Tracfone wins unlocking suit

Maybe you remember back in August, when we mentioned Tracfone suing mass-unlockers. (Thanks to TV, I can’t remember what happened eight minutes ago.) Tracfone filed a number of cases against people and operations that bought a whole mess of their phones, unlock them, and resell them at a profit. This is problematic, because for the most part they’re buying those cheap prepaid packages, where you get an old phone real cheap — below market value, actually. The company takes a hit on the phone with the hopes that they make up for it in airtime. Tracfone has won a suit against one such reseller, winning a $1 million decision in a federal district court.

You know things are bad when you’re dealing with a guy with three names. And no, we’re not talking Mark Paul Gosselar. We’re talking James Ray Thomas, a.k.a. Jim Thomas Hollis, a.k.a. James L. Ford. But this ring has been busted, and his business destroyed.

Problem: He’s not the only one doing this. Yeah, it’s always nice to take one of your biggest illegal competitors out of business, but when there are plenty others, the fight is hardly over. In fact, Tracfone is working on a case against a group of 80 defendants, all over the resale issue.

So why do we care so much that these rogues are taken down? The more they succeed, the more money Tracfone loses. And that means higher rates for the rest of us. Plus, it’s not like these rogues are modern day Robin Hoods or anything. They’re buying from the rich and ripping off the poor (most of the handsets are sold overseas at a considerable profit).

So may Tracfone continue its righteous war against these rogues.

[IntoMobile]

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2 Responses

1. roman Says
   

   First off, when service is terminated the phone is sole propert of the manufacture not the service group. You can’t say they are losing money, that’s like saying you owe me money on the land I sold you even though I had no idea there was gold on it. They are trying to get money from nothing which is theft by unlawful taking.

   
   Posted on March 28th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
2. Richard Says
   

   Tracfone should have lost that lawsuit. “Property Rights” are supposed to be protected in this country. I don’t know all the ends and outs of the case but appears Tracfone sold the phones at a deep discount thinking/scheming they could legally hold their cell phone buyer’s hostage for life which is anti-American and anti free market. If you buy something, you own it and have the legal right to use it how you want as long as you’re not breaking any laws.

   
   Posted on February 26th, 2010 at 2:24 pm

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