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T-Mobile’s “Unlimited?” 4G Service

Few services advertised as “unlimited” are truly unlimited. And T-Mobile continues to be a case in point.

When T-Mobile began advertising “unlimited” data on its cellphones in April 2011, the fine print indicated that only the first two gigabytes were truly unlimited. Any use beyond that would be slowed down or “throttled.” And of course, that fact was not as prominently disclosed as their unlimited claims.

Fast forward to September 2012. T-Mobile published full page ads with a new unlimited claim:

T-Mobile unlimited

However, at the bottom page in almost unreadable type was this:

*MOUSE PRINT:

T-Mobile unlimited fine print

Not obvious on its face, the new unlimited plan is not considered “Ultra” or “Premium” where customers’ data transmission speeds will be given priority when traffic is heavy. That could put those on the new unlimited plan in coach and thus they may not experience the same fast speeds.

Beyond that, on T-Mobile’s “test drive” website, the company seems to proclaim a list of benefits to those who select the new 4G unlimited service (note: graphic has been compressed to fit this page):

T-Mobile

The top-listed benefit is the ability to create a wi-fi hotspot so that data can be shared with other devices nearby such as a tablet. However, when clicking on that benefit, one discovers that this is NOT a benefit of the new unlimited 4G plan.

*MOUSE PRINT:

TM

NOTE: MrConsumer is a member of Verizon’s Consumer Advisory Board, and often criticizes that company for its advertising missteps.

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Carbon Monoxide Detectors: Guaranteed to Fail in 7 Years

Kidde alarmTo help prevent illness and death, some states require carbon monoxide alarms to be installed in various parts of your home.

Kidde is one of the large, recognized brands of smoke alarms and other fire prevention products. Certain of their carbon monoxide detectors, however, come with conflicting promises and warnings.

In the manual’s introduction for one of their basic carbon monoxide detectors, it reassures customers they have made a good choice:

“Thank you for making Kidde a part of your complete home safety program. With proper installation and use, your new Kidde CO alarm will provide you with years of dependable service.”

Buried on page 8, however, is some starting news:

*MOUSE PRINT:

Kidde 7 years

A similar disclosure appears in fine print on the box itself. On one hand, the company seems to take safety seriously and doesn’t want to give customers a false sense of reassurance that their detectors are working when they have really lost the ability to sense carbon monoxide. On the other hand, one would not normally expect to have to throw out a $25 to $70 product after only seven years.

What’s going on here? The answer is that carbon monoxide detectors do indeed have a limited life. Inside many detectors is an electro-chemical cell that reacts in the presence of carbon monoxide. It tends to be very accurate. But, over time, the chemical can degrade and its performance is diminished. Accordingly, a national safety standard for carbon monoxide detectors published by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) requires that manufacturers build in a warning system to alert consumers that the unit is no longer functioning properly.

*MOUSE PRINT:

8.1 The unit (including the sensor) shall have a specified lifetime of at least 3 years from the date of manufacture, or from the date the unit is placed into service.

38.1.6 The unit shall indicate end-of-life, based on the manufacturer’s specified lifetime, with an end-of-life signal (see 3.11). This signal shall be triggered either by an internal timer or by a self-diagnostic test(s).

3.11 END-OF-LIFE SIGNAL – An audible signal, differing from the alarm signal, intended to indicate that the device has reached the end of its useful life and should be replaced. … The end-of-life signal shall repeat once every 30 – 60 seconds ±10 percent. — UL 2034, Standard for Single and Multiple Station Carbon Monoxide Alarms.

So, no matter what brand of carbon monoxide detector you buy, the unit will automatically commit suicide at the end of its useful life.

Note: MrConsumer is a member of UL’s Consumer Advisory Council.
 

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Best Buy to Match Online Prices, Sort of

A couple of weeks ago, Best Buy announced that its brick and mortar stores were going to match online prices. Hurray! What could be better than being able to shop locally *and* pay lower Internet prices?

Not so fast. Have we forgotten who we are dealing with?

At the very end of the page describing its price matching policy, Best Buy added these catches:

*MOUSE PRINT:

Best Buy will match the new, identical, immediately available current pre-tax appliance and electronics hardware products price for these designated major retailers: Amazon.com, Apple.com, Bhphotovideo.com, Buy.com, Circuitcity.com, CompUSA.com, Crutchfield.com, Dell.com, hhgregg.com, hp.com, homedepot.com, lowes.com, newegg.com, officedepot.com, officemax.com, Sears.com, Staples.com, Target.com, Tigerdirect.com, and walmart.com. Appliance and electronics hardware products include audio hardware, video hardware, cameras, camcorders, desktop computers, notebook computers, e-Readers, tablets, TVs, MP3 players, small appliances, major appliances, gaming handheld devices and consoles. Best Buy will not price match accessories, during the return and exchange period or the online prices of third party vendors (Marketplace Vendors) on major retailer websites. Valid for purchases made between October 7, 2012 – November 17, 2012 and November 27, 2012 – December 24, 2012. Best Buy may amend these terms at any time. All other terms and conditions of the Best Buy Price Match Guarantee apply. See Store for details.

*MOUSE PRINT Summarized:

1. Best Buy will not match all Internet prices, just at those specific sites listed above.

2. Best Buy will not match Internet prices of all products it carries, just electronics and appliances.

3. Best Buy will not match Internet prices during Thanksgiving week, Black Friday or Cyber Monday — the days when prices are likely to be the lowest.

4. Best Buy will apply all its other restrictions to online price matching, including that limited quantity, out of stock, and “Deal of the Day” items are excluded.

Best Buy garnered huge headlines for being one of the first brick and mortar retailers to match Internet prices, but the fine print of the actual policy reveals that it will not apply on the best days to shop nor to the lowest prices you are likely to find.

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