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T-Mobile reprimanded for false advertising by industry watchdog (update: T-Mobile responds)
Apparently AT&T isn't the only one thinking that T-Mobile's Uncarrier advertising campaign might be a touch too aggressive. The National Advertising Division, which is administered by the Council of Better Business Bureaus, has put out a statement scolding the magenta carrier for "flawed" advertising claims against its GSM rival. It takes particular issue with the assertion that T-Mobile offers 50 percent more bandwidth than AT&T because it only compares HSPA networks and doesn't take into account the latter's ever-increasing LTE grid. The NAD goes on to conclude that there's "insufficient evidence that AT&T's combined network, including LTE is more (sic) likely to be slowed by congestion than T-Mobile's," suggesting that T-Mobile halt all pronouncements otherwise. If it wishes to continue those claims, the NAD says it should outline the conditions where they would occur, such as the situations, locations or type of phones required to have an advantage. Further, the NAD recommends that claims such as "most advanced technology" and "faster 4G service" should be discontinued or modified as well as the use of its 4G / 4G LTE coverage maps. It also said that T-Mobile's call quality claim was overly broad. T-Mobile has responded to NAD, stating that it believes it's already communicating its message well, but will take the suggestions into consideration. John Legere, T-Mobile's outspoken CEO, has already taken to Twitter in defense of the company's bold marketing approach. We've reached out to T-Mobile for a statement and will update this post when we get it. Update: T-Mobile's Chief Marketing Officer, Mike Seivert has seen the NAD's recommendations for T-mo to make some minor modifications to its claims, and while they'll be taken under advisement, his company won't be changing its tune: NAD's findings are a validation of our marketing approach. In fact, today's NAD findings won't result in any substantial changes to our marketing claims. We will continue to spread the word about our coast to coast 4G coverage, superfast 4G network, and superior call clarity, along with our message of simple, no annual service contract plans, unlimited data and the best upgrade program, JUMP!
Report: Capcom sees 'no distinction' between on-disc and off-disc DLC
Some consumers were particularly riled by Capcom's decision to lock Street Fighter X Tekken downloadable content directly on the disc itself. Some were riled enough to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, with Cinema Blend posting a response from Capcom reportedly received by several consumers. Capcom's statement defends the practice, noting that the company is sorry for customers that feel disappointed, though it adds that the game includes "an enormous amount of content" out of the box.As for the DLC itself, the statement echoes Capcom's previous remarks, saying that the on-disc content "will provide more flexible and efficient gameplay throughout the game's lifecycle." The statement adds that the only difference between on-disc and off-disc DLC is delivery method, with Capcom nothing there is "effectively no distinction" between them.For what it's worth, Capcom has closed 10 complaints with the BBB over the last 12 months, six of those coming since March 27, after the launch of Street Fighter X Tekken.
Better Business Bureau lists AT&T as having lowest complaint rate among mobile carriers
Here at TUAW, we still hear plenty of complaints about AT&T's service (many of them actually directed at AT&T, but sent to us for some reason). But the Better Business Bureau says we're actually in a good spot -- AT&T apparently has the lowest amount of complaints from major carriers coming through that agency out of all of the various cell phone service providers. Note that they are referring to major carriers: smaller regional carrier Metro PC actually had the lowest number, but of course they don't service nearly as many people. Verizon was second best among the major carriers in the US, then Sprint, and T-Mobile brought up the rear, with 26,387 complaints over the last few years. There's good news, though -- data from last year shows that 95% of the complaints to the BBB about wireless issues were actually resolved. So apparently the squeaky wheel does get the grease. Obviously, there are a lot of factors here -- just because a company does or doesn't get a lot of BBB complaints doesn't necessarily reflect 1:1 on its service. But clearly not many of the people supposedly disappointed with AT&T have gone off to the Better Business Bureau for help. [via BGR]
ESRB issues apology over email leak
Yesterday, we learned that the ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board) accidentally emailed the names of people who had complained about Blizzard's potential use of Real ID names on the official Blizzard forums. The ESRB has since sent out this apology: Yesterday we sent an e-mail to a number of consumers who wrote to us in recent days expressing their concern with respect to Blizzard's Real ID program. Given the large number of messages we received, we decided to respond with a mass e-mail so those who'd written us would receive our response as quickly as possible - rather than responding to each message individually, as is our usual practice. Through an unfortunate error by one of our employees, some recipients were able to see the e-mail addresses of others who wrote on the same issue. Needless to say, it was never our intention to reveal this information and for that we are genuinely sorry. Those who write to ESRB to express their views expect and deserve to have their contact and personal information protected. In this case, we failed to do so and are doing everything we can to ensure it will not happen again in the future. The fact that our message addressed individuals' concerns with respect to their privacy underscores how truly disappointing a mistake this was on our part. We work with companies to ensure they are handling people's private information with confidentiality, care and respect. It is only right that we set a good example and do no less ourselves. We sincerely apologize to those who were affected by this error and appreciate their understanding. Sincerely, Entertainment Software Rating Board I am glad that the ESRB apologized, and it is telling that they have also acknowledged how ridiculous the mistake was in light of the subject matter. Suffice it to say, good on the ESRB for not only apologizing but understanding the issues present over online privacy. Hopefully this whole debacle can be used as a teaching moment.
ESRB unintentionally exposes email addresses of people who filed complaints over Blizzard's Real ID system [Updated]
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/ESRB_exposes_emails_of_gamers_who_filed_privacy_complaints'; Update: The ESRB has since issued an apology. During the recent Real ID catastrophe on the forums, many players decided to appeal to an industry source that might have been able to sway Blizzard to change its mind. These players contacted the ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board) as a Better Business Bureau-type middleman in this situation with their concerns. The ESRB itself has championed such causes in the past with its Privacy Online program, which is designed to help companies meet various privacy laws like the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Since Blizzard recanted its decision about the forums, the ESRB faithfully followed up with those concerned. Unfortunately, in that followup email, the ESRB exposed individuals to a new set of privacy concerns. The letter and more information after the break.
A pink moonkin for the Raid for the Cure raffle
Serthida has posted a set of pictures that serve as a perfect reminder of the Raid for the Cure coming up this weekend: she's finished the pink moonkin plushie that they're going to be giving away in the raffle (with the winner chosen from donations to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation). We've collected them in an easy-to-browse gallery below for your perusing pleasure. As you can see, she says she used the same pattern as the other plush mookin she made, though of course it's all done up in pink fur from this fabric site. "The horns, beak, claws, and feet," she tells us, "are made of fleece, and inside each leg there is a packet of plastic pellets to give it some additional weight." It's all handsewn, as doing it with a machine is apparently tougher with all of that fur flying. And she says that "the eyes are some pearly buttons I found at the craft store. They just looked neat." Neat indeed; while it's weird to see a pink moonkin, the idea definitely works for the cause. Don't forget -- Raid for the Cure is going down this coming weekend, November 14th, on the Kael'thas realm. %Gallery-77905% [via BBB]
Dell cites Apple's 'green' claims in Better Business Bureau complaint
In a display of environmental posturing on both sides, Dell lodged a complaint with the advertising industry's self-governing oversight board: The National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus (NAD). The claim? When Apple says it has the "world's greenest family of notebooks," family could be taken to mean all models of MacBook past and present -- including models that weren't built with the environment in mind. "Common industry usage of 'family' refers to a particular model or group of models, and not the entire notebook line," argued Dell, according to a post on the New York Times' "Green Inc." blog. Dell also complained about Apple's use of gold EPEAT ratings -- an award that many of Apple's competitors have also earned. Standing behind their claim, Apple effectively said, "that's right, deal with it": Family, in the context of the ad "refers to its whole line of notebooks, taken in toto, [and] not a particular model or group." The NAD said there was no problem with Apple communicating its EPEAT ratings to consumers, and commended the company for its commitment to creating an entire line of notebooks that meet the highest EPEAT ratings, according to the Wall Street Journal. Even so, the NAD suggested that consumers could believe that "family" means a line of products (and not all the products) that a company makes. They recommended that Apple use direct comparisons between MacBooks and competitor notebooks to clarify their claims of environmental friendliness. They also recommended that Apple avoid the use of world's greenest "given the potential for overstatement." Apple? Overstatement? That's unpossible. Apple was happy with the conclusion, with PR spokesman Steve Dowling telling the New York Times that the NAD had confirmed that MacBooks are indeed the world's greenest notebooks when compared to other manufacturers' entire product lines. It appears that Apple has taken to using the word "lineup" instead of "family" on its website. Dell issued a statement, saying they "commend the NAD for their part in helping ensure companies represent their products' environmental attributes accurately." Dell has previously lodged advertising complaints against Lenovo, and last year the company had to stop using the slogan "the world's most secure notebooks."
Blizzard gets an F at the Better Business Bureau
Looks like quite a few of those players who threatened to complain about Blizzard ended up doing so: over on the local Better Business Bureau website for Blizzard's region, our favorite game developer has earned an F. The BBB says that they've been given this rating "for reasons such as that they have failed to respond to complaints, their advertising is grossly misleading, they are not in compliance with the law's licensing or registration requirements, their complaints contain especially serious allegations, or the company's industry is known for its fraudulent business practices." Ouch. We don't really know that any of those things are true about Blizzard's way of doing business, but there are certainly many people on the forums every day who claim that the first two especially are major issues.Personally, I'm as big a critic of Blizzard as anyone when I think that there's something to complain about, but this rating hardly seems justified -- even if the BBB has received tens of thousands of complaints, that's still just a small portion of the playerbase. And despite the occasional downtime and various class nerfs, they hardly deserve an F rating, especially when a company that many people really do have issues with is riding along with an A rating. The BBB page also says that Blizzard's mass bannings have been a factor in many complaints -- there is probably no distinction made (or that can be made) in terms of complaints between people who have broken the ToS and people who have not.At any rate, even if the F rating is there, it obviously has very little effect on Blizzard's business -- how many of you ran to check the rating before you decided to subscribe to World of Warcraft? It seems like a few customers (who may or may not have broken the rules to begin with) have ruined Blizzard's reputation with the BBB, but it's fairly apparent that the BBB doesn't hold much sway among Blizzard's customers anyway.[Thanks ThisURLNotFound!]
WoW Insider Show with BRK and BBB live tomorrow
Should be a great show tomorrow on the podcast, as we welcome two terrific WoW bloggers to the table. In one place together for the first (second? third?) time ever, both Daniel "BigRedKitty" Howell (who has his own very popular, very well-done podcast, by the way, if you haven't heard it yet) and John "BigBearButt" Patricelli will be in attendance. And we'll be talking about, as usual, all the biggest stories from the past week in Warcraft, including how the new Kara boss is going (and almost gone), whether Karazhan itself is too easy these days, and that whole class forums megaton yesterday (that turned out to be a dud, more or less). And we'll cover the end of the zombie event, too, and whether or not it worked the way Blizzard planned it to, or if they cut it short early because of all the griefing.The show will air live at 3:30pm Eastern (time zone calculator) over on our Ustream page. Lots of people have had questions about how to get the show lately (and of course, it hasn't helped that our feed is going through some growing pains), but all of your questions should be answered in our last podcast post. And we're working on the quality issues, too -- I can assure you that the recording issue has been fixed, so no more tinny voices this week.But you don't want to wait until the recording anyway -- join us on the Ustream page tomorrow (or just come back to this post -- the stream is embedded after the break), and you can chat with us and other listeners live, as well as vote in polls and participate in a rumored "aftershow" that's been popping up after we're done recording lately. See you tomorrow!
The Scout Report returns, and there is much rejoicing
No idea how I missed this for so long (we reported on it once that I can find, way back in June of last year), but BBB is right -- The Scout Report is a terrific WoW webcomic that could probably use some more attention. From the very beginning, it's got pretty great timing and a healthy dose of cynicism. And it's super funny, which is always good for a webcomic.Apparently it's been away for a while, but like BBB, we are happy that it's back (and I've got some archives to read through). We'll have to make sure to add it into the Sunday Morning Funnies from now on.
BBB rates Toys 'R' Us "unsatisfactory" amidst reports of Wii bundling shenanigans
The Better Business Bureau is currently challenging Toys 'R' Us after the retailer advertised Wii for $249.99, but gave shoppers no choice but to purchase a $450 bundle on Black Friday. The BBB has slapped the toy distributor with an unsatisfactory rating, derived in part from consumer complaints based on the bundling scheme.A spokeswoman for Toys 'R' Us insisted that the Black Friday incident was a misunderstanding and that Wii should have also been available for the advertised price. Try telling that to the mother and son who watched the Niles, Illinois location's stock sell out as they argued with management. "So, as she's talking to me, it sold out from under us and they really did not care," recounted the mother in a Chicago NBC-affiliate report, "It was point blank. You either take it this way or leave it. And that's what happened."[Via Next Generation]
BBB largely rules for Cingular in ad battle with Sprint Nextel
We're not sure what this means for Cingular's pending lawsuit regarding its right to claim the "fewest dropped calls," but the Better Business Bureau's National Advertising Division has issued a ruling in the ongoing marketing war between Cingular and fellow child wireless giant Sprint Nextel. Apparently, after thorough, utterly scientific analysis, the BBB has determined that Cingular can continue to claim that they have "more bars in more places," the "fastest national wireless data network" and the "largest push-to-talk network in America." They also ruled that Cingular doesn't have the right to make some claims about its B2B offerings, but all told, we imagine that the boys in Atlanta are chalking this up as a victory for their confusing, largely meaningless ad campaign.[Via Techdirt]
Sprint Nextel and Cingular go crying to mommy about network quality
Claims about the quality of wireless networks are all fun and games until someone gets taken to court. Cingular has done just that in a May 9 court filing against Sprint Nextel, setting the stage for a legal showdown that could ultimately spell the end of ridiculous and meaningless claims that a network is "most powerful," "most reliable," or "l33t." It seems the spat started after Cingular began spreading the word that its network has the "fewest dropped calls" (you know, the commercials that cleverly drop out the sound, making you think your television's busted). Sprint Nextel, with its "most powerful" claim, took issue with that, and brought it before the Better Business Bureau's National Advertising Division to sort out. Cingular, in response, told Sprint to go big or go home, bypassed the BBB entirely, and filed a lawsuit counter-claiming not only that they have the fewest dropped calls, but Sprint's network isn't the most powerful, either. (Oh, snap!) For the record, Cingular cites data from a 2004 report thrown together by Telephia, but they won't say what data exactly, as they refuse to release the report itself (sound familiar?). Don't expect this fight to end any time soon, folks, and don't be surprised if Verizon eventually gets dragged into the mud, too.
