SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (AP) -- When AT&T started slowing down the data service for his iPhone, Matt Spaccarelli, an unemployed truck driver and student, took the country's largest telecommunications company to small claims court. And won.
His award: $850.
Pro-tem Judge Russell Nadel found in favor of Spaccarelli in Ventura Superior Court in Simi Valley on Friday, saying it wasn't fair for the company to purposely slow down his iPhone, when it had sold him an "unlimited data" plan.
Spaccarelli could have many imitators. AT&T has some 17 million customers with "unlimited data" plans who can be subject to throttling. That's nearly half of its smartphone users. AT&T forbids them from consolidating their claims into a class action or taking them to a jury trial. That leaves small claims actions and arbitration.
Late last year, AT&T started slowing down data service for the top 5 percent of its smartphone subscribers with "unlimited" plans. It had warned that it would start doing so, but many subscribers have been surprised by how little data use it takes for throttling to kick in - often less than AT&T provides to those on limited or "tiered" plans
AT&T refers to their contract and their language stating they can throttle a customer who becomes a liability to the network. But that's not what customers are talking about here, and this is why Spaccarelli won. These customers are asking to be able to use what they are paying for. AT&T is billing them for a service, failing to deliver, and hiding behind ambiguous language to stick it to their customers. As customers become more tech savvy and dependent, they are going to have some uncomfortable questions. If the FCC becomes involved it could lead to even more problems. They promised a product and advertised a level of service that they cannot deliver. Then they snark at the customer and blame them for the problem. AT&T has come to represent the greed and bloated confidence that big business wields over regular folks. It will be fun to watch them try to justify their behavior.
It will also be funny to see if this ruling sticks, and watch people nibble them to death with court appearances and expenses. Of course, AT&T will just pass the cost back to the customer, but it would be satisfying to collect.
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