Verizon Wireless has been named in a class action lawsuit alleging that the wireless giant wrongfully and unfairly deceived purchasers of BlackBerry model 8830 smartphones. The suit alleges that Verizon intentionally disabled the devices' free, built-in global positioning systems (GPS) then offered a proprietary Verizon fee-for-service GPS.

You can read about it here and see a copy of the complaint:

CyberLaw - The Technology Law Firm

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CyberLaw - The Technology Law Firm | Suit Challenges Verizon on Blackberry GPS | Verizon, Initially, Hardware, Features, Builtin, Disable, Service

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Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8800/4.2.1 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/100)

Can't wait to see how this plays out

My gosh there are lots of things that these devices could do but have been disabled. I think this is laughable!

I am betting on Verizon and RIM winning this one! Unless they promised or misled the buyer in thinking that they had GPS, there is little merit to the case.

If the particular funtion was not listed as working when you purchased does not mean they have to give it to you free!

Where do I sign up?

The salesdroid who sold me mine said it did. I specifically asked. I'm willing to bet this wasn't a rogue salesperson making up these lies.

GPS does work. It may not do what you want it to, but it does work. I think this suit is another waste of time and money.

... and so the flame war begins, again. Bravo.

And we don't double post threads here out of courtesy, even if you are trial lawyer.

**Threads merged. So sue me. **

In the interest of free debate, keep the posts to merits of the case that has been filed. If you haven't read the case, how can you comment?

Other posts may be deleted if not pertinent to this topic.

Derogatory posts about trial lawyers are not welcome but not discouraged.

From the web site and charges: "The issue is not whether Verizon has the right to disable hardware features; they unquestionably do have such rights. The problem is the fashion in which the features were advertised. If a feature on an open market piece of hardware is modified to a consumer’s detriment, the modifier must make the announcement of the modification loud and clear to allow the consumer to make an informed decision. Verizon did not make such announcements and consumers received a phone less valuable than that which could have purchased on the open market.



The suit will likely resolve when Verizon offers minimal concessions to its 8830 users, but Verizon could have avoided this type of publicity by modifying its marketing practices "


makes sense to me. But who am I to say? I went with Sprint and have no such issues!

At least now the lawyers will be busy. Some publicity, and now legal action, about this is better then no publicity at all.

BTW, I have socks and shoes for those of you who said you'd eat them if this ever made it to an actual lawsuit. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Edit:
That was a good read... a long one, but a good one. Best part, the Justin Timberlake ad at the bottom. lol

JR, all that has happened is a lawyer has filed the paperwork. It is not in court, yet. No "class" has been determined. A judge has likely not even seen it yet.

Please keep this on topic, not on childish ya-ya-yas.

I didn't say it was in court. I said "legal action"... last time I checked filing legal paperwork was considered "legal action". You're not a lawyer are you? I'll keep quiet now and smirk in the corner. Happy Holidays

You can file suit for anything, no mater how stupid.

I suppose it's up for interpretation by a judge if it makes it that far. There is no mention in VZWs materials about GPS capabilities other than their VZ Navigator product. That's clear to me -- GPS for VZ Navigator use. Anyone who has been a VZW customer for any length of time knows not to expect the full generic feature set of a device. Not that I like it, that's just the way it is.

it is sad though isnt it? I mean, everyone says that VZ is the *best* network and all.

I guess it's all open to interpretation. Caveat Emptor ?

waste of time and money.... And I did read the complaint and I see Verizon coming out on top.

Subscribed--for when this thread gets out of hand.

I guess so.....

Knock off the flaming. I will close this thread in a heartbeat if it gets out of hand. Let's be adults here, please.

Better???

I am a bit surprised at how political this board gets. A lawsuit isn't a political statement. It's just a dispute that can't be resolved without application of law. As moderators have mentioned, its really about the facts of the suit, as opposed to "trial lawyers," "free markets" or anything else.

Finally, to be clear, the links above are to my firm's site, where I blog and offer my opinion about the suit. My firm is not involved in the suit in any way.

where does it get political? since political discussions are banned

Not only is it not political....but this thread deserves to be moved to the "RIM stock/ Legal discussion" section of the forums...

Agreed.

Moved accordingly.

It was really only a matter of time before legal action was pursued. I'm sure they can find plenty of verizon customers who experienced the same thing. Let's see how it plays out.

Again, to clarify. The suit does not name or involve RIM in anyway. Verizon is the only Defendant.

webmonarch,
As the only lawyer in the bunch (at the least the only one that admits it) do you think the case has legal merit?

As you said that you have no legal interest in the trial I figure it would be fair to ask.

i bought the 7130e's because on the box it said gps enabled.... i didnt know at the time that it was disabled

and it is gps enabled. You just cant use the GPS the way you want to.

I agree. Since being deceived regarding GPS on my bb, I've gotten a USB GPS puck for my laptop & a handheld GPS. GPS on my bb is not really needed for me.

Sounds like you have a legitimate beef -- perhaps not class action against VZW, but definitely against the store you bought it from. Don't know what they can/should do other than offer to refund your money.

I've done what I need to do, and fulfilled my need for GPS. As a VZW customer that actually is affected by this, I see it ending 1 of 2 ways.

Either VZW loses and after all the lawyers get their cut, customers get a check for like $3. Or VZW will settle, and VZW customers will get like 2 months of navagator free.

Their intentions for VZ Navigator are good-hearted. They want to provide a secure GPS system on a wireless device that will not give someone other than yourself your coordinates on request. With that said, they are supposedly in discussions with companies such as Google and TeleNav to offer a product that will utilize the Google or TeleNav interface and maps but securely through the VZ Navigator transport.

...in the end, they should offer customers both the free, built-in GPS functionality and a pay-for service offering for the security and paranoid customers that would be weary otherwise.

Verizon's main issue wasn't that they didn't specify the devices were released with the GPS functionality disabled. They simply didn't mention publically why they disabled the standard functionality and it was long-since rumored on the internet for other purposes. I believe it was more about money, but if they tell the story about 'security concerns' then perhaps others would be more interested in that approach and agree with it (and pay for the premium GPS service).

Needless to say, I wish someone would hack the VZ Navigator transport and just make a mockery out of their security.

Sorry for late response. Yes, the original link is to a blog post that I authored. I think that the suit does have legal merit. Is it going to lead to millions of dollars in damages? No. But, like most class-actions, it will likely change what is considered "best practices" in an industry. Other wireless providers don't want to get sued, so they'll take note of how this plays out.

Thank you.

Agreed, My Curve box says may things it does that I have to pay extra for. MyFaves, Instant Messaging, Picture Messaging, Text Messaging, EDGE / GPRS. We wonder why our legal system is so slow.

You don't like a product, return it. If every Verizon customer "effected" by this issue just returned the product in the 30 day window Verizon may step back and say wow what have we done. It is a new toy, so I am sure GPS was one of the first functions tried out of the box.

As with most "Class Action" cases there is only one winner. The attorneys on both sides. The Verizon customers who join the action will probably settle for $13.00 each after legal fees and lets not forget Verizon has to recoup the money they spend defending the action. I wonder if they will have to pass that along to their customers over time by increasing fees or cutbacks.

Don't get me wrong, I believe many things need to go forward in a legal means but somethings can be resolved with a simple return of the product which hurts them a lot more.

I have kicked my soap box to the side.

Agree with Troy. As a consumer, I find I am happiest if I "vote with my feet" by returning a product that doesn't satisfy me. That frees me up to go find one that will meet my needs. I am the only one to do so, I still have the satisfaction of getting what I want eventually. If I am one of thousands to do so, somebody is going to notice and take appropriate action.

I just cant understand why companies pull crap like this...It just never made sense to me...they had to know that they were going to piss off clients

Most people have no idea this even happens. You and I and most of the people here are people that want the most. The average person just wants a phone that works. So that is why it happens.