VANCOUVER – Telus is using intimidation and bullying to “stop Mobilicity’s conversation that you don’t need a contract to get wireless” charges Stewart Lyons, Mobilicity President and COO. He was responding to a lawsuit that Telus has filed against the new carrier for “false and misleading” TV ads.
The ads claim that “unlimited plans” offered by the incumbent carriers don’t cover all costs such as text messages, while positioning Mobilicity’s own voice and data services as truly unlimited.
Lyons told Cartt.ca the lawsuit was “bizarre” given that his company has “been repeating the same message for more than three years now and Telus has never had an issue with it until now.”
But he also “thanked” Telus for helping him write the first two pages of Mobilicity’s submission to the CRTC’s wireless code hearings set for next January. He added that he plans to directly bring the lawsuit to the attention of the regulator.
Telus alleges in the lawsuit that the Mobilicity ads contain three “misrepresentations” that damages its brand and that Mobilicity is in breach of the Competition Act according to a notice of civil claim filed with the Supreme Court of British Columbia on December 7th.
Shawn Hall, spokesperson for Telus, told Cartt.ca that the ad in question makes numerous false claims that misinform potential customers about both what other carriers offer and what Mobilicity offers.
"We could not let that go unchallenged in such a hotly competitive market, where we could potentially lose business over such misinformation," explained Hall.
In particular Hall noted that the ad claims other carriers place limits on unlimited calling plans by restricting unlimited calling to evenings and weekends, when "in fact no carrier in Canada does that. Our unlimited calling plans offer calling any time of the day and week."
Hall also questioned Mobilicity’s claims to offer service with no contracts. "Mobilicity’s contracts with customers have many onerous terms, including what it calls a “fair use policy” that Mobilicity uses to limit service they advertise as unlimited."
Telus also takes issue with Mobilicity’s claims to have unlimited data plans. "Buried in their fine print the company gives itself the right to throttle heavy users and engage in other intrusive traffic shaping measures that make it impossible for customers to stream video or download large files after a certain threshold. That’s not unlimited," contends Hall.
Telus will seek an injunction on December 14 to block Mobilicity from running the TV ads, which began airing across Canada in late November. Although the ads do not specifically name Telus or any other wireless competitor, Hall said it has “damaged Telus’ brand with these false claims, and must be pulled from circulation immediately.”
Coming during the crucial holiday shopping season, the lawsuit signifies how wireless carriers are taking a no-holds-barred approach to winning new subscribers.
