SpeakOut mobile browsing NOT unlimited, not even close -'Fair usage' = 2Gb MAX

[Jimboski]

2GB is very reasonable for $10 a month. They would have to shut down the feature for sure if everyone decides to do 10+GB/month, which I hope never happens. Why ruin a good thing?

Greedy OP Is greedy. He wants consumer pricing comparable to USA's.. Heck why doesn't he just go and live there then..

[htrab1]

They don't advertise it as 2Gb for $10/month. They advertise it as UNLIMITED Mobile Browsing. 10Gb per month usage on a plan that is marketed as unlimited is not abusive. As I'd written in an earlier thread, 2Gb may have seemed like a virtually unlimited amount of data back in the days of text/WAP browsers, but that's not much when just about every phone now has an HD display and multimedia browser. 2Gb is virtually unlimited if all you do is send and receive text-only e-mails and messages.

As I replied to SophiaB, keep saying that you think 2Gb is practically unlimited. You'll only have yourself to blame when that 2Gb is reduced to 100Mb. You know, because 2Gb is way more than an average user would ever need. 100Mb/month should be perfect. Then you can watch 5-10 youtube videos and call it a month.

I think it's hilarious that a customer is being called greedy for noting that a mobile company is advertising as unlimited a plan that is clearly nowhwhere close to being so. Supposedly by other customers who also claim to be frustrated by data plan rip-offs by the same greedy corporations. Clever corporate trolling when you think about it.

[Jimboski]

/yawn. Keep ignoring the fact that people have said they've sent out emails and that there are posts on RFD explaining the change.

[SophiaB]

As I replied to SophiaB, keep saying that you think 2Gb is practically unlimited. You'll only have yourself to blame when that 2Gb is reduced to 100Mb. You know, because 2Gb is way more than an average user would ever need. 100Mb/month should be perfect. Then you can watch 5-10 youtube videos and call it a month.

My very last post in this thread then. NO Sir, I do not blame myself if the 2gb is reduced to 100mb, I blame the likes of YOU.

Why? YOU abused the system AND then had the audacity to COMPLAIN about the last company in Canada to offer something fairly decent, that is why. YOU are the reason "unlimited" was brought back to 2gb, and will be brought back further to 100mb like all the others did. YOU. The fact you can't see that, tells us more about yourself than anything else.

Case closed, I won't respond any further.

[htrab1]

Yes, keep saying that 10Gb of usage on an UNLIMITED Mobile Browsing is abusive and that will make it so. Funny that the two recurring critical posters are 'sponsored'.

SophiaB: Mobilicity, $20 - 20Gb premium data. Not really 'unlimited', but at least they have the decency to advertise the cap right beside their plan name. That comes out to $2 for 2Gb. That's decent, but not available in my area. That's also what happens when people call out companies for deceptive advertising - they make it clearer.

Jimbo: Yes, "people have said..." is always reliable. The only two message received from SpeakOut regarding fair usage were posted in full in the OP. There were no previous messages, text or e-mail. Which is consistent with their policy "...to deny or terminate Service, without notice..." (posted by audit13 in post #15). You know, that policy that was so obvious that not even their CS was aware of it when I called on November 14.

[ceraf]

SpeakOut Wireless offers a wide range of handsets that support the unlimited browsing feature. While other data capable handsets may work on our service, we cannot guarantee service.

http://www.speakout7eleven.ca/suppor...hone-questions

I'd be surprised to see someone try to continuously download up to 2 GB on any of the phones Speakout offers. =)

(slightly out of context, but it still works for the benefit of Speakout)

[htrab1]

If you look at their phones page, it looks like they're getting out of selling phones entirely, going BYOD. The first thing advertised is a SIM card (sold separate from phone), and the only other thing on the page is a throw-away $0 Alcatel. The big graphic on the side of the page says it all:




And hopefully to close this thread off, here's the info page for the 'Unlimited Browsing" add-on. In case they change the text, as of right now this is the full text on the page:


Browsing

For $10 a month*, you get unlimited browsing**. This means you can surf the web, check your Facebook, or if you’re feeling hungry, find the closest 7-Eleven. All right from your phone, 24/7. You can add Unlimited Browsing to you phone from within your SpeakOut online account, or by dialing 611 from your handset and speaking to customer service.

* The $10 fee will be deducted from your airtime balance on a monthly basis. See Phones for data-capable devices.

** To cancel this feature you must call customer service or deactivate the feature from within your online account as it automatically renews each month. If your airtime balance is below $12.00 at the time of renewal, the Unlimited Browsing feature will be removed from your account. To reconnect browsing please contact Customer Service or activate the feature from within your online account.


I counted 3 "Unlimited"s in there. No mention of nor link to FUP stating that 'Unlimited'=2Gb and we will cancel your account and keep your remaining balance if you go over that unadvertised cap - rather big ommission.

Thanks

[JAC]

The real question is did OP reach his 10GB by tethering, or actual on-device use?

At any rate, fair use policy is bull$***t. It's either unlimited or not, and it's false advertising to claim otherwise.

[Jimboski]

The real question is did OP reach his 10GB by tethering, or actual on-device use?

At any rate, fair use policy is bull$**t. It's either unlimited or not, and it's false advertising to claim otherwise.

Agreed but they do send out notifications of the 2 GB limit.

[komal]

Hi all,

This is just a heads up for other SO users who may have not experienced it yet, as well as those considering switching to SO. I had my service disconnected, without prior notice, on November 14. I received the following messages that afternoon:

(438) 288-0531
YOU ARE IN VIOLATION OF THE UNLIMITED BROWSING FAIR USAGE POLICY. THE FEATURE HAS BEEN REMOVED. YOU CAN VIEW THE POLICY IN TERMS AND CONDITIONS ON OUR WEBSITE.
Nov 14

(647) 725-2570
SHOULD YOU ATTEMPT TO RENEW THIS FEATURE AND CONTINUE TO VIOLATE THE FAIR USAGE POLICY, YOUR ACCOUNT WILL BE CLOSED AND ALL FUNDS WILL BE FORFEITED.
Nov 14

I called 611 for customer service to ask for an explanation. I was told I had exceeded 10Gb of usage… back in SEPTEMBER. I didn't dispute that. I told the female CS agent I thought it was unlimited. She told me usage was subject to a "fair usage" policy and that I had exceeded what was considered fair. I asked her what that was exactly, since I did not think 10Gb was excessive for a plan that is marketed as UNLIMITED. For context, WIND Mobile, which also has a capped data plan they used to market as UNLIMITED, only starts to throttle your speed at 10Gb (update: apparently WIND lowered the level at which they begin throttling to 5Gb).

The CS told me I could find it on their website. I told her I could not look it up on their website, as they had just disconnected my only immediately available internet connection. I asked if she could find it and tell me what it was, given the fact they'd just disconnected AND threatened to close my account based on that policy. She said she would look for it and get back to me. She took a LONG time to find it (the call lasted 28 mins). When she finally got back to me, she apologised for taking so long and told me she had a hard time finding it herself. Which is interesting, given that is a policy customers are assumed to know.

Long story short, she told me 2Gb is what the company considers fair usage, and that it reserves the right to suspend or outright cancel your service, and retain any remaining credit in your account, without notice.

So if you are like many SO customers who initially jumped in with a $100 top-up (using that promo where SO gives you an extra 20% on $100 top-ups), then only added the falsely-advertised unlimited browsing option, then had your account canceled for violating the ridiculously low "fair usage" cap in your first month, you would be out $100 or more.

How ridiculously low is that 'fair usage' data limit? When I told the customer service rep that I thought 2Gb was rather low to advertise something as 'unlimited', she herself was surprised to learn it was that low. Ba dum bum.

I suspect the real reason my account was suspended was because I had called a few days earlier, November 3, to ask how my balance had gone below $10, causing my unlimited browsing add-on not to automatically reivew. I had barely used the phone after my $25 top-up in October. I asked the customer service rep to provide me with my usage details so I could compare it with my call logs. She started going through my details when the call was suddenly interrupted. Apparently someone monitoring the customer service reps' calls told her she was not allowed to provide me with my usage history.

I was then transfered to speak with the call monitor person, who informed me that customer service agents were not allowed to provide users with usage history. I told her I thought there was probably a legal requirement to provide customers with the details of what they were being billed for, especially if they were asking. I said I did not care to waste their time and would be happy if they could simply send me an electronic copy of my usage history. I was told they would not do that either. At that point I said I was pretty certain that charging customers without telling them what they were being charged for was illegal. I asked to speak to a supervisor and was repeatedly refused, with the call monitor person telling me there wasn't one available. I then asked where I could call to speak with one, and was told that I would have to leave my name and number and one would get back to me. When? Apparently their policy was to get back to customers within 5 business days.

To end this sad episode off and tie the November 3 and 14 calls together, I closed the November 14 call by asking the customer service rep if her records showed anyone had tried to call me back regarding my November 3 billing inquiry. She said it was indicated that someone was supposed to call me back, but no one had. Presumably they figured I was one of those diffucult customers - you know, one of the ones that wanted to know what they were being billed for - so they figured they'd rather cancel my account than tell me how I was being billed.

You stay classy, SpeakOut.

So you're expecting to use Speakout as your primary internet provider? And you don't think that is abuse?

I can agree that hearing unlimited and not getting unlimited sucks. They shouldn't be able to use deceptive advertising like that or make up their own definitions of words.

But if you expect to make Speakout your primary ISP, than that is abusive and you should really stop whining. I don't think anybody would agree with you that expecting a $10 unlimited mobile browsing addon to provide all your internet connectivity isn't abuse.

They clearly state that they mean for it to be used for browsing, and they restrict access to the internet for that reason. You're bypassing those restrictions to abuse the connection. The only one to be blamed here is you.

If you need a real data plan, buy one.

[htrab1]

JAC - good question. Yes, I used tethering. However, it makes no difference in terms of data usage. If I don't explain it well, hopefully someone else can, but when you tether and go to browse a page, you see the same dithered, low-res page that you do on your phone. Well, at least I did. It looks pretty funny on an HD laptop screen.

Agreed. They should do like Mobilicity, Wind and others that used to advertise their plans as 'unlimited' without indicating their usage caps and throttling policies. Those companies all now clearly indicate their caps right beside the word 'unlimited'. I think it defeats the purpose of using 'unlimited' right beside the data cap. But that's their marketing problem; the info is now clearly there.

And Jimbo can keep saying they send customers a notice until he's blue in the face. Their policy says they don't have to send a notice, and they don't. And as clearly indicated in my last post, there's no way a customer would be able to figure it out from their product information page. For the sake of argument, even if they did send a notice after a customer signed up (which they don't), it would still be false advertising to inform a customer of an unadvertised limitation/restriction AFTER they've already paid for a service.

[Jimboski]

JAC - good question. Yes, I used tethering. However, it makes no difference in terms of data usage. If I don't explain it well, hopefully someone else can, but when you tether and go to browse a page, you see the same dithered, low-res page that you do on your phone. Well, at least I did. It looks pretty funny on an HD laptop screen.

Agreed. They should do like Mobilicity, Wind and others that used to advertise their plans as 'unlimited' without indicating their usage caps and throttling policies. Those companies all now clearly indicate their caps right beside the word 'unlimited'. I think it defeats the purpose of using 'unlimited' right beside the data cap. But that's their marketing problem; the info is now clearly there.

And Jimbo can keep saying they send customers a notice until he's blue in the face. Their policy says they don't have to send a notice, and they don't. And as clearly indicated in my last post, there's no way a customer would be able to figure it out from their product information page. For the sake of argument, even if they did send a notice after a customer signed up (which they don't), it would still be false advertising to inform a customer of an unadvertised limitation/restriction AFTER they've already paid for a service.

Lol..... Speakout y u no let me unlim bandwidth tether?? im only spend $10 for my internet bcos i rich to buy internet hauehauehauehauehaueh
People these days man. Just go to Wind and get their unlimited data, Tether how much you want then.

If you don't like Speakout and their false advertising then leave, No one Is stopping you. Lol.

[htrab1]

So you're expecting to use Speakout as your primary internet provider? And you don't think that is abuse?

You know, it's almost not worth replying, but eh... You deduced from "only immediately available internet connection" that this was the only internet connection, despite clear indication otherwise on Page 1 (post #11)? And you made a point of copying the entire OP to highlight that one simple line that your literal comprehension precluded you from understanding? No wonder China is kicking our ***** ...

[ceraf]

You can try posting on the Speakout forums about your experience...someone may hear you out.

http://www.speakoutwireless.ca/speak/

[Jimboski]

You can try posting on the Speakout forums about your experience...someone may hear you out.

http://www.speakoutwireless.ca/speak/

He already talked to Speakout customer support.