After a lawsuit filing on Friday, Apple is currently facing a lot of heat with allegations that the company "failed to properly warn customers about an iOS 9 feature" that shoots up monthly phone bills much higher than expected.
AppleInsider reports:
"In the complaint, plaintiffs William Scott Phillips and Suzanne Schmidt Phillips allege that because of costs related to Wi-Fi Assist, the 'overall amount in controversy exceeds' $5 million. Filed in a U.S. District Court in San Jose on Friday, the suit was first discovered by AppleInsider."
The Phillips' lawyers wrote in the lawsuit, "Defendant failed to disclose to consumers that this automatic switch to cellular data caused by an activated Wi-Fi Assist (the default setting) may result in exceeding the data capacity allowed under their phone plans. This is especially true as there is no warning or disclosure when the phone switches from Wi-Fi to cellular data."
According to NTRSCTN:
"Many iPhone users chose to keep the WiFi Assist feature activated with little to no knowledge of how it worked, the lawsuit explains. It wasn't until a 'flood of articles, comments, and complaints online' that Apple finally issued a statement regarding the problem - including a brief explainer as to how to deactivate Wi-Fi Assist - noting that it should only result in a minor increase in charges.
"Despite Apple's Oct.2 efforts to nip the matter in the bud, the plaintiffs asset that their statement did little to make up for the $5 million dollar problem.
"'[Apple's] corrective action, however, still downplays the possible data overcharges a user could incur,' they wrote. The company failed to 'disclose any basis for its conclusion that an average consumer would not see much increase in cellular usage.'"
Furthermore, the lawsuit accuses that Apple violated the Unfair Competition Law, which encompasses "any unlawful, unfair or fraudulent business act or practice and unfair, deceptive, untrue or misleading advertising."
Not only that, but Apple has also violated the California False Advertising Law, and is currently facing charges of negligent misrepresentation, as per the filed lawsuit.
