Onedrive storage down to 5GB from 15 + 15GB

[CygnusOrion]

Some people just want to watch the world burn.

 

[CygnusOrion]

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.

Agreed MS never should have used the word "unlimited". But even worse if taking away the camera roll bonus for Lumia owners. It's bad enough Windows Phone is down to 3%, now they have to make it even worse?

 

[CygnusOrion]

I don't post on here very often at all... In fact, This may be my first post...
However, I find the proposed change that Microsoft is offering distasteful... Both on a trust level and on a legal level.
The caveat of free cloud storage when you did certain things was a selling point for their devices. Specifically their phones but later their tablets as well. By offering said storage in exchange for purchasing said devices, or rather as a bonus to purchasing said devices. They entered into a contract with the purchaser.
I could easily see a winning class action lawsuit in the making here.
Just food for thought.

There are no grounds for a class action lawsuit due to the "Terms & Conditions". Microsoft states they can always change the storage at any time.

 

[Reflexx]

There are no grounds for a class action lawsuit due to the "Terms & Conditions". Microsoft states they can always change the storage at any time.

Ask any lawyer.

Those terms and conditions dont mean much if the government finds that they acted deceptively.

So if they find that MS gave the impression that users would have the benefit of backing up all their files while marketing 15GB+15GB camera roll when they bought their phones, that could be bad.

 

[Reflexx]

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.

The problem comes when MS marketed this storage as a benefit to help sell their phones with low storage capacity.
Penetration pricing doesnt take things away from people that already purchased something.

 

[Branta]

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

I think a court may have difficulty believing it was ever intended it to be more than bait for the gullible. Consider the potential storage requirement, it must have been obvious to M$oft even at the pre-release planning stage that it would be a practical impossibility to implement the promised service if all eligible users took their full quota. That single point demonstrates either deliberate or reckless mis-selling.

 

[CoreyJ]

eh, nothings free. $2 a month isn't too bad for 50gbs, even with my limited funds.

 

[BobLobIaw]

So if they find that MS gave the impression that users would have the benefit of backing up all their files while marketing 15GB+15GB camera roll when they bought their phones, that could be bad.

The lawsuit you are describing will fail miserably.*

*Not intended as specific legal advice to the poster. If you desire to pursue claims against Microsoft, consult with a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction so that he or she can confirm the futility of your efforts.

 

[iwicked]

Hi. I actually don't use OneDrive/GoogleDrive for storing my photos. All my photos are on Flickr.

 

[a5cent]

I think a court may have difficulty believing it was ever intended it to be more than bait for the gullible. Consider the potential storage requirement, it must have been obvious to M$oft even at the pre-release planning stage that it would be a practical impossibility to implement the promised service if all eligible users took their full quota. That single point demonstrates either deliberate or reckless mis-selling.

Absolutely, but every cloud storage provider does the same. None of them provision for all of what they have actually sold, and some continue to sell unlimited offerings (amazon being one), which the laws of nature already tell us to be a lie.

It's standard practice in the industry. No doubt MS have probability models to back up that their practices make sense. If you fine them for that, you'd also have to kill the entire insurance industry, who's entire business model is based around the idea that only few will actually require what they are selling.

 

[Reflexx]

Absolutely, but every cloud storage provider does the same. None of them provision for all of what they have actually sold, and some continue to sell unlimited offerings (amazon being one), which the laws of nature already tell us to be a lie.

It's standard practice in the industry. No doubt MS have probability models to back up that their practices make sense. If you fine them for that, you'd also have to kill the entire insurance industry, who's entire business model is based around the idea that only few will actually require what they are selling.

If there are fines, I think they would be more tied to how a certain amount of storage was marketed with phone purchases.

 

[wplee]

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...

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.

Can I ask do you live in America?

In the UK/Europe we have stronger consumer protection laws here for this reason. Think about what you wrote above. Your claiming it is okay for a company to actively market an important feature alongside the price point when selling a device as long as somewhere in their T&C's they have clauses.

So if T&C's all that mattered, how about a new cowboy manufacturer sells a sim-free device for $50 with unlimited cloud storage, in-app purchases, free latest movies and free unlimited music. Then buried in their terms and conditions we have a clause which says they can remove/reduce all this at any time, which they of course do after 1 month. Would that be fair? Most would say No, they were mis-sold. Maybe gullible, but consumers are. That's why we have such strong laws here to protect vulnerable consumers like perhaps older people/young teens who have more trust in big companies.

Now the above example is far worse than what Microsoft have done here. But it is for our government to decide at what point this line was crossed. As others have stated, it doesn't matter what any American developer or lawyer says, our UK legislation over rules this. Recently a major hair dye brand was banned from UK TV because TWO people complained they were mislead. Even though the company did use the product on the model, they didn't make the process clear enough even though it was in their instructions. That's how strong our consumer protection laws are and that was only the Advertising Standards Authority which is the weaker protection body.

Again, I will update this thread later.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Absolutely, but every cloud storage provider does the same.

All I know is that same defense didn't work when I was tried for bank robbery.

 

[a5cent]

All I know is that same defense didn't work when I was tried for bank robbery.

Obviously, because you're an individual, not an industry.

 

[Mircea Stefan1]

BY, BY MICROSOFT!. After 5 years, time that i had faith and trust in you, you force me to go for iPhone or Android. Then so be it

 

[HoosierDaddy]

BY, BY MICROSOFT!. After 5 years, time that i had faith and trust in you, you force me to go for iPhone or Android. Then so be it

Just so you know, Microsoft made the same OneDrive cuts for iPhone and Android users.

 

[sleeve22]

The problem comes when MS marketed this storage as a benefit to help sell their phones with low storage capacity.
Penetration pricing doesnt take things away from people that already purchased something.

You can see it 2 ways. The other view is price per GB has increased. The consumer still has access to the capacity. I don't support their decision, I just understood the nature of the free 15GB vs. 3 GB from dropbox.

 

[Bogdan Gheorghe]

Great. I've been using MS storage & sharing solution since it was named Live Files or something like that. I ended up having 40Gb for free and another 100Gb Bing Bonus just to have everything reduced to 5Gb because some #%$#%$# uploaded their entire HDD on OneDrive? How is this my fault? Also, why did they say they offer UNLIMTED storage? We all (well, almost) knew it wasn't unlimited but the marketing was misleading.

It's not that we asked for TBs of free data, I'm OK with the initial 40Gb free I have for Camera Roll backup and projects. And it's not that I wouldn't pay if I had to but when a company does something like this I have no guarantee that they won't double the price from one month to another. It's all a matter of trust.

And what's worse is that when MS raised the storage cap it forced Google to do the same. Now the WP / Windows community is the most affected by this move. On iOS and Android they have the option to switch to Google Drive and use the 15Gb of free storage but Google Drive does not exist on WP. :|

Now I have to wonder what to remove from my drive. Let's see. Should I remove my 20MP pictures taken with L930, that have around 6-7Mb / pic? Should I remove my WP projects? Guess I should start with these since it's obviously you really want users to switch to Android.

I was really thinking on getting a Continuum-ready phone but in this case I'll just switch to iOS or Ubuntu Phone and that's it. Great cloud-first / mobile-first strategy MS, just perfect. x(

 

[BobLobIaw]

So if T&C's all that mattered, how about a new cowboy manufacturer sells a sim-free device for $50 with unlimited cloud storage, in-app purchases, free latest movies and free unlimited music. Then buried in their terms and conditions we have a clause which says they can remove/reduce all this at any time, which they of course do after 1 month. Would that be fair? Most would say No, they were mis-sold. Maybe gullible, but consumers are. That's why we have such strong laws here to protect vulnerable consumers like perhaps older people/young teens who have more trust in big companies.

One problem I see in applying this argument to the OneDrive situation is the fact that virtually all of the phones that have included this marketing will be at or beyond their useful life at the time the consumer is *harmed.* Which phone did you buy and how long ago was it? Remember, if you have more than 5GB of storage you will get a free year of Office365 so you won't be impacted until 2017. If you have a 930, for instance, you got what you bargained for, even with the future changes.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Great. I've been using MS storage & sharing solution since it was named Live Files or something like that. I ended up having 40Gb for free and another 100Gb Bing Bonus just to have everything reduced to 5Gb because some #%$#%$# uploaded their entire HDD on OneDrive? How is this my fault?

Its worse than you describe. The abusers were just a red herring Microsoft threw out to get some customers mad at the abusers instead of Microsoft. The abusers had NOTHING to do with the changes.