearly unusable speeds once you hit a set number of mb's that depends on which "unlimited" plan you pay for. For more money your speed bumps get spaced slightly further apart. I always thought unlimited meant no limits but apparently not if you are using the word for advertising.
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