AT&T owes customers $80 million for 'cramming' settlement. Does it owe you?
If you鈥檙e an AT&T cellphone customer and you鈥檝e had bogus charges on your bill, the company鈥檚 $105 million settlement with regulators is good news.
The Federal Trade Commission will get $80 million of that payout 鈥� the FTC鈥檚 largest mobile 鈥渃ramming鈥� settlement against a single carrier to date 鈥� to pay customer refunds for unauthorized premium short message service (PSMS) charges, according to the agency.
鈥淭his case underscores the important fact that basic consumer protections 鈥� including that consumers should not be billed for charges they did not authorize 鈥� are fully applicable in the mobile environment,鈥� says Edith Ramirez, the FTC chairwoman. The agency says AT&T agreed to cough up another $25 million in penalties and fees.
If you鈥檙e an AT&T customer wondering if you deserve a refund, here are some questions to ask:
Were you ever charged for services you didn鈥檛 order?
AT&T, with almost 117 million wireless customers, improperly billed people for things like cellphone wallpapers, daily horoscopes or ringtones, listing them as 鈥淎T&T monthly subscriptions,鈥� according to the FTC鈥檚 complaint. This practice of deceitful billing is called聽. Although AT&T stopped applying the charges last year, bills from at least 2009 to 2013 could have included these fees, usually about $10 a month. The federal agency says the billing method led many consumers to believe they were paying for AT&T services 鈥� not those provided by third parties that they didn鈥檛 order.
鈥淎lthough these unauthorized charges were made by other companies, we take seriously claims that charges on our customers鈥� bills were not accurate,鈥� Mark Siegel, an AT&T spokesman, said by email.
The FTC鈥檚 complaint says the company wasn鈥檛 completely uninvolved, however. It says AT&T pocketed 35% of those unauthorized charges, amounting to $108 million in 2012 and $161 million last year.
Did you receive services you didn鈥檛 ask for?
If you鈥檙e a current or former AT&T customer and received a service 鈥� such as daily text messages with love tips or 鈥渇un facts鈥� 鈥� but you don鈥檛 remember signing up for it, check your phone bill for mystery charges. Through PSMS, third parties don鈥檛 need your credit card number to scam you; they just need your phone number. That means that anyone 鈥� no matter聽聽鈥� can be affected.
Were you turned down for refunds previously?
Most of the unauthorized third-party charges were small and recurring and went unnoticed by consumers. Those who聽诲颈诲听notice, however, weren鈥檛 always able to secure a full refund.
Though AT&T used to offer a three-month refund for customers who complained, they changed it to two months after October 2011, according to the FTC. The agency says there were more than a few complaints. That year alone, the company received 1.3 million calls from customers regarding the fees, the regulator says. At times, it says, there were complaints about 40% of third-party charges. Those who weren鈥檛 able to get all their money back then will now be able to receive full refunds.
If you have service from another mobile carrier, check your bills for these sneaky charges. The FTC went after T-Mobile in July over mobile cramming, after taking action against five other companies last year.
What to do next
If you had improper charges on your AT&T bill from January 2009 on, you can apply for a refund by filling out聽before May 1. Be prepared to provide basic information about yourself and your AT&T account.
Don鈥檛 expect a quick pay off, though. The FTC says refunds will take a minimum of nine months to process.
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