AT&T pays out for shady third-party charges
It's just the tip of the iceberg for the legal fallout from deceptive charges rung up by cellphone users hoping for a shot a free ringtones, wallpapers, and winning shots at contests simply by sending off a text message or an online form with their mobile number. Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, and others are likely going to have to end up taking it on the chin after AT&T was taken to task -- first by the state of Florida and now by a series of class-action lawsuits that the carrier has chosen to settle (without admitting any wrongdoing in the process, for the record). It seems that customers will be able to file for refunds for such charges rung up between January 1, 2004, and May 30, 2008, for a total of up to three bill cycles' worth. AT&T will be sending out notifications of the settlement to its subscribers shortly; meanwhile, the lawyers involved in the suits collect a nice paycheck of $4.3 million -- a shade more than the average class action member is liable to get, we'd imagine.[Via Phone Scoop]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Drunk Monkey @ Jun 5th 2008 4:12PM
So the carriers overcharge customers, the customers will get something like a free ringtone download and the lawyers get 4+ million.
We can't win.
Bob @ Jun 5th 2008 5:05PM
These 3rd-party companies cause hell for us reps. The post ads online and on TV with the terms in extreme fine print and then charge the carrier. The carrier has no choice but to pass the charge to the customer that signed up for it. I know we are trying to stop billing on behalf of these companies. That would make things easier. But, so would customers taking responsibility of their actions, but that is a pipe dream.
Brandon @ Jun 5th 2008 6:13PM
I got one of those silly charges taken off of my bill last month, luckily I always look over my statements when I get them. They claim to be a one-time $1.99 charge, but my rep said it came up as a $9.99 monthly thing, and removed it for me.
But it sucks for all who get stuck with it.
catmc @ Jun 6th 2008 10:28AM
The jerks who run those scams also make it hell on those of us who work in companies that backend text for other folks. AT&T has changed the rules on what we have to include in messages and websites 6 times so far this year. I swear half of any message is now taken up with verbiage related to these lawsuits. Makes it kinda hard to provide actual info.
Tor Slettnes @ Jun 6th 2008 11:53AM
Well, this sounds like a shady way of doing billiing in the first place! Why can't you get payment directly from your customers in the first place, like a typical retailer/service outfit?
This entire mechanism of billing through the phone carrier is too insecure, too rife with crooks, and waaaaayyyy too open for "cramming".
-tor
Barry @ Aug 11th 2008 1:21AM
Hey, I am doing a post because this same bogus thing happened to me in Texas this last month. I found your post researching about it... I will link to it.