Buyer Beware: Wind Mobile Unlimited SCAM

[Lubu]

I thought I would share a bit of useful information for those who are currently with Wind Mobile or are thinking of signing for a Wind Mobile should be aware that their so called "Unlimited Data, Unlimited Internet" plan which made Wind Mobile so popular is a scam. Recently, Wind Mobile implemented a policy similar to what AT&T did in the US where their "Unlimited Data/Internet" is now limited to 5GB and if you exceed that number, your speed is throttled to the point of you barely able to use the internet. How bad of a throttling? Wind Mobile normal internet download speeds according to their customer service dept is 7 Mbps which is one of the slowest 4G network in the country (in comparison Bell or Telus, their download speed is approx 42 Mbps) :eek: Getting back to Wind, if you exceed the limit of 5gb per month, they will throttle your download speed to.....256K for the remainder of the billing cycle until the following month.:rolleyes: That is enough to check emails at best but you are hardly able to surf the net with most websites having enriched content. With the new policy, Wind has also magically launched a new add on service where if you want to "enjoy" the same speeds after the 5gb, you can "upgrade" to PREMIUM data for an extra $10 per month :rolleyes:

This policy just came into effect very recently and it affects all Wind Mobile clients in Canada especially those who signed up for their so called "no contract" Wind Tab which is essentially a contract because you are locked into the Wind service because they either gave you the phone for free or at a reduced price, hence the term Wind Tab because the value of the phone is placed on your "Tab". If you cancel or do not wish to continue using Wind for whatever reason, you will have to pay off your "Tab" (ie the value of the phone).

So Wind Mobile essentially screwed it's customers by offering "Unlimited Internet/Data" when we signed up for their service and now they are "throttling" it's customers to the point that it's no longer "Unlimited Internet/Data". What makes this very shady is that it's applies to all old customers who are locked into Wind Tab.

If many of you remember, AT&T did a similar shady practice last year in the US where they throttled same "Unlimited" customers to 256K after a certain limit was reached with a huge outcry from the public. AT&T backtracked later on after all large chunk of their customers cancelled their accounts with them (even though they were locked into 3, 5 year plans).

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/03/att-throttling-adjustment/

Wind Mobile is using the same tactic here and if you still walk by a wind store, you still see the "Unlimited Data Unlimited Internet" being advertised and for all of you who are on Wind Tab, check your service agreement, there is not a single mention of a 5gb limit on your service agreement. The fact that they are changing the policy and forcing you to adhere to their new policy is a scam in itself considering you/we signed up for an "Unlimited Data and Unlimited Internet" service. Throttling us down to 256K is hardly Unlimited. That was the whole premise of many people signing up to Wind, it was always their catchy slogan you see plastered and blasted every where "Unlimited Data and Unlimited Internet" for $XX per month.

Because almost all Wind customers signed up for their Unlimited Data/Internet plan especially those who signed up under the 3year Wind Tab "non contract" contract, you are getting scammed by this new policy.

But here's the silver lining for those who wish to get out of your contract, You can cancel your Wind service even if you are stuck on your Wind Tab because Wind did not mention in writing in your original service agreement that you signed that there was a "5gb limit". Because this new policy was added recently, legally you are not obligated to continue on your contract because Wind broke the terms of agreement to your "Unlimited Internet and Unlimited Data" with this new policy.

At best old customers should have the right of the grandfather clause where Wind must provide you with the "Unlimited" plan that you originally signed up for. If they are allowed to break and change the policy, as an end user you also have the right to refuse to continue using their new service and not pay the balance of the Wind Tab.

They violated the terms of the agreement and it's well within our rights to follow suit. Legally they face the same challenge that AT&T did in the US where unhappy customers broke their contracts and AT&T couldn't do anything about it. We signed up for "Unlimited" so we should be allowed to use unlimited. If there was a pre determined limit, they should have stated it in our agreement when we signed up for it.

What part of "Unlimited' does Wind Mobile not understand. Plain and simple Wind Mobile is pulling a scam on it's customers similarly to what AT&T did in the US.

Buyer Beware for those thinking of signing up to Wind Mobile. Their "Unlimited Internet Unlimited Data" is a scam and now it's nothing more than a marketing gimmick. (On their website now, they are still advertising the same Unlimited scam but if you look closely, they just added the "Premium 5gb $10 add on service along with their so called new "Fair Usage" term). It's the old customers who are getting screwed now.

Old customers should send a message to Wind Mobile by cancelling their service similarly to what customers with AT&T did in the US. Read more about the AT&T below, it sounds awfully familiar to Wind Mobile's new scam doesn't it? :rolleyes: At least with Rogers and the other companies, they are not scamming you by saying "Unlimited" which Wind Mobile is clearly doing. What part of Unlimited does Wind Mobile not understand?

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/mobile-news/at-and-t-data-throttling-and-the-great-customer-ripoff/6817

[ercchry]

i remember reading from the beginning that they will throttle you of you use too much. read your contract or fail at life

[Lubu]

No my friend, and even I contacted Wind Mobile customer service pertaining this exact point. There is no mention of a "5gb limit" in anyone's terms of agreement/contract. Even their supervisor of customer service, Mohammad admitted it that they did not mention or state a 5gb limit in any agreement most people signed.

This policy was implemented very recently.

Furthermore throttling you by 30%-50% is one thing but when they throttle you from 7mbps to 256K, that's essentially cutting you off because aside from checking emails, there's not much "internet" you can do with that kind of a speed unless you are stuck in the 90's ;)

[ercchry]

im on my phone all day. i use under 500mb a month... wtf you doing to use 5gb! and when they dont give a limit and instead something vauge like "too much" they can throttle where ever and whenever they please!

[Meback]

I ve been using them now for a while, i m not heavy on the internet usage, just check stocks, email, and other social media programs. I am happy with them, i got the B2S deal 29 bucks, unlimited everything. Better than rogers, and here is the kicker, the only thing i really notice is that I dont get any reception in the bottom level of my home (4 level split)

[Lubu]

You are right, the fact that they were vague with "too much" opened the door for them to do whatever they please. But one person's definition of "too much" is different from another. The fact that Wind Mobile is pulling the same scam now that AT&T pulled from earlier this year doesn't make things right especially when Wind Mobile blatantly advertises "Unlimited".

5Gb is not really that crazy of a limit as other companies like Rogers have 5gb downloads plan but yet Rogers, Telus, Bell don't openly try to scam customers (new or old) by claiming "unlimited internet unlimited data" now do they?

[FraserB]

Its not new at all, unless you consider 1 year + new. :dunno:

The 5gb limit might be but all their customers agreed to the throttling when they signed.

[Lubu]

Originally posted by Meback
I ve been using them now for a while, i m not heavy on the internet usage, just check stocks, email, and other social media programs. I am happy with them, i got the B2S deal 29 bucks, unlimited everything. Better than rogers, and here is the kicker, the only thing i really notice is that I dont get any reception in the bottom level of my home (4 level split)

Wind Mobile reception is poor in a lot of areas especially in some parts of the NE or as you mentioned, in parking garages, basements or lower level homes. Luckily I'm in the NW and haven't noticed much of an issue but far NW also has issues of no service. And forget about going out of town with a wind phone. Places like Cochrane, you have no service at all. Not to mention that their 4G network is one of if not the slowest in the country compared to the other companies

7 mbps for Wind
24 mbps for other carriers like Telus and Bell

Also take into consideration that you have to pay extra for photo text messages and they don't offer Free Video Conferencing like Rogers or Bell.

Wind's Video Conferencing counts as part of their usage which I do quite a bit of

[Lubu]

Originally posted by FraserB
Its not new at all, unless you consider 1 year + new. :dunno:

The 5gb limit might be but all their customers agreed to the throttling when they signed.

The 5gb limit of Wind is brand new. Wind implemented it after seeing how AT&T implemented it in the US earlier this Feb.

[ercchry]

BOOM, found it


Originally posted by BenC
An email I received about wind
*not by me
"
First we start with the Data Plan Caps:
- Blackberry, Smartphone and USB Sticks will be flagged once they hit 5gb of data. Speed throttling could potentially happen also.

- WAP Browsing which would be data from their 1 basic handset, would be flagged at 500mb and speed throttling could potentially happen also.

Voice Calling:
- If you use more than 3 hours per day of WIND to WIND calling for a billing cycle, the account will be monitored. The same applies for province wide calling. If you use more than 1 hour per day for a billing cycle of Canadian/U.S. long distance, the account will be monitored.

Text Message Monitoring:
- If you have more than 150 Wind to Wind or 150 outgoing text messages per day, per billing cycle, the account will be monitored.
- Picture messaging, the same as above applies except for 50 message per day.

Month to Month Credit Limits:
- Rate Plan 1 (Chat) – Monthly Limit is $45 and the Daily Credit Limit is $30
- Rate Plan 2 (Always Talk) – Monthly Limit is $70 and the Daily Credit Limit is $30
- Rate Plan 3 (Always Shout) – Monthly Limit is $90 and the Daily Credit Limit is $30

If the customer exceeds triple the monthly fees, they will be contacted to investigate.

Example: You are on Always Shout and your balance exceeds 3 x $90 = $270, expect a phone call, or your phone to stop working until your account is paid...would suck to be on a road trip, have an emergency and not be able to use your phone...


Frequency roaming:
Their phones/rocket stick would be pretty useless outside of their wind home zone. Because they are on the AWS 1700 MHz (T-Mobile) frequency … so they can ‘roam’ only on EDGE
."

http://forums.beyond.ca/st2/windmobile-ca-launched/showthread.php?s=&postid=3192258&highlight=wind+throttling#post3192258

[Lubu]

Originally posted by ercchry
BOOM, found it



http://forums.beyond.ca/st2/windmobile-ca-launched/showthread.php?s=&postid=3192258&highlight=wind+throttling#post3192258

That's an "EMAIL" someone received from Wind. This was not openly stated in their terms of agreement nor do you see it at any of their stores or flyers.

[ercchry]

Originally posted by Lubu


That's an "EMAIL" someone received from Wind. This was not openly stated in their terms of agreement nor do you see it at any of their stores or flyers.

look at the date... READ your contract... who cares, stop watching porn on the go and you'll never hit 5gb :nut:

[Lubu]

Voice Calling:
- If you use more than 3 hours per day of WIND to WIND calling for a billing cycle, the account will be monitored. The same applies for province wide calling. If you use more than 1 hour per day for a billing cycle of Canadian/U.S. long distance, the account will be monitored.


If you use more than 3 hours per day of WIND to WIND calling for a billing cycle, the account will be monitored

WTF???!! :eek: :eek: :eek:

[ercchry]

from the chairman AT LAUNCH

http://forums.beyond.ca/st2/windmobile-ca-launched/showthread.php?s=&postid=3193794&highlight=wind+throttling#post3193794

[Lubu]

The date of that email is irrelevant. "Speed throttling could potentially happen also." At the time, it was not a guaranteed measure that Wind would do. It said "potentially".

Now it is a new policy. The 5gb If Wind had nothing to hide, then why do they not state the 5gb limit in their terms of agreement or in their store instead of putting it in an email???

Why would they advertise "Unlimited" when it wasn't really unlimited. Getting back to Rogers or other carriers, they offer similar 5gb capped limit plans, but do they advertise "Unlimited"? Nope they don't.

ps. I'm not using my phone for porn. I use it for business video conferencing which on other carriers is included free of charge btw. Wind Mobile bunches it up in your monthy bandwidth usage. Trust me video conferencing adds up much faster than porn :nut:

Bottom line, it's not Unlimited. It's a scam tactic by Wind Mobile to advertise it or at the very least it's shady advertising.

[Lubu]

That whole email you posted is absolutely rubbish, seriously they are going to monitor someone's account if someone send sends more than 150 text messages in one day?????!!

Are you kidding me? :rolleyes: My wife and her friends text more than that on her Telus account in half a day :rofl:

Text Message Monitoring:
- If you have more than 150 Wind to Wind or 150 outgoing text messages per day, per billing cycle, the account will be monitored.
- Picture messaging, the same as above applies except for 50 message per day.

[ercchry]

then maybe we pony up the dough for a real carrier. wind has been a budget carrier since day one. no serious person would dream of cheaping out on wind for their business line :rolleyes:

[Tik-Tok]

Although I have no proof, I know this was part of their terms of service 2 years ago when I was looking to switch carriers. It's one of the reasons I didn't, lol.

[Lubu]

I am also with Rogers for another 4 more months on my current 3 year plan :D I signed up because Wind advertised "Unlimited Internet Unlimited Data". The bottom line is they are scamming people or in using shady false advertising by claiming Unlimited Internet and Unlimited Data when in reality, it's not.

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by Lubu
I am also with Rogers for another 4 more months on my current 3 year plan :D I signed up because Wind advertised "Unlimited Internet Unlimited Data". The bottom line is they are scamming people or in using shady false advertising by claiming Unlimited Internet and Unlimited Data when in reality, it's not.

Sure it is. Use as much 250kb/s data as you want :rofl:

[ercchry]

everyone on here knew this. this is why no one but the cheap bastards switched... plus i travel outside the city :nut:

[Vagabond142]

I've been on Wind since Calgary launch, and not once, NOT ONCE, has my data ever been throttled. And I'm talking picture messaging, watching Netflix on my phone, browsing the internet (including Beyond), watching youtube, listening to digitally imported radio, using google maps as GPS, etc... all stuff that streams a lot.

I would consider myself a heavy data user.

I am on the Wind "Unlimited Wish 40 with Voicemail+ and World Saver Included" plan, and it's awesome. I personally love it. The only place I lose signal these days is LRT tunnels and the elevators at work. That's it. Very satisfied with Wind, and I don't have to deal with Rogers customer support :barf: Wind support has been amazing (to me at least) :D

[Lubu]

Originally posted by Vagabond142
I've been on Wind since Calgary launch, and not once, NOT ONCE, has my data ever been throttled. And I'm talking picture messaging, watching Netflix on my phone, browsing the internet (including Beyond), watching youtube, listening to digitally imported radio, using google maps as GPS, etc... all stuff that streams a lot.

I would consider myself a heavy data user.

I am on the Wind "Unlimited Wish 40 with Voicemail+ and World Saver Included" plan, and it's awesome. I personally love it. The only place I lose signal these days is LRT tunnels and the elevators at work. That's it. Very satisfied with Wind, and I don't have to deal with Rogers customer support :barf: Wind support has been amazing (to me at least) :D

Well, if you are a heavy data user, you will be throttled now with their new 5gb limit policy unfortunately . :( Their customer service rep stated they recently implemented throttling customers who exceed the 5gb limit.

[Lubu]

Originally posted by Tik-Tok
Although I have no proof, I know this was part of their terms of service 2 years ago when I was looking to switch carriers. It's one of the reasons I didn't, lol.

Lucky you. The problem is when someone signed up for their so called "no contract" Wind Tab, those people are ones who now have to either bite the bullet and pay out the phone or accept Wind Mobile's new revised Unlimited Data Unlimited Internet scam.

lol about the 256K unlimited internet :rofl:

[Lubu]

Originally posted by Vagabond142
Very satisfied with Wind, and I don't have to deal with Rogers customer support :barf: Wind support has been amazing (to me at least) :D

Mine is a completely opposite. Wind customer support is horrible in my opinion. Their customer service is based in the middle east or africa it seems as I always seem to get an Egyptian or african. Rogers on the other hand, their customer service is based in Canada. They have always been quite personable while the Wind customer service reps seem impatient and like to cut people off and seem more interested in ending the call as quickly as possible. Don't know about other carriers but because I had the pleasure of dealing with Rogers and Wind customer service, I can honestly say it's better dealing with Rogers customer service especially when it comes to dealing with supervisors or managers.

[Lubu]

Originally posted by BenC


Voice Calling:
- If you use more than 3 hours per day of WIND to WIND calling for a billing cycle, the account will be monitored. The same applies for province wide calling. If you use more than 1 hour per day for a billing cycle of Canadian/U.S. long distance, the account will be monitored.

Text Message Monitoring:
- If you have more than 150 Wind to Wind or 150 outgoing text messages per day, per billing cycle, the account will be monitored.
- Picture messaging, the same as above applies except for 50 message per day.




Getting back to that email if the contents of it was indeed sent by a Wind customer service, if I'm a new customer thinking of signing up with Wind and read how restrictive they are even before I posted the Unlimited Data Unlimited scam, I would stay far far away from Wind Mobile.

It still gets to me that they will flag or monitor an account if someone talks for more than 3 hours on the phone???

Or if you send more than 150 texts in a day, they will flag you???

Sounds very restrictive and not "Unlimited" in any way :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[psycoticclown]

I regularly come close to my 6gb of data every month on Rogers. Google music ftw lol

[Lubu]

Originally posted by psycoticclown
I regularly come close to my 6gb of data every month on Rogers. Google music ftw lol

I agree 5gb or 6gb is not really much usage. Music, or movie downloads can add up very quickly in this day and age where streaming video is the norm and if anyone does video conferencing, that adds up too. ;)

For Wind that advertises "Unlimited", you would think their capped limit would be higher than 5gb. After all, Rogers has a 5gb package but not once did they advertise their service as Unlimited. :rolleyes: At least Rogers or other carriers are not trying to deceive customers like Wind is blantantly doing

[Lubu]

When searching for the term "Wind Mobile Scam" in google, I stumbled across this site below

Wind Mobile Sucks
www.windmobilesucks.com/ 21 Apr 2011 – The site of dissatisfied Wind Mobile Customers. What motivated me to make this site? As you may have guessed, a very bad experience with ..

.:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Ven]

The only thing Unlimited about cellular in Canada; the ways in which companies can find a way to fuck you.

[heavyfuel]

That's what you get for being on the grind looking for the cheapest possible everything. Grinders deserve to get screwed like this, just for being on the grind to begin with. So much money here and everybody wants everything for free.

[Seth1968]

Originally posted by Ven
The only thing Unlimited about cellular in Canada; the ways in which companies can find a way to fuck you.


Originally posted by Ven
The only thing about cellular in Canada; the ways in which companies can find a way to fuck you.

Fixed.

[black13]

No sorry dude, Rogers/Bell/Telus are the real scammers. If it wasn't for WIND/Mobilicity, we would still be stuck with getting 500mb max a month and paying over $60 for that. They had and still run the wireless business like a monopoly hence Canada has had the highest cell charges for a long time.

Ever since WIND and these other low cost carriers, all of a sudden Canada wide calling, more data and more minutes are now FREE!

I'm a Rogers customer and I'm waiting to get a Nexus 4 so I can cancel with them and switch to WIND.

If you don't like Wind ok, good for you. Go pay the ridiculous amounts Rogers charges. And none of their plans offer anything close to Wind even with their capped limits.

[Lubu]

Originally posted by black13
If you don't like Wind ok, good for you. Go pay the ridiculous amounts Rogers charges. And none of their plans offer anything close to Wind even with their capped limits.

You missed the point, it's not that I'm saying Rogers or other carriers are better or cheaper. I'm saying that Rogers and other carriers have similar 5gb download limit plans but they don't go around scamming customers like Wind Mobile does with it's so called "Unlimited Data Unlimited Internet" plans but then they cap you the minute you hit 5gb.

It's like advertising "All You Can Eat Buffet" but then when you start eating, they tell you there is a 5 plate limit.

Plain and simple Wind Mobile is scamming people with their marketing tactics. Rogers have a 5gb limit but they don't advertise it as "Unlimited".

[SpeedIllusion]

Every brochure I've seen from Wind, it says "Fair Usage Policy" beside their unlimited data.

Reading > You

[secol]

Originally posted by Lubu


I agree 5gb or 6gb is not really much usage. Music, or movie downloads can add up very quickly in this day and age where streaming video is the norm and if anyone does video conferencing, that adds up too. ;)

For Wind that advertises "Unlimited", you would think their capped limit would be higher than 5gb. After all, Rogers has a 5gb package but not once did they advertise their service as Unlimited. :rolleyes: At least Rogers or other carriers are not trying to deceive customers like Wind is blantantly doing
that's because once you go over Roger's 5GB you can keep using at $10 per GB.....Wind however is unlimited with throttling which was common practice with all unlimited data plans from as far back as their inception


Originally posted by black13
No sorry dude, Rogers/Bell/Telus are the real scammers. If it wasn't for WIND/Mobilicity, we would still be stuck with getting 500mb max a month and paying over $60 for that. They had and still run the wireless business like a monopoly hence Canada has had the highest cell charges for a long time.

Ever since WIND and these other low cost carriers, all of a sudden Canada wide calling, more data and more minutes are now FREE!

I'm a Rogers customer and I'm waiting to get a Nexus 4 so I can cancel with them and switch to WIND.

If you don't like Wind ok, good for you. Go pay the ridiculous amounts Rogers charges. And none of their plans offer anything close to Wind even with their capped limits.
it's all about what type of user you are, obviously you are not really the user Wind is targeting which is why you're having issues with Wind. I don't know anybody who breaks 5 GB in a month and although the speeds are slower than the big 3 it is not like it take a minute to open each page when surfing.


Originally posted by Lubu


You missed the point, it's not that I'm saying Rogers or other carriers are better or cheaper. I'm saying that Rogers and other carriers have similar 5gb download limit plans but they don't go around scamming customers like Wind Mobile does with it's so called "Unlimited Data Unlimited Internet" plans but then they cap you the minute you hit 5gb.

It's like advertising "All You Can Eat Buffet" but then when you start eating, they tell you there is a 5 plate limit.

Plain and simple Wind Mobile is scamming people with their marketing tactics. Rogers have a 5gb limit but they don't advertise it as "Unlimited".
it's a 5 plate limit, after you break the limit you can no longer use dinner plates but you must use a dessert plate :dunno:

[secol]

Originally posted by Lubu
When searching for the term "Wind Mobile Scam" in google, I stumbled across this site below

Wind Mobile Sucks
www.windmobilesucks.com/ 21 Apr 2011 – The site of dissatisfied Wind Mobile Customers. What motivated me to make this site? As you may have guessed, a very bad experience with ..

.:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
doesn't seem like a huge amount of complaints compared to "robellus" who are quite notorious for screwing their customers over for years.....if you google you don't even need to stumble on anything since complaints are literally everywhere

[Vagabond142]

Originally posted by SpeedIllusion
Every brochure I've seen from Wind, it says "Fair Usage Policy" beside their unlimited data.

Reading > You

QFT...

From day 1, all plans have had 5 GB unlimited with fair usage. It IS unlimited data... I could do 100 GB of data if I wanted to on my phone, it's just that 95 GB of it would be fair use. I would get great speed at 3 AM on a weekday, but slow speed during the day.

Lubu, I think you're trying to make a alp from an anthill here. WIND's data is truly unlimited, it's just throttled by fair use after 5 GB.