Saturday, March 3, 2007

Verizon to start enforcing "Limits" on its "Unlimited" Data Plan

I had read a while back that there was a "cap" so to speak on Verizon's so called "Unlimited" data package. As many of you know their contract contains a boat load of caveats that makes using the "Unlimited" plan very restrictive. In my opinion, what they really mean, they should clarify by changing the name from "Unlimited" to "Unlimited Web Surfing" plan, or "5 gig/month" plan. It seems that once again their goal is to mislead rather than to be straightfoward.

It appears that in the past if you were to use more than 5 gig of data usage per month, you would get a call or contact from Verizon warning you that you are violating their terms of service and they could either level more charges, or cancel your contract, or just let it slide and maybe wait until the next time.

Reader ZATZAi emailed me to let me know that, according to this thread here they are starting to actively enforce the LIMIT of 5 gigs.

It just seems funny to call something "Unlimited" that is clearly "Limited". Also note that it is called a "Data Plan" not a "Surfing plan."

14 comments:

ZATZAi said...

Could be a good way to get out of your Verizon account without paying the penalty fee perhaps? ;-)

George Vaccaro said...

Well, the only thing is that it is in the contract.

It is kinda crazy though that they can advertise/represent this as unlimited and then in the contract mention a cap - and a low one at that.

It reminds me of the free credit report company. Free, but you have to sign up for a service that isn't free. If that's not a bait and switch tactic, I don't know what is.

Doctor MO @ The Danger Zone Show said...

Dude, would love to interview you on my podcast regarding your experience with Verizon. I, of course have suffered enough with them. I think this would be fun. Interested? email me at dangerzoneshow@gmail.com

Doctor MO @ The Danger Zone Show
http://dangerzoneshow.com

Andrew said...

It's all well and good saying "it's in the contract" but if a contract is misrepresented to you before you sign it then I'm pretty sure it's not binding. No right-thinking court would ever force you to pay a surcharge for exceeding a limit you were explicitly told didn't exist.

Unknown said...

I'm pretty sure everytime they use the word "Unlimited" it is followed by an asterisk.

Luke said...

I went to a spaghetti place with a track team for All You Can Eat pasta night, and after a while of asking for more, they said "I think you've had enough." I said, "But it's all you can eat..." and she responded, "Within reason," and walked off.

Andrew said...

It's very polite of Verizon to keep doing stupid things and keep this blog running long after the original issue was cleared up, isn't it?

Jon said...

Well I tried verizon chat and they are just as bad:

http://jhermiz.googlepages.com/verizoncantdomath

TWORIVERSWALRUS said...

This is an awesome blog. As a person who has gone through my own recent set of problems with Verizon, I can surely sympathize. If you get the time, check out my story.

http://brotherwalrus.blogspot.com/2007/03/verizon-sucks.html

Mark Ballard said...

I want to order verizon DSL has anyone ordered through www.dsldance.com? Their deal looks better than Verizons.

Unknown said...

now we know why i use sprint

Eat Fat, Get Fit said...

I just called them about this.

The guy from Tech Support said something about "not ever seeing anyone ever come close to 5gb" and that it was a legal issue.

And then he proceeded to refer to how it would be more of a tethering issue...that you wouldn't have to worry about it (assuming you didn't break the 5gb) if you just used the phone. Also, he gave this loose reference to "users that like to watch shows and movies on certain sites that allow this" who might be at risk for this type of enforcement. So I basically fired back with "So, if I go on alluc, peekvid, tvlinks or the like and then end up at online videos, then I'd be at risk?" And he said, "Yeah, a high usage per month especially with those types of sites might cause some type of action."

So much for net neutrality (Oh, and just one more reason as to why I will never have Verizon be my ISP).

But then I asked--> "So, how do you all distinguish these other sites from say youtube?" And he said "Well, youtube is more clips...blah blah blah."

So for all intents and purposes...the unlimited plan is whatever Verizon deems it to be. You look at them the wrong way, and you'll get cut off...haha.

Oh, and I had a bit of inspiration from that Fake Steve Jobs blog...I decided to start my own, but through the eyes of a Verizon rep...should have some fun with that.

Eat Fat, Get Fit said...

Is it difficult to start your own wireless network? I'm not happy with any of them. And I'm tired of getting screwed and seeing others get the same treatment. Maybe they all should get disbanded again.

Unknown said...

Comcast has a LIMIT OF 250 GB (seriously! huge difference!) and charges less for the service. I just switched today.