Feds: TracFone 鈥楿nlimited Data鈥� was not unlimited
TracFone must pay $40 million back to customers after advertising unlimited-data plans that actually cut off or throttled service after a set amount of data was used, according to the FTC. TracFone agreed to the multimillion-dollar settlement of charges that it had 鈥渄eceived' millions of consumers.
TracFone must pay $40 million back to customers after advertising unlimited-data plans that actually cut off or throttled service after a set amount of data was used, according to the FTC. TracFone agreed to the multimillion-dollar settlement of charges that it had 鈥渄eceived' millions of consumers.
Affordable cell phone service聽company TracFone must pay $40 million back to customers after advertising unlimited-data plans that actually cut off or throttled service after a set amount of data was used,聽according to the Federal Trade Commission.
The largest prepaid mobile provider in the United States, TracFone agreed to the multimillion-dollar settlement of charges that it had 鈥渄eceived millions of consumers with hollow promises of 鈥榰nlimited鈥� data service,鈥� the FTC said Wednesday in a news release.
The deals, which mostly offered unlimited monthly service for about $45, were advertised under various brands, including聽Straight Talk, Net10, Simple Mobile and Telcel America.
鈥淭he issue here is simple: when you promise consumers 鈥榰nlimited,鈥� that means unlimited,鈥� said Jessica Rich, director of the FTC鈥檚 Bureau of Consumer Protection. 鈥淭his settlement means that Straight Talk, Net10, Simple Mobile and Telcel America customers will be able to get money back from the company for services the company promised but didn鈥檛 deliver.鈥�
TracFone had been advertising unlimited-data plans on television, radio and in print displays since 2009, according to the FTC. Instead, the commission says, TracFone would dramatically slow down service 鈥� a technique known as throttling 鈥� or cut it off altogether after a customer used a set amount of data in a 30-day period.
The commission said the data limit varied, but was often between 1 and 3 gigabytes of data. Throttled customers 聽had their service slowed from at least 60% all the way up to 90%, according to the FTC complaint.
In September 2013, TracFone began announcing its policy on throttling but, even then, 鈥渢hose disclosures were often not clear and conspicuous,鈥� the commission said.
This is the second case brought by the FTC against a mobile provider for failing to live up to promises of unlimited data.聽A case against AT&T聽is currently in litigation.
Consumers who had a Straight Talk, Net10, Simple Mobile, or Telcel America unlimited plan before January 2015 can聽visit a Web page聽set up to let them file a claim for a refund. Refunds will be paid only to those whose service was slowed or cut off, but customers who aren鈥檛 sure are being encouraged to still file a claim to find out if they are eligible.