3UK Apologises for 'Unlimited' BB claim

[buzby]

As reported here 'Unlimited' ads are dumb and misleading, says 3 ? The Register

 

Three UK is saying that claims of 'unlimited ' data bundles when if fact they have 'fair usage' policies making the actual claim inaccurate is bad for business. They even put their hands up to say the big boys made them do it and had to similarly compete or lose out.

 

Better late than never, I suppose - but of course the real nonsensical part is that the "Honest, Legal, Truthful" Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in the UK actually dismissed consumer complaints that unlimited really didn't mean what it sais, preferring to take the side of the advertiser. If there's to be any shame - it should be with them.

 

Both O2 and Vodafone have signalled the end of 'unlimited' and made a 500Mb lower limit the benchmark, and in VF's case, now charges punitive amounts for providing data over this limit, so much so, many users will be less than inpressed with their revised communications costs.

 

Mobile data users, be watchful!

[Mark_Blackpool]

At last, some common sense returns

 

The mildly funny part is that if I log onto my O2 PAYG account online, on the first page I get told I have "unlimited internet".

 

On another page in the same type of info box and for the same thing, it says something along the lines of "500Mb internet data allowance".

 

Indeed the ASA have much to answer for.

 

What would have been much more satisfying would have been to see a court overrule the providers AND the ASA and force the providers to provide the unlimited usage people had paid for...

 

Now, if they'd turn their attention to those "Half price" claims (not just furniture, but just about everything these days, where you'd have to be mentally deficient to fail to realise that the products were never intended for sale at the higher price) or those "best product of the year 2010" made-up-to-prove-a-point surveys which start in January of the year in which they're supposed to be the best...

[buzby]

Absolutely, although to be fair, the ASA lost all credibility for me when they allowed 'VAT FREE' as a legitimate advertising claim.

 

We all know it cannot be 'free' of VAT, but we're espected to understand that this really means a discount of 17.5%. Now, if someone pushed it to say what the revised VAT amount was, and that this should also be 'VAT FREE' we'd be in the delicious neverland where the price spirals downwards until it doesn't cost anything at all, and as such has no VAT liability.

 

I can dream, can't I?