Last Saturday I was holed up at an international airport and after the 30 mins. of free WIFI ran out I decided (reluctanly!) to take the €7.95 offer of 24hrs. access (for a single device) by Boingo, paid via Paypal.
This being a European airport I expected the usual rules that govern sale to EU citizen.
During the sign-up I saw a link to the Boingo Customer Agreement and had a cursory look at this lengthy document.
Pretty soon after the sign up I received a mail confirming the transaction for a 24hrs. access.
After several hours I was called to the gate so I closed my laptop.
Then there was a further delay and I restarted the laptop to continue browsing which happened without delay or intervention, clearly (and obviously) the 24 hrs. contract was still in place.
Monday and while at at home I received a statement by Paypal for a further €9.95 charge by... Boingo!
No explanation was given.
I did a Google search for how Boingo is charging, maybe add €2.- for Paypal use?
Google turned up a veritable treasure trove of complaints about this Delaware registered outfit with HQ in CA, one example:
http://www.measuredup.com/search?q=boingo
Another little titbit from their Customer Agreement:
"you make an offer to us to buy a subscription"
Sure, that'll hold in a EU court, not
Now I realised I have macchanger installed that puts a random MAC address up after every restart and this might have been detected as a second device.
(because MAC addresses are always send in the clear they are a privacy issue when on public hotspots)
Again I (carefully) checked their Customer Agreement but it doesn't mention the way they check for 'other devices', no mention at all of the word 'MAC address'.
So I lodged an on-line complaint with Paypal and for good measure I also called them.
The Paypal lady fully understood my issue and promised to investigate and also block Boingo from further charges.
I also send a complaint to Boingo's customer support.
To my surprise his was replied to within hours but the story was less than promising, still no explanation given for the reason of the additional charge but a new reference to their Customer Agreement.
Please note, nowhere do they specify the charges for an additional device, the €9.95 was totally fictitious.
Up till now I still don't know if this was the reason for the charge.
This morning I received a mail by Paypal they were reversing the charges, good
Then a mail by Boingo customer support with this very telling titbit:
You noticed the : "our fascinating legal document"?
And do you know this little issue from iShiny:
http://www.techtimes.com/articles/82...-marketers.htm
So as a recap, at many airports they might be the only option but stay well clear of these Boingo scam artists!
This being a European airport I expected the usual rules that govern sale to EU citizen.
During the sign-up I saw a link to the Boingo Customer Agreement and had a cursory look at this lengthy document.
Pretty soon after the sign up I received a mail confirming the transaction for a 24hrs. access.
After several hours I was called to the gate so I closed my laptop.
Then there was a further delay and I restarted the laptop to continue browsing which happened without delay or intervention, clearly (and obviously) the 24 hrs. contract was still in place.
Monday and while at at home I received a statement by Paypal for a further €9.95 charge by... Boingo!
No explanation was given.
I did a Google search for how Boingo is charging, maybe add €2.- for Paypal use?
Google turned up a veritable treasure trove of complaints about this Delaware registered outfit with HQ in CA, one example:
http://www.measuredup.com/search?q=boingo
Another little titbit from their Customer Agreement:
How Your Subscription Is Finalized
Our invitation to you to order a subscription to the Services is not an "offer" by us to sell you a subscription at the prices on Boingo website located at www.boingo.com (the “Boingo Website”). Instead when you complete the registration form, you make an offer to us to buy a subscription, which we can accept or reject.
Our invitation to you to order a subscription to the Services is not an "offer" by us to sell you a subscription at the prices on Boingo website located at www.boingo.com (the “Boingo Website”). Instead when you complete the registration form, you make an offer to us to buy a subscription, which we can accept or reject.
Sure, that'll hold in a EU court, not
Now I realised I have macchanger installed that puts a random MAC address up after every restart and this might have been detected as a second device.
(because MAC addresses are always send in the clear they are a privacy issue when on public hotspots)
Again I (carefully) checked their Customer Agreement but it doesn't mention the way they check for 'other devices', no mention at all of the word 'MAC address'.
So I lodged an on-line complaint with Paypal and for good measure I also called them.
The Paypal lady fully understood my issue and promised to investigate and also block Boingo from further charges.
I also send a complaint to Boingo's customer support.
To my surprise his was replied to within hours but the story was less than promising, still no explanation given for the reason of the additional charge but a new reference to their Customer Agreement.
Please note, nowhere do they specify the charges for an additional device, the €9.95 was totally fictitious.
Up till now I still don't know if this was the reason for the charge.
This morning I received a mail by Paypal they were reversing the charges, good
Then a mail by Boingo customer support with this very telling titbit:
Boingo AsYouGo usernames and passwords are designed to be used on a single device at a single location. This distinction is described in our fascinating legal document presented during sign-up, called the Boingo Customer Agreement. In it, we have a "Device Limit" section that states: "Boingo AsYouGo: No limit, but separate AYG charges will be incurred for each unique device connected to the network." Basically, this aims to prevent people from sharing or stealing credentials to get online for free.
And do you know this little issue from iShiny:
http://www.techtimes.com/articles/82...-marketers.htm
So as a recap, at many airports they might be the only option but stay well clear of these Boingo scam artists!
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