T-Mobile's Sidekick data loss isn't just a messy public relations problem. The debacle also could leave the company with some big legal bills.T-Mobile said Saturday that photos, contacts and other data that wasn't currently on Sidekick devices had most likely been lost due to a server failure at Microsoft subsidiary Danger, which powers data services on the Sidekick.
Since then, however, the company has said that some users' data might still be recoverable. T-Mobile also reportedly said it would issue $100 credits to some users who suffered data losses.
Thompson, a resident of Snellville, Georgia, alleges in her lawsuit that she "suffered a complete and catastrophic loss of all data" including appointments and contacts. She also alleges that her daughter, an aspiring model and singer-songwriter, lost photos and lyrics she wrote that she had stored on the device.
Thompson's lawyer, Michael Aschenbrener of KamberEdelson, says that Thompson and her daughter chose the Sidekick specifically because of its promised backup capabilities. "They used the Sidekick to avoid the very scenario that occurred," he said.
The other lawsuit was filed in Washington state court by Sidekick user Oren Rosenthal. "T-Mobile's advertising did not disclose that T-Mobile had no backup or other service or device to ensure that the customer's stored data could be retrieved if there was a failure," Rosenthal alleged in court papers.
Both complaints also allege that T-Mobile was negligent for not preserving Sidekick data.
Aschenbrener said that the company's offer of $100 is "a step in the right direction" but that T-Mobile should do more to compensate consumers.
"Users should certainly be provided with an easy means to get a replacement device," Aschenbrener said. He added that T-Mobile, Microsoft and Danger should "commit legally to the steps they will take to protect Sidekick users' data in the future."
Rosenthal's lawyer, David Breskin of Breskin Johnson Townsend, said he anticipated that monetary damages for Sidekick users could range "anywhere from several hundred dollars to thousands of dollars."
T-Mobile declined to comment on the litigation. "We are focused on helping our Sidekick customers recover from this recent service disruption and are continuing to support Microsoft's ongoing efforts to address and resolve the Danger platform issues," the company said in a statement.
credited to mediapost.com
Shows how out of touch some people are with how tech works. People blaming T-Mobile for this screw up are akin to people that would blame their ISP if Skype lost their data.
Strongly disagree. Client pays T-Mobile for service. T-Mobile outsources essential part of service to lowest bidder. Lowest bidder has epic fail. Client sues T-Mobile. Makes perfect sense to me.
No Bonker, you're the one who is out of touch. They would blame SKYPE for the loss of their data. The ISP just passes the data back and forth, but T-Mobile was supposed to SAFELY STORE THEM
T-Mobile is at fault as the service provider, but they could probably get away with a suit direct at Microsoft. Perhaps the name "Danger" wasn't a good enough warning sign....
LOL< enter the bottom feeding, blood sucking attorneys looking to jump on the nearest gravy train! Its the AMerican way!
RT
www.anon-web.int.tc
Bonked: you can only sue the people you have a contract with. It's for tmobile to sue danger if they feel they have a case.
@Harold Fowler
I don't consider myself a litigious person, and I've never been party to a lawsuit. But to me T*Mobile deserves an expensive lawsuit, and in turn Microsoft deserves an expensive lawsuit from T*Mobile.
I am a happy T*Mobile customer, but I have been disappointed in their treatment of their Sidekick customers. It is my understanding there were NO alternative ways to back up your data and Sidekicks were represented as being always backed up and available from the service provider. This is an epic fail with a capital F.
I've been with T-Mobile for 5 years. This is the 2nd time I've lost everything on my Sidekick. I am EXTREMELY upset. Getting an email some 4 days after the outage to refer their website is VERY crappy business communication. And I have yet to receive my refund ($19) they promised as well. For me, it's time to move on from my Sidekick and from T-Mobile.
i love how everyone is so sue happy in the US. it is clearly not t-mo's fault that Danger had the data backed up improperly. But everyone needs to get out and make their millions i guess. No professional in the world is going to stroll around with a sidekick, it is just not practical. And as for lyrics and photos stored by this models mother, why would you ever rely only on one form of technology if it were that important. this is BS, and will only hurt the cell phone industry
In the end its all about 'settlement',I recommend everybody sue the Shi*t outta T-Mobile,that way they make sure it don't happen again...
Upon losing all my data (again) two weeks ago I called T-Mobile trying to be as understanding as possible, but it's hard when you have no one to claim responsibility. I admit I relied on my phone a bit too much and was under the impression that they would have it backed up in several places so I wouldn't have to endure this, but alas.
I am very disappointed in their customer care as well. I called asking if there was anything they were willing to do (like giving me an alternate phone) but they said they could only give it to me for a discounted price. Sure, that is nice, but I didn't ask for all my data to be lost and don't have the money to buy new phones.
As it stands, my contract is up in less than a month and there are other services with better coverage and fairer monthly prices. I really am in love with my sidekick, but this is hardly worth the trouble.
I understand its upsetting that content saved the sidekick server is now gone for good, but TMobile did offer customer's their own way to back up their data, a month of free service, a $100 gift certificate and a waiver of their early termination fee, should the angry customer want to cancel. Customers also wouldnt have lost their data, had they called to trouble shoot with a trained technical care representative, instead of taking it upon themselves to power cycle the device before knowing what was causing the issue. TMobile is at fault for trusting in Microsoft/Danger to have backed up their customers data and they are offering every bit of compensation they can possibly offer. But the customer is also at fault for trusting in technology and purchasing a device that doesnt actually store pictures, contacts, etc to the device itself. This wouldnt have happened it you owned a blackberry ;)
I think the way lawsuits work is that the Sidekick customers can only sue T-Mobile because that is who they have the contract (promised data backup service) with and they, the Sidekick customers, cannot sue Microsoft because there was no contract between the two; also why only T-Mobile can only sue Microsoft for the data failure.
Yet more proof, as if it were needed, that using Microsoft on a server is indeed a Very Bad Idea.
You can be sure these class action lawsuits help no one but the lawyers. The "claimants" will each get about $3.50 each and the lawyers will get at least a hundred million to split amongst maybe 20 lawyers. Class action lawsuits sound nice but they are merely a vehicle for sue happy lawyers to get even richer whenever they smell blood.