Following a lawsuit AT&T filed against T-Mobile last year, the mobile carrier is now updating it with new accusations of false advertising. This time, the allegations focus on T-Mobile’s “Switching Made Easy” campaign. This promises to switch AT&T and Verizon customers over to T-Mobile in 15 minutes.
AT&T updates its lawsuit against T-Mobile with new allegations
For some backstory, T-Mobile launched the Switching Made Easy campaign in November at the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix, giving it maximum exposure. It lured customers into switching at three “Pit Lane” locations across the Grand Prix, offering access to Club Magenta for customers who switched and sponsoring various merchandise and membership experiences. “But under the razzle dazzle, T-Mobile was pulling a fast one,” AT&T alleges.
AT&T has filed the new complaint in the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Dallas. It argues that T-Mobile’s claims of big savings and fast switching to T-Mobile are deceiving. It is labelling this marketing as “bogus.”
False advertising of savings
Much like Verizon, which is suing T-Mobile in a New York court, AT&T says T-Mobile is misleading consumers. It alleges that T-Mobile is falsely promising savings when it says customers can “save over $1,000 per year” compared to its rivals. AT&T adds that T-Mobile’s app has unfair comparisons, where it links a higher-tier AT&T plan to a lower-tier T-Mobile plan.
“The ‘supposed savings’ T-Mobile shows the customer are not always based on a comparison between what the customer is currently paying to AT&T and what they would be paying at T-Mobile for a similar plan. Instead, T-Mobile presents ‘savings’ reflecting the difference between T-Mobile’s discounted rate and T-Mobile’s significantly higher rack rate,” AT&T asserts.
The 15-minute switching time is unrealistic
Besides the misleading “savings,” T-Mobile’s claim about switching from a rival account over to T-Mobile in 15 minutes is just plain false, as per AT&T. Switching to a new wireless carrier completely, where customers can actually make and receive calls on that network, usually requires much longer time- hours or even days.
AT&T also points out TV commercials, including the one starring Billy Bob Thornton. In the commercial, the actor says, “You can switch from your phone in just 15 minutes.” Another commercial with Druski also says, “Switch to T-Mobile in just 15 minutes.”
AT&T previously called out T-Mobile for its misleading advertising. Back in October, it launched a campaign starring the actor Luke Wilson. In this, he talks about the “untruths” that T-Mobile spreads about network superiority. In a press release at the time, AT&T said that the BBB’s National Advertising Division (NAD) asked T-Mobile to correct its marketing claims 16 times in the span of the last four years.
Cease-and-desist letter to AT&T
However, NAD isn’t happy with that and sent a “cease and desist” letter to AT&T. It said that the carrier shouldn’t be using its decisions in advertising/promotional materials. As a response, AT&T filed suit against the NAD, noting that its ads were protected by the First Amendment. While NAD is not a government entity. It is set up for industries to self-regulate and make sure that the US advertising is not misleading.
Both parties settled the dispute out of court in December, with BBB National Programs retracting the cease-and-desist letter. It stated that statements made by AT&T about T-Mobile were based on publicly available information published by BBB National Programs.
Scrapping customer account data
The legal filings suggest that AT&T is not over how T-Mobile snuck into AT&T’s systems to scrape customer accounts. For its part, T-Mobile argues that it was helping customers access their own information to make informed decisions. AT&T contends that T-Mobile was illegally scraping AT&T customer account data. This legal quarrel saw some progress in December, when a Texas district court granted AT&T’s request for a temporary restraining order.
This was later converted into a preliminary injunction. But AT&T is looking for a permanent injunction to stop T-Mobile from accessing customer accounts on AT&T’s systems and for violating AT&T’s terms of use. Even with the ongoing litigation, AT&T alleges that T-Mobile is still offering the switching app to AT&T customers. It is allegedly asking users to either upload bill copies or manually enter plan details into the tool.
The post AT&T Expands Lawsuit Against T-Mobile Over Misleading Advertising appeared first on Android Headlines.
