Fast-talk from Straight Talk and others about unlimited data

Unlimited talk, text, and data for $45 per month with no contract? That sounds like a great deal, but according to a recent FTC lawsuit, millions of people who bought unlimited mobile plans from Straight Talk, Net10 Wireless, Simple Mobile, and Telcel America didn’t get what they paid for. And now they may be eligible for refunds.

Here’s what the FTC’s complaint says: Despite ads that emphasized the promise of unlimited data, the company behind these brands — TracFone Wireless — set data limits that customers didn’t know about. When customers reached these limits, TracFone slowed their data speed or cut off their data service entirely. In some cases, TracFone terminated all services to the phone. And it didn’t take much to reach the data limit. TracFone generally slowed data service when a customer used one to three gigabytes, and suspended data service at four to five gigabytes.

Reduced data speeds meant users couldn’t run popular apps like YouTube, Netflix, and Skype. Even simple tasks — like checking email or visiting a web page — were often very slow.

Tracfone has agreed to settle FTC charges that its promises of “unlimited” data were misleading. If you had an unlimited plan from Straight Talk, Net10 Wireless, Simple Mobile, or Telcel America, you may be eligible for refund. Visit ftc.gov/prepaidphones for details.