**Class Action Lawsuit** We all deserve to recoup all hardware investment

This is my favourite thread. (Well, this and the other class action lawsuit threads.) 

Hear Ye, Hear Ye, Hear Ye...To All Concerned Parties:

• Click the first link to learn about “Legal Terms of Use” for Sonos.
• Click the second link to learn about “Limitation of Liability” for Sonos
• Read my favorite clause regarding Class Action Law Suits in Red below. I know you’ll find it interesting.
• Maybe you will “cease and desist” with this class action non-sense.

https://www.sonos.com/en-us/legal/terms-of-use

https://www.sonos.com/en-us/legal/terms-of-use#legal-terms-use-liability

Class arbitration and collective relief waiver. YOU AND SONOS ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT, TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT ALLOWED BY LAW, EXCEPT AS SET OUT OTHERWISE IN THIS SECTION 13(c) AND SECTION 13(g) BELOW, ANY ARBITRATION SHALL BE CONDUCTED IN AN INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY ONLY AND NOT AS A CLASS OR OTHER CONSOLIDATED ACTION AND THE ARBITRATOR MAY AWARD RELIEF ONLY IN FAVOR OF THE INDIVIDUAL PARTY SEEKING RELIEF AND ONLY TO THE EXTENT NECESSARY TO RESOLVE AN INDIVIDUAL PARTY’S CLAIM, UNLESS SONOS PROVIDES ITS CONSENT TO CONSOLIDATE IN WRITING.

And then you have to go and spoil it all by doing that. Let’s just hope people refuse to look facts in the face and continue to press the matter with ill-informed confidence.

Sorry..my bad. Didn’t mean to spoil the fun reading by being a “chaos manager”.

It’s okay - the UK terms have a limit of liability that doesn’t apply for damages resulting from gross negligence by Sonos - so provided someone feels they have watertight evidence of gross negligence (they don’t) and can demonstrate material damages (they can’t), I’d imagine this thread is back on!

Meh.  That's not even a speed bump on the "when you don't have anything else to say, threaten a class action lawsuit" highway.  Actual contract law?  Peshaw!  Never stopped an arm chair lawyer before, nor will it now.  

100% in! I am in Canada and was a dealer until I dropped Sonos due to lack of support and their continued “breaking” of their software and apps. I personally own 19 various speakers and have had 3 completely broken after app updates (1 Arc and 2 Roams). Let me know how the class action process goes.

Who are you talking to? There is no class action. No-one is instigating any process. There is nothing to be ‘in’. 

Sonos’ terms and conditions in North America that you will have agreed to specifically preclude any class action being taken.

The most common phrase on this subject is along the lines of the one you replied to: I am not someone who can start a class action lawsuit, but I’m sure there are people here who can...

Well if potential new clients read about the terrible experiences and lack of support from this joke of a company maybe they will NOT get duped like we have. I also expect that the “terms and conditions” precluding a class action suit would easily be struck down if a good class action law firm took this on. It’s sonos that has sold inferior products and then continues to “break” it with their “updates” they require you to make! The company is a joke!

I flippin’ love my Sonos speakers. I am very disappointed that the company has released an app that was not yet ready. 

But I am not really that annoyed that I want to wring them through the courts. There appears to be a prevalent ‘litigation-first’ attitude, led in particular by North America, which seems to cause brains to auto-generate the words “class action” whenever something trivial and inconsequential happens. 

Step back and look at what you are saying. Your app is currently preventing you from using some element of your music system (I don’t know what, I’m not trawling the forum to see if you have actually said, or looked for a solution while the app is being worked on). Is that really worth even contemplating puffing out your reddening cheeks and heading for the courtroom? 

“What did you do today, Daddy?” “Well, son, I doggone took Sonos to the cleaners because I can't play Meatloaf.” 

FYI…I was a Sonos Dealer since the product was created. It was actually great for 10 years. We dropped it 2 years ago due to their;

• lack of client support
• lack of dealer support
• cutting our margins while selling direct 
• continual “updates” that broke the software

You will learn the hard way! And do yourself a favour don’t buy Roam (ever, it’s trash) or any new product release until they have at least 1 year of in market testing. Do yourself another favour switch to Bose or other before you spend your wad on Sonos. They aren’t in it for the clients!!

Count me in.  Roughly $10,000 of investment over ten years.  Now the system is unrecognizable half the time, difficult to use most of the time and totally laggy all of the time.  

Sonos worked great for me for ten years.  Now I can't even adjust the volume without the system changing speakers and blasting out in a room I don't want to hear.

I've never had a company give me such a big middle finger.  I just don't get it.  Maybe lawyers will force them to get it and force them to give me my money back.

THERE IS NO CLASS ACTION. THERE WILL BE NO CLASS ACTION. THERE IS NOTHING TO BE ‘IN’. 

Who are these fabled ‘lawyers’ everyone keeps referring to? The only way you will get any money is by selling your speakers (which you can of course do if you can’t wait a few more weeks...)

I would like to participate in any class action suit to come from all of this bs.  I am still in disbelief how bad it is and even more so by the lack of action from the Sonos people. 

I don’t believe @Rhonny is an employee of Sonos, as they are clearly identified in this community and I think making such trolling allegations against another community user, without any foundation, is a breach of the community rules - so if you have the evidence you really should provide that to accompany your post. If anything @Rhonny provides quite a balanced viewpoint if you care to take a look at their previous community posts going back to 2019.

Chill…it’s called sarcasm! He is also a Brit and his comments on class action don’t take into account the legal implications and protections let alone litigious nature that exists in the USA. If there are a number large of clients that get harmed by the actions of any company in the USA there is a very real possibility that legal action can move forward. As Sonos continues to “break” products with their upgrades clients have every right to complain and look at all options for restitution…let alone advising potential clients of the true state of the product and how they abuse their customers. “rhonny” speaks like he is a constitutional legal expert because he can cut and paste Sonos’ worthless legalese. Perhaps if enough customers complain about Sonos overreach the government will step in as they have done on numerous occasions. Rhonny’s opinion is based on his love and experience not on the reality that has been experienced and expressed by thousands of Sonos customers!

You said it “UK terms”…means nothing in the USA or Canada! Lawyers in the USA are the only ones that matter in a US led class action suit. Americans have a strong history of making corporations pay that abuse their clients.

Well good luck with your class action, or whatever  - I just personally would like to see the misleading posts here removed, if they are perhaps falsely accusing other community users of being trolls, or Sonos employees, when clearly it’s not the case. Sonos employees are ‘clearly’ shown in this community.

That’s not the North American clause that precludes class action. It’s above, on another post. In red and yellow.

Once again…the clause would never stand up in a lawsuit in North America. Any company that harms a person or a significant number of individuals will be held accountable. A piece of legalese buried in a one sided “contract” in the form of an agreement with no signatures would be seen for exactly what it is … abuse of the public trust. Especially one that is attached to a software agreement that you are forced into after the fact on hardware that was purchased with a previous software version that the company will no longer support. As the continued abuse of Sonos clients continues to grow there will eventually be a tort law firm that will pick up the opportunity for a class action and Sonos will be held accountable. That or the government will step in first. Anyone that believes Sonos is a great example of a good corporate citizen just needs to see that they force their clients into these one sided updates that in most cases harm the client and in some cases actually turn the hardware into a “brick”…this is not the actions of a company that is morally or ethically looking to support their customers or product. Use of “buried” legal wording to protect themselves from liability for damages they do just proves they are not good corporate citizens or believe in their product or client base! You can bet that the tobacco and drug industries in North America had far better “contracts” to protect themselves from legal liability than Sonos does and look what happened to them. Sonos needs to change it’s attitude towards its customers or become another company that ends up on the garbage heap of arrogance. They are no longer the only option and the next best thing is around the corner.

I just got an email about a CA suit against another company who bricked some product with a software update.  The suit seems to have reached a settlement even though the company has now released a fix.

I read through the complaint, and it is nowhere near as bad as what SONOS has done.  Very likely a suit like this could proceed.  Tempted to email the firm handling it and see if they are interested.

I know there are a bunch of neigh sayers on here, but I have gotten settlements from diamond companies, Apple - twice, Porsche, and a few others I don’t recall - all over things that didn’t even bother me or that didn’t seem like a big deal.  You get the email that you may be in the “class”, you sign up for the settlement, and years later after you have forgotten about it, a check shows up in the mail - could be for a few $$$ or hundreds of $$$. It’s not about the money though, it’s about making a point and holding assholes accountable.  And it feels good when it works out.

If you get anywhere let me know. The amount of wasted time and frustration that Sonos clients have suffered deserves a day in court…I expect Sonos would settle quickly rather than see the type of bad publicity they will have from a lawsuit. Their stock isn’t doing well and will really plummet if a lawsuit goes forward.

An important caveat bolded above.  In certain states, under certain provisions, class actions waivers may be uneforceable.  California is a notable example,  given the Supreme Court denied certiorari on the Ninth Circuit Court’s decisions in the Tillage v. Comcast and McArdle v. AT&T Mobility cases.

But don’t take my word, or @AjTrek1 word, or any other lay persons word on it.  If you care deeply about the issue, contact a lawyer.  The consultation is free.

Of course, if it just makes you feel better to vent, posting on this forum is free as well.

Discounting anything said above by me or anyone I agree with @AlexPermit contact a lawyer and stop all of this non-sensical posturing in the community. After you get your results then come back and let us know. Until then everything else is just idle chatter.

Edit: I personally have no need nor desire to participate in a class action

No, nor me, count me out too, as the new Sonos App, albeit a bit slow in some areas, works fine in my case and the music still plays on all my Sonos products, both with and without their free ‘remote’ App.

I have not lost access to my speakers, or local library, as I took the recommended action beforehand of sharing my library folders and tracks, using a higher/secure version of the SMB protocol, as discussed in this community before the upgrade in May. The music here has kept on playing using either the App, AirPlay, DLNA/UPnP, Bluetooth, or ‘direct control’ with Apps from Amazon, Spotify, Apple, Google etc. That also includes line-in Turntable and Bluetooth TX and also voice control from Alexa and SVC. I’m even able to play music on my products using Apps from my TV and other connected peripherals.

Sonos have a multitude of ways to play all sorts of audio on their products, in addition to their App.. and that has never changed and their hardware still sounds great to my ears. No class action here and whilst I’m no lawyer, I’m not so sure such a pursuit would prove successful anyway, simply because of the great many options that have always been there and remained available to the end-user.