Lawsuit claims AT&T inflates customers' data use.

[adjangs]

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in California, claims that AT&T has been charging customers for data that they never used. Evidence for the claim was gathered by a consulting firm that has said AT&T inflates data use by as much as 7-14% and sometimes 300% to bolster revenue. The lawsuit only applies to capped data plans, and also appears to be limited to iPhone and iPad contracts.

An AT&T spokesman has responded to the lawsuit by saying, "We have only recently learned of the complaint, but I can tell you that we intend to defend ourselves vigorously. Transparent and accurate billing is a top priority for AT&T."

Source: computerworld.com

[czerdrill]

dumb lawsuit. no chance that AT&T is doing this...most probably brought by somebody who used a lot of data and is peved at getting charged for it.

[adjangs]

I think it's going to come down to how well that consulting firm did its job investigating. I mean, you cannot expect a smarphone to never update its clock through data can you? But then, would you expect those clock updates to take up 2,292 kb? That's what one phone racked up with all services turned off:

"As proof of unfair practices, attorneys for the plaintiff say they hired an independent consulting firm to run tests on iPhone data downloads. In one case, the firm found a 50KB website was logged as a 53.5KB website. In another case, a consultant purchased a brand-new phone, turned off all services and still was billed for 35 data transactions totaling 2,292 KB of usage, the lawsuit alleges."

msnbc.com

[A Nobody]

if its true then that is messed up.

[mack19318]

I switched from att because of that reason. Although I always cought it. Every month it seemed that 2 dumb phones with data turned off through att would be billed for data usage. One time they charged for ring tones and ring backs. The phone belongs to my 68 year old mother! After a lot of complaining and a supervisor they finally took the charges off. I kept telling them do you really think a 68 year old lady is using "dope boy" by gorilla zoe as her ring tone?

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[UrbanBounca]

dumb lawsuit. no chance that AT&T is doing this...most probably brought by somebody who used a lot of data and is peved at getting charged for it.

Why, though? You think that because they're "big business," they do no wrong? I'll keep my opinion til I hear a verdict, and I should recommend you do the same.

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[czerdrill]

dumb lawsuit. no chance that AT&T is doing this...most probably brought by somebody who used a lot of data and is peved at getting charged for it.

Why, though? You think that because they're "big business," they do no wrong? I'll keep my opinion til I hear a verdict, and I should recommend you do the same.

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you won't hear a verdict because it'll be dismissed or settled out of court. that's clear, no chance it's going to trial or anything.

that being said, do i think at&t is purposely charging people for data when they don't use it? boosting revenue by inflating data sometimes by 300%? yeah, no i don't. and yeah it has everything to do with them being a big business. far too easy for them to be caught, and really the risks far outweigh the scant benefits of doing this.

this will only have one of two outcomes. the case is dismissed completely, or at&t settles for some undisclosed amount and we wait for the next upset user to bring a lawsuit. these lawsuits are a dime a dozen, and not anything new. there's always a "conspiracy" out there...

[kodiak799]

I don't really buy it, either. A study paid for by the plaintiff doesn't really qualify as fair and impartial. I have no idea how you can verify that their tests were, indeed, carried out with all services off.

Worst case scenario is AT&T has some minor glitches in billing software (which is probably unlikely) and/or with a few apps. A successful lawsuit would identify those issues/apps and confirm it by identifying the flaws in the code.

[Dark_Jedi]

I will say this... ATT is actually cheaper than Verizon and will help you out if you have an issue. Like my wife lost her iPhone 4 last year and they took off $164 dollars off my bill the next month.

[UrbanBounca]

dumb lawsuit. no chance that AT&T is doing this...most probably brought by somebody who used a lot of data and is peved at getting charged for it.

Why, though? You think that because they're "big business," they do no wrong? I'll keep my opinion til I hear a verdict, and I should recommend you do the same.

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you won't hear a verdict because it'll be dismissed or settled out of court. that's clear, no chance it's going to trial or anything.

that being said, do i think at&t is purposely charging people for data when they don't use it? boosting revenue by inflating data sometimes by 300%? yeah, no i don't. and yeah it has everything to do with them being a big business. far too easy for them to be caught, and really the risks far outweigh the scant benefits of doing this.

this will only have one of two outcomes. the case is dismissed completely, or at&t settles for some undisclosed amount and we wait for the next upset user to bring a lawsuit. these lawsuits are a dime a dozen, and not anything new. there's always a "conspiracy" out there...

Translation: "Big business is never wrong."

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