Onedrive storage down to 5GB from 15 + 15GB

[abel46]

Yes, I still have my 1TB of space. But even so I think redusing the free quota from 15 to 5GB is a very bad decission. To use 15 GB is not abusing. But it was stupid of Microsoft to provide unlimited storage. So I understand that has to go away.

 

[Sagar Limaye]

To sum up, MS is stupid.

 

[wplee]

Morally, yup, agreed. Legally, I don't know, but I doubt a court would see it that way.

Guys, I've been looking into this more in the UK and I believe Microsoft may have broken the Consumer Protection Act against Unfair Trading.

This is clear example: "failing to display prices could constitute unfair trading if the omission is likely to affect how customers behave. For example, customers might not choose to use your service if they knew in advance how much it would cost".

I am in the UK and we have good European protection against this. I was NEVER made aware that my 30GB storage was temporary and could be reduced. I bought a Lumia based on OneDrive's storage being advertised in store which could be false advertising.

There are a couple of examples I can see. I'm going to read through our consumer protection laws in more detail but I'm sure that Lumia owners here that bought their device in part due to OneDrive have legal protection. I'm gonna spend some time reading more about our consumer protection laws here and will update this thread when I get a chance this weekend...

 

[Sagar Limaye]

In response to that, MS might simply quote their T&C clause (which you agreed to when signing up) stating their right to change the prices.

 

[Reflexx]

In response to that, MS might simply quote their T&C clause (which you agreed to when signing up) stating their right to change the prices.

The may not be enough in the UK if the government find their practice deceptive.

 

[wplee]

In response to that, MS might simply quote their T&C clause (which you agreed to when signing up) stating their right to change the prices.

No, I didn't sign their Terms until AFTER I had bought and setup my Lumia.

I bought my Lumia partly because it was Advertised with 30GB online storage as a selling bullet point in store (3rd party store but with Microsoft Lumia display advertisement).

That's exactly why we have these consumer laws in the UK, to protect mis-selling via T&Cs.

 

[zkyevolved]

No, I didn't sign their Terms until AFTER I had bought and setup my Lumia.

I bought my Lumia partly because it was Advertised with 30GB online storage as a selling bullet point in store (3rd party store but with Microsoft Lumia display advertisement).

That's exactly why we have these consumer laws in the UK, to protect mis-selling via T&Cs.

You may have bought it, but, I don't know in the UK but in Spain there is a 7 or 14 day grace period to exit out of any contract. So you bought the device, received the documentation or read it, and accepted it. If you didn't agree to it, then you could have returned your device to fully cancel the contract. Sadly, I don't think you have a case. Every company puts in their TOC that they have the right to change these terms without even notifying you. Also, we're talking about a free service. When you bought your Lumia, you bought the device and its software; I'd argue (if I were working for MS) that it's a service they extended to you for you to better enjoy your device, not a piece of software that is required by your Lumia to function.

Also, guys, this pisses me off, too! I hate that they're reducing my storage... But once again, we're talking a service that NONE Of us pay for for the camera roll. Microsoft gave it to us with no strings attached. You never had to pay, don't pay, and won't pay for that storage if you don't want it. Yes, it really sucks. I'm sure everyone agrees. It will highly influence my next purchase of a phone seeing how OneDrive offered a lot of space, but couldn't sync as well as other services out there, but nevertheless, it had a lot of space. Now, there are no placeholders, less space, higher megapixels, and for some reason in my area syncing is unnaturally slow! So... Yeah...

 

[p-b]

Carbonite (unlimited) $60
Crashplan (unlimited) $60
Amazon Cloud (unlimited) $60
OneDrive (1 TB) $70

But that last one gets you Office 365 Personal. By reducing the free/bonus limits they'll likely see an increase in Office subscriptions as people do the above comparison. They've burned a little good will, but will gain paying Office customers and create some lock-in.

 

[Sagar Limaye]

Carbonite (unlimited) $60
Crashplan (unlimited) $60
Amazon Cloud (unlimited) $60
OneDrive (1 TB) $70

But that last one gets you Office 365 Personal. By reducing the free/bonus limits they'll likely see an increase in Office subscriptions as people do the above comparison. They've burned a little good will, but will gain paying Office customers and create some lock-in.

A little goodwill...?

 

[Sagar Limaye]

No, I didn't sign their Terms until AFTER I had bought and setup my Lumia.

I bought my Lumia partly because it was Advertised with 30GB online storage as a selling bullet point in store (3rd party store but with Microsoft Lumia display advertisement).

That's exactly why we have these consumer laws in the UK, to protect mis-selling via T&Cs.

And how are the courts supposed to believe that the reason you got your Lumia was because of OneDrive? They'd demand some sort of proof won't they?

 

[midnightfrolic]

The changes are not immediate. They will start sometime beginning of 2016

 

[a5cent]

Guys, I've been looking into this more in the UK and I believe Microsoft may have broken the Consumer Protection Act against Unfair Trading.

This is clear example: "failing to display prices could constitute unfair trading if the omission is likely to affect how customers behave. For example, customers might not choose to use your service if they knew in advance how much it would cost".

I am in the UK and we have good European protection against this. I was NEVER made aware that my 30GB storage was temporary and could be reduced. I bought a Lumia based on OneDrive's storage being advertised in store which could be false advertising.

There are a couple of examples I can see. I'm going to read through our consumer protection laws in more detail but I'm sure that Lumia owners here that bought their device in part due to OneDrive have legal protection. I'm gonna spend some time reading more about our consumer protection laws here and will update this thread when I get a chance this weekend...

I'd think it's great if you're right, but I'd be very surprised if you are.

I'm one of the geeks that read through the ToS, and MS explicitly reserves the right to change storage quotas, prices or anything else at any time. You also got those 30GB credited to your OneDrive quota after purchasing the device, so in court it could be argued that you got what they promised. Nowhere did MS ever promise that you get those 30GB forever, or any other specific duration. Lastly, as I've already said a few times, that 30GB quota was never tied to the device itself (only ever to your MS account) so I think it would be impossible to argue that the service is integral to the device.

In a nutshell, you got what was on the package. There was no false advertising. I really think most of us were just seeing what we wanted to see, rather than what was actually there. Was it deceptive? Yes. Illegal? I think not.

 

[Ryan Spooner]

This is not about a few users abusing the system, they could easily just ban those accounts.

No they couldn't have "easily" banned those accounts. For one reason, and one reason alone. They were doing nothing wrong. The service was billed as "unlimited". Can the high-usage users really be blamed for taking advantage of what was sold to them? No, Microsoft are solely at fault here. They should never have advertised "unlimited" storage in the first place. Leaving it at 1TB for Office 365 users, and 15GB for free users (with extra add-ons available through a monthly fee, or for special rewards like camera upload) was always the sweet spot if you ask me.

 

[lasm2000]

I am not sure if it has been mentioned before in this thread, but if not, read Dvorak's column. It hits the nail in the head: Microsoft's OneDrive Bait-and-Switch | John C. Dvorak | PCMag.com

 

[Ten Four]

I am not sure if it has been mentioned before in this thread, but if not, read Dvorak's column. It hits the nail in the head: Microsoft's OneDrive Bait-and-Switch | John C. Dvorak | PCMag.com

^^Exactly^^

 

[lasm2000]

I guess that if "unlawful content" was being uploaded there is some term in the EULA to deal with it, other than that you can't blame a user for storing a lot of content in their unlimited accounts. And no, I don't believe Microsoft was as naive to the point of not expecting users uploading that amount of stuff. They just used a bait to get users into the service.

 

[Great deal]

Moral of the story is to never let bean counters make the decisions. My blood boils at the advice ive seen dished out by 'accountants' I feel in hindsight MS would have announced this differently. I just hope they address the decision making, marketting and accounting department processes as the end result has been MS looking stupid for 'appearing' to take its customers for a ride and using a lame excuse to make a change that was clearly required.

 

[lasm2000]

Of course the point has never been whether you can afford the new storage fees or whether they are competitive or not. Point is that deceptive tactics were used to get users into the service in first place.

 

[sleeve22]

I am writing not because I am in favor and support this drastic decision to go from 30 GB to 5 GB, but in the world of business this is by definition penetration pricing.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

I am writing not because I am in favor and support this drastic decision to go from 30 GB to 5 GB, but in the world of business this is by definition penetration pricing.

Well a lot of customers aren't liking where they were penetrated.