Fine Print Friday is a weekly column where I examine and analyze Contracts that affect many of us in our daily lives. These are typically contracts we are bound to sign if we want a product or service, and we have no choice in the contract’s terms. Each Fine Print Friday post will point out a few interesting provisions the average reader may not have noticed.
**Please Note: Fine Print Friday is not legal advice. If you need legal advice about a contract you have signed that happens to appear in Fine Print Friday, please consult an attorney. If you live in Minnesota, please contact me and I will be happy to discuss your situation.**
This week’s Fine Print Friday Contract: AT&T Wireless (iPhone)
As arguably one of the most popular gadgets in our society today, the iPhone is coveted by many, and most people will sign whatever they have to in order to get one. As with many Contracts, most people also do not read any of the terms to which they are agreeing. If you are an iPhone user in the United States, you are likely bound to the following terms through AT&T Wireless.
1. AT&T may cancel your Service Agreement (and your ability to use your iPhone) if you use the service in a way that may adversely affect their service. This adverse affect is not defined, and could be anything from hacking into their network to simply using more data per month than they would like.
2. AT&T may cancel your Service Agreement if they believe your credit has deteriorated, they decide to request advance payments or deposits, and you don’t want to pay an advance payment or deposit. Per this clause, AT&T could impose this new payment structure even if you are late on a payment for a totally unrelated service. And if you disagree with their assessment, they can cancel your service.
3. Any private information that might be transferred when downloading applications to your iPhone is not covered by the AT&T privacy policy, and can be used in any way by the company that collected it. There is no indication as to whether AT&T might facilitate this transfer of information.
4. If you have an unlimited voice plan, you are forbidden for using it for anything other than calls between two individuals. Conference calls, call forwarding, and data transmissions are not allowed and AT&T can cancel your service if you do any of these things. So much for using your iPhone for being part of that conference call, huh?
5. You are liable for all charges made from your iPhone, even if they were made without your knowledge, and AT&T assumes that making a call from the phone is evidence of authorization. So if your iPhone is stolen, and the thief makes a call while racking up charges, you are responsible for them. You may be able to keep this from happening if you report it stolen immediately, but since you’ll be missing your phone, that might be problematic. You also have to keep paying for your service while AT&T investigates your theft claim.
6. If you have your iPhone with you and are outside the United States (which includes Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands), you will be charged international roaming rates for any incoming call that goes to voicemail, even if no message is left. You may also get international roaming data charges if the phone is on and the phone automatically transmits data–even if it is without your prompting.
7. AT&T may screen anything sent through their service and can refuse to transmit it. Presumably this includes phone calls, text messages, email, and any other communication or data.
8. You cannot sue AT&T for anything related to your service with them. (This may not be enforceable in some states.) All unresolved claims will go to binding arbitration, for which AT&T will pay if the amount in dispute is under $75,000.
9. AT&T can give or sell your service agreement with them to anyone else at anytime. You may not do the same.
Those are the points that jump out at me when I read the Service Agreement. They might be of concern to you, or at least give you something to consider if you are already an AT&T customer.
More than likely, though, if you want an iPhone, you are going to sign the Contract anyway, because AT&T won’t let you have one on their network unless you sign the Service Agreement.
If you have concerns about this information and wish to contact AT&T about them, use the following information:
AT&T Wireless: Go to Contact Us through AT&T’s website.
AT&T Privacy: e-mail privacypolicy@ATT.com or write to AT&T Privacy Policy, 208 S. Akard, Room 2759, Dallas TX 75202.
Thus ends the first installment of Fine Print Friday. I hope you found it interesting and informative. If you have suggestions for other contracts to be examined for future editions of Fine Print Friday, please leave them in the comments.
About Graham Martin
Graham Martin is a solo practitioner focusing on Contract law (including drafting, review, and litigation). He operates Martin Legal Services, LLC in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.
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Rental car contract!
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