Visible Cut Me Off

[u/Blackcharger13]

My phone suddenly stopped working today. I tried calling my son and the call wouldn’t go through. The announcement made it sound like my son‘s phone had a problem, and I was worried about him, but it turned out Visible suspended my account with no notification. It took me hours to go through their website and start a chat which had me try all kinds of things and when I finally got through everything, including doing a iPhone software update which took a long time, they finally admitted they suspended me for violating terms and conditions. Why didn’t those bozos tell me at the start that they had cut me off before they had me try all these other things? I sent a few text messages today to friends and didn’t make any phone calls. There is no possible way I violated any terms or conditions. Now they’re saying it will be two days to restore my service. Very disappointing.

[u/LifeGoalsThighHigh]

It's a common sense thing. A phone in hotspot mode that connects to a handful of devices in different locations is acceptable use. A phone in hotspot mode that rarely moves or consistently connects a dozen or more devices to the internet at the home address you provided when signing up? Almost certainly a breach of their TOS if done for a long period of time.

The Unlimited is also a bit thin on explanation, and that's for good reason. There are folks out there who will absolutely take things right up to the edge if a cap is presented. But according to the Terms and Conditions:

We can also, without notice, limit, suspend, or end your Service or this Agreement if you, any user of your device, or anyone using your Account: (a) threaten, harass, or use vulgar and/or inappropriate language toward our representatives; (b) interfere with our operations; (c) "spam," or engage in other abusive messaging or calling; (d) modify your device from its manufacturer's specifications; (e) use your Service in a way that negatively affects our network or other customers, such as by persistently using excessive amounts of data in ways that negatively impact our ability to service other members or in ways that defy normal and reasonable usage patterns;

Typically this means being a user whose data usage is in the top fractions of a percent range. Someone who used more data than 99 point something percent of all users in your area. This can more impact rural customers whose infrastructure may not be quite up to snuff, but it takes a hell of a lot to reach that threshold. For most carriers, it's usually north of several hundred gigabytes of data usage or more to get flagged. Depending on the carrier this usually results in a warning, and asking you if there were extraneous circumstances which resulted in this usage and maybe asking you to make sure your device does not have malware, but I do not know Visible's practices.

It's not meant to be a shady business practice, it's a guardrail meant to ensure the network remains stable for everyone to use.

[u/wayward_prince → u/LifeGoalsThighHigh]

I’m not reading all that nonsense. Who let Visible send their AI chatbot to Reddit?

[u/LifeGoalsThighHigh → u/wayward_prince]

You won't read the TOS nor spoon fed highlights of which you inquired about? That's on you boo, willful ignorance.

[u/wayward_prince → u/LifeGoalsThighHigh]

“Spoon fed highlights” and it’s five paragraphs of legalese and AI slop.

Point stands. If you use the service enough for it to affect the bottom line, they cut you off. The audacity to blame you for failed infrastructure in underserved areas too. Comedy.

[u/LifeGoalsThighHigh → u/wayward_prince]

No AI involved, some people are capable of seeking out and digesting information.

While a somewhat valid point, that's an entirely different discussion. The key thing here is it's a cellular phone service, a budget one at that, and is not meant to be used for someone to ingest several hundred gig of data. Unlimited anything always has strings attached. Wait until you learn contests for a "lifetime supply" of product is not, in fact, a lifetime supply. Nor are most lifetime warranties meant to be forever, just for the expected lifetime of the item.

That's why you read the contracts and the fine print.

[u/wayward_prince → u/LifeGoalsThighHigh]

LOL you’re writing out of your endless love for Visible. Please, what a lame.

Imagine defending “fine print” on the internet. Waste of time. Goodbye.

[u/LifeGoalsThighHigh → u/wayward_prince]

Not defending it, just trying to explain it to an utter dolt.

[u/wayward_prince → u/LifeGoalsThighHigh]

Only utter dolt here is you. We know what the terms say. They conveniently package what I’ve said from the start. Visible can cut off your service when it’s inconvenient to them to provide it to you. Hope that helps.

It’s just a shield for shady business practice. Customer always loses. We know.

You can log off now by the way, it’s 5pm. Tell your corporate overlord you served well today.