Your iPad or iPhone sitting idle may be costing you money. That’s the message from a class-action lawsuit charging AT&T with overcharging Apple customers up to 300 percent.
Lawyers charge the carrier regularly overcharged its millions of Apple handset and tablet users, usually by 7-14 percent. The legal team spent $80,000 to test their theory. A new iPhone sat for two weeks with anything affecting data usage turned off. Still AT&T billed for 35 instances of data usage, lawyers charge.
The carrier replied the lawsuit is “without merit.” AT&T counters by saying the problem is a misunderstanding how data is charged. Although an iPhone or iPad with cell coverage appears inactive, applications on the devices can still perform automatic updates and other actions in the background.
The questions raised may eventually bring Apple into the spotlight. The outcome will likely be closely-watched by Cupertino, as well as iPad and iPhone users. Earlier this year, a similar problem cropped up with Verizon iPhones being overcharged for data consumed by the handset’s personal hotspot feature.
Ed Sutherland is a veteran technology journalist who first heard of Apple when they grew on trees, Yahoo was run out of a Stanford dorm and Google was an unknown upstart. Since then, Sutherland has covered the whole technology landscape, concentrating on tracking the trends and figuring out the finances of large (and small) technology companies.
20 responses to “Could Your AT&T iPhone Bill Be Over 300% Too High? [Lawsuits]”
What I hate about the iPad data plan is that if you exceed your data ceiling, you can’t get any more until your next billing cycle. Sure, you can BUY it, but you don’t GET it right away. I somehow used all my data by watching one episode of “Grey’s Anatomy.” Someone can feel free to explain that to me, as well as why AT&T thinks it’s OK to let you be without additional 3G access until your bill comes due weeks later.
Wait, my iPhone can access the internet in the background and execute updates without my intervention? Please explain how this is possible.
It’s because you watched Grey’s Anatomy! :D
the USA cell operators provide services in really strange way comparing to Europe….
in EU it costs nothing to me if someone calls to my cell, unless I am in another country at that moment. In some cases even being me in another country incoming call does not cost me a penny if my operator has an office in that country.
If I buy data plan and already exceed my limits, I will be automatically charged xxct/MB (depending on my plan). Not talking about different features when I can pay for parking simply by sending an SMS message, I am not forced to use 3G when WiFi is available.
I think USA operators are simply robbers.
Every night, your iPhone sends information back to your carrier. Look at your past phone bills and start combing the data usage between about 1-3 am. You’ll see data uploaded. Apple also updates phishing information frequently as well. This isn’t anything unknown. As far as apps are concerned, I am not sure how that works. Read this:
http://gizmodo.com/5599621/tho…
@dawn , I totally agree! Al though I am not from the US the local mobile operators here (in Romania) give you a certain amount of data (500 MB , 1 GB, 1,5GB) and depending on which operator you use, you are either paying for the extra data, or they cap your speed (which still allows you to do basic things on the net). I think it is just plain stupid for AT&T not to allow to consumer more data than the set amount, while they could simply charge for it (maybe subject to a warning SMS that you reached your initial data limit).
Are there really people who don’t understand that smartphones use data even when they’re sitting idle? Put it in airplane mode if you really don’t want any data use.
I doubt an SMS would help in iPad case. However, it s kind of strange that data flow is cut when limit reached, especially when it is extra money for an operator. It should be the same way like with phone calls. One has a plan for x minutes and when these minutes are used the prices of call/minute is gets slightly higher.
i.e. I have cell plan for 700minutes/month and it costs me ~11USD/mo that gives me 0.015 USD/min (these 11USD I pay are to cover these 700minutes and even if I talk 1 minute per month I have to pay 11 USD anyway). However, if I exceed my limits, the price of call per minute will rise to 0.11 USD/min. the same is with data plan too.
I understand that USA is not the country with most developed communication technologies, however I doubt that cell services providers cut the data just to not get their networks overloaded…. then the only question is why they do that?
Did I misunderstand the article? I originally thought that when they said they left the test iPhone sitting “with anything affecting data usage turned off” that they HAD turned it on airplane mode. Did they just have no apps running and no mail or calendars set to sync and expected the phone to never communicate? I’m a little confused on that point.
On one hand, I have long suspected that AT&T’s (and probably other carriers as well) data billing is somewhat skewed to charge for more than it really should. On the other hand, I agree with you that you should turn airplane mode on if you don’t want to use any data.
But does anyone else think it’s strange that it cost $80,000 to leave an iPhone sitting on a table for two weeks?
That is what I would like to know!!! My husband rarely uses his iphone so we had the 200 data plan, he has never gone over until this past month. They say he is over it like 67X. So it is up over 14,000MB!! WTF so now I am getting a bill in the mail for over $1000!!!