No Bill Of Rights For Mobile Users... But, Uh... We'll Investigate Crappy Service
In 2004, California passed a mobile phone "bill of rights" designed to protect consumers from misleading statements from mobile operators -- basically helping people get out of onerous contracts within a reasonable period of time if (for example) there really wasn't service covering your home, despite a map that said there was. However, after the mobile operators went to court over the issue, the bill of rights was ditched. Late last year a new telco bill of rights was proposed that covered mobile operators as well as regular telco efforts -- such as DSL (mandating network neutrality). However, instead of passing that, it appears that regulators have instead passed what amounts to a PR statement about how they'll be tough on misleading mobile operators. It doesn't appear to guarantee any rights to users who find themselves stuck in bad contracts, but instead promises a special unit to "investigate" misleading claims from operators. That seems like a pretty weak solution. After all, shouldn't misleading claims already be investigated? Of course, the best solution would have been if regulation wasn't needed at all -- but so far, the operators haven't always shown a willingness to respond to customer complaints, and with users locked in for so long, there are some real consumer concerns.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
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