Slashdot Mirror
AT&T Buries ToS Changes In 2500-Page Guide
JagsLive points out a story from the business section of the L.A. Times which begins: "Judging from the phone company's voluminous new online customer manual, if you have a problem with your bill, too bad: AT&T has sent customers an 8,000-word service agreement that, among other things, says people will be given 30-day notice of price increases only when 'commercially reasonable' and that you can't sue the company. Oh, and if you don't like AT&T's terms — providing you can make your way through the company's 2,500-page 'guidebook' — your only recourse is to cancel service."
Whats this...a major telephone company screw over it's customers...why that's unheard of.
Upon receipt of said brick through your building, you accept, without any consent to agreement:
1. That the brick thrower shall not be held accountable for any damage, whether
accidental or purposeful, or any other damage caused at any point in time, espec
ially before the brick was thrown.
2. That you will only use your bare hands to pick up the damage caused by this brick.
3. That you accept these terms.
Sorry, but if I'm contracted to certain functions at certain price increments or allotments, I expect those to be honored. If one party decides to change the terms of the contract without discussing (let a lone receiving approval) from the other party, then the first party should be considered to be in breach of contract.
Or does this mean that I can send AT&T a "customer ToS" and say that I now get unlimited everything on my plan, and if they don't approve they can just walk away from the existing contract?
Those who believe the Internet is private,
find their privates are on the Internet.
Throughout the book, they added random chapters from War and Peace, the Bible, the Harry Potter books, and John McCain's medical records. Afterward, they intertwined them with the actual guidebook by referring to the passages in the text.
"To find customer support, tap the number of times Hermione knocked on Hagrid's door before he answered, in the chapter we copied into this guidebook fifteen pages ago, then the first two digits in the square root in the number of members in the Fellowship of the Ring, then the first name of the narrator in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde translated into ROT13 and then from letters into numbers."
At the time AT&T bought BellSouth, AT&T was certainly not the old long distance company. That had been bought by SBC a year or two previously. SBC renamed itself to AT&T, and that corporation swallowed BellSouth.
All of which is a shame, because BellSouth was actually a fairly decent company - well, fairly decent as monopolistic local telcos can be.
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
It also makes me glad that I don't live in CA and that I am on Vonage.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't a Stateside judge just quash something like this a few weeks ago?
Yup, but my answer is going to be pretty much worthless, because I don't have a link available for you. Try searching Slash stories from a couple weeks ago.
Groklaw still has it: McKee vs. AT&T
Creationist Textbook Stickers Declared Unconstitutional by CowboyNeal
Yes and no. You can ALWAYS file suit. period fucking dot.
However immediately following the companies lawyers will file a motion to dismiss based on the binding arb clause. YMMV at that point but a judge CAN order binding arbitration.
You can get rich if you own a politician, but you have to be rich to buy one in the first place.
Anyone else notice that AT&T sends you a notice of updated iPhone firmware that starts with "AT&T Free Msg: Apple has released ..." BUT when you get the bill - lo and behold you've been charged $0.20? I only notice this because I never use text messaging. I wonder if there is a way to disable this "feature" . . .
I thought it was a good idea