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  1. #1
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    Legalities of this :)

    hehe.. Here is an idea I thought would be great after talking to a new customer that saw a host with "UNLIMITED TRANSFER FOR $3 / mo"

    Well, what if I sent in 1 yr or whatever $36 to one of these hosts with unlimited transfer and nailed him with bandwidth.. I.E. use every single kbit/s he has outgoing for as long as I can? Then when he cuts me off take him to court? I would love to start an actual organization that does this and nails hosts that offer unlimited bandwidth because I am tired of hearing the sob stories from my customers..

    I think it would be halarious
    James R. Clark II

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    431
    Im sure you wouldn't have much of a case because the majority of these hosts make you agree to a terms of service which would basically protect them in court. Wish they could be gotten on some sort of false advertising claim however.
    Jordan Bouvier

  3. #3
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    Read their TOS, usually they have language in there that makes it clear that "unlimited" does not mean unlimited. Usually anything you might do to increase your bandwidth that way -- anything short of simply serving "normal" html pages -- gives them the out.

    And of course, even without that, what damages would you expect to collect? A portion of your $36?
    Specializing in SEO and PPC management.

  4. #4
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    I dont think about collection. Also I think he would have a decent chance. Think about it, some hosts talk about system resources, how if you use to much system resources your account will be canned, of course many do list the max amount of bandwidth. So I guess, unless they had proof of using a lot of server resources(dont think they will) you could win in small claims court or something
    Chicago Electronic Cigarettes: Tobacco Free, Smoke Free. 3 E-Cig Models, 11 flavors, and accessories.
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  5. #5
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    May 2002
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    Good point, I doubt that any judge would award you more than what you paid in the first place considering you were purposely trying to create a lawsuit. Which by the way I think if you were to follow through they could use this thread against you I would imagine as it shows that you were clearly trying to create a situation for you to take someone to court.

    Besides, I am quite sick of people trying to take advantage of others all the time and taking people to court all the time. It's almost as though there are a large majority of people out there who aren't willing to claim responsability for their own problems and instead try and find any avenue they can to place the blame on others. Definitely not cool:-/
    Jordan Bouvier

  6. #6
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    Originally posted by JayC
    Read their TOS, usually they have language in there that makes it clear that "unlimited" does not mean unlimited. . . . . .
    But, that's the problem. It seems that the Truth in Advertising would require them to list exactly what Unlimited means on the same page where they offer "Unlimited."
    There is no best host. There is only the host that's best for you.

  7. #7
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    Originally posted by davidb
    Think about it, some hosts talk about system resources, how if you use to much system resources your account will be canned,
    [...]
    So I guess, unless they had proof of using a lot of server resources(dont think they will) you could win in small claims court or something
    Some may not have been prudent in crafting their TOS statements, but look at you just wrote. Do you think a judge will interpret "system resources" to mean something specific like creating a high CPU load? Or is bandwidth a system resource? Will a judge think that the system is the server, or it is the whole of your infrastructure?

    And again, many specifically say that you can't operate a download site, or serve images, or serve any files that aren't hyperlinked from your website, etc. The basic dodge is that anything that might conceivably cause you to transfer a lot of data is ruled unacceptable in the TOS.
    Specializing in SEO and PPC management.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jun 2002
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    Originally posted by SoftWareRevue
    But, that's the problem. It seems that the Truth in Advertising would require them to list exactly what Unlimited means on the same page where they offer "Unlimited."
    Yeah, like ISPs have started doing here in Australia... unlimited*

    With the * pointing to conditions.

    --Shaun.
    Shaun Ewing
    shaun.net

  9. #9
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    Originally posted by SoftWareRevue
    But, that's the problem. It seems that the Truth in Advertising would require them to list exactly what Unlimited means on the same page where they offer "Unlimited."
    Perhaps the problem is just that there's little truth in advertising.

    One well-regarded host used to advertise "unlimited transfer," and had prominently placed in their TOS a statement that "Unlimited is a marketing term..." followed by an explanation of the implications of heavy usage. They ended up, after public pressure, removing any mention of the term and began to use a hard limit. But the point is, that was as clearly as I've ever seen it explained.

    "All you can eat." "28 Highway, 22 city." "Cars like it: 0." "All you ever wanted in a department store." "5 year, 50,000 mile unlimited warranty." "100% beef." Are any of those statements true?

    While I'm not arguing in favor of "unlimited," there's nothing surprising about the fact that some businesses use terminology that either is hyperbolic marketing-speak, or might be misunderstood by the uneducated consumer who doesn't bother to read the fine print.

    You can't sue them all.
    Specializing in SEO and PPC management.

  10. #10
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    forget about suing them.....what about if we just eat up all their bw....

    in the beginning of the month, the account holder uploads 30 large images, lets say 10 inches by 10 inches in size each with a number on it(from 1-30) in a solid color (so it makes it easier to change colors for the next month)....include it on a page that has some text content on it (like a quote or joke of the day)

    every day, you post the URL here at WHT, and we all go to visit it. If the host suspends your account for whatever reason, call your cc company and request a chargeback, however with a little cooperation, im sure that we could get the major players (ie, hostcharge, 2checkout, paypal etc) to automatically refund you so that you wont have to deal with your CC company....this would eat up bandwidth and waste the companies time

    it may be a little unethical, but it sure would teach those rat bastards a lesson

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Posts
    539
    Originally posted by akash
    forget about suing them.....what about if we just eat up all their bw....

    in the beginning of the month, the account holder uploads 30 large images, lets say 10 inches by 10 inches in size each with a number on it(from 1-30) in a solid color (so it makes it easier to change colors for the next month)....include it on a page that has some text content on it (like a quote or joke of the day)

    every day, you post the URL here at WHT, and we all go to visit it. If the host suspends your account for whatever reason, call your cc company and request a chargeback, however with a little cooperation, im sure that we could get the major players (ie, hostcharge, 2checkout, paypal etc) to automatically refund you so that you wont have to deal with your CC company....this would eat up bandwidth and waste the companies time

    it may be a little unethical, but it sure would teach those rat bastards a lesson

    Man oh man.

    You want to go out of your way to mess up a business (for whatever reason), and have the 3rd party processor do the dirty work?

    Do you think refunds are free, or is it that as long as they are "free" to you, that's OK?

    Refunds cost US money. We've never passed that on to the seller, 'cause we'd prefer they do refunds, rather than risk chargebacks.

    A refund is considered a transaction by our gateways. That means we pay transaction % & transaction $$ for each one.
    TomD
    Director - Business Development
    tdenman@2co.com
    www.2checkout.com

  12. #12
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    Originally posted by TomD



    Man oh man.

    You want to go out of your way to mess up a business (for whatever reason), and have the 3rd party processor do the dirty work?

    Do you think refunds are free, or is it that as long as they are "free" to you, that's OK?

    Refunds cost US money. We've never passed that on to the seller, 'cause we'd prefer they do refunds, rather than risk chargebacks.

    A refund is considered a transaction by our gateways. That means we pay transaction % & transaction $$ for each one.

    no need to get serious about this....I was only kidding (well halfkidding actually...i think it is a good idea )....

  13. #13

    Re: Legalities of this :)

    Originally posted by jic
    hehe.. Here is an idea I thought would be great after talking to a new customer that saw a host with "UNLIMITED TRANSFER FOR $3 / mo"

    Well, what if I sent in 1 yr or whatever $36 to one of these hosts with unlimited transfer and nailed him with bandwidth.. I.E. use every single kbit/s he has outgoing for as long as I can? Then when he cuts me off take him to court? I would love to start an actual organization that does this and nails hosts that offer unlimited bandwidth because I am tired of hearing the sob stories from my customers..

    I think it would be halarious
    I see you offer unlimited emails, subdomains etc... You would havea policy against people who abuse/overuse them wouldnt you?

    So why the heck do you try and nail another competitor?

    Its not professional to rave on about another competitor or let alone putting them down.

    If you dont like the way they operate business, then fine but dont try and out do a another competitor just because you dont offer what they offer.
    Western Man

  14. #14
    Join Date
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    NYC
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    Good point, TomD. I shake my head everytime I see hosts or others in online businesses encouraging people to use the chargeback "technique" casually. The frequency of chargebacks is the major reason why these businesses find it hard, and costly, to get merchant accounts -- and is behind a good part of the cost they pay to use third party processors.

    People in "the business" would better serve themselves and their peers -- and their customers, to whom the expense is passed on (affecting many more hosting consumers than have ever been inconvenienced by the hidden limits of an "unlimited" plan) -- by discouraging chargebacks, not encouraging them.
    Specializing in SEO and PPC management.

  15. #15
    I think it is best to stick with the "customer education" side of this ordeal. They will fid out on their own.

    I guess the whole thing in a nutshell is all the customers who shoot for this unlimited thing and sign up because they feel warm and fuzzy that they will never have to worry about "THAT" because they have no clue what "THAT" is. One less thing to worry about, ok joe doe signs up and starts a new site with his unlimited plan. Well he merely has only 5 meg of files and has very little traffic, joe doe is very happy with his web host.

    There are a lot of "Joe Doe's" out there, this is where these unlimited host are gaining.

    Unlimband seems to be making some strides.

    I know of a web host that used to offer "Unlimited" space and bandwidth, they told me that they had ton of signups, after they hard limited the signups fell bigtime.

    I don't believe in advertising unlimited, but I feel that the gimick is working in our competitor's favor.

    Guess it is up to us as to how we are to combat the issue.

    Taking advantage and trying to bring down another host is not the way to go about it.

    It just shows that we think and know they are winning and we are jelous.

    Humm, dunno
    L. James Prevo - President/Owner
    Prevo Network, LLC - http://www.prevo.net
    Est. 1999 - Month to Month Billing!!

  16. #16
    Originally posted by SoftWareRevue
    But, that's the problem. It seems that the Truth in Advertising would require them to list exactly what Unlimited means on the same page where they offer "Unlimited."
    Edit: <nevermind>
    Last edited by MultiVol; 08-30-2002 at 11:06 AM.
    Western Man

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