AT&T Mobility Charged with $105 Million for Unlawful Billing Claims

AT&T Mobility, one of the largest mobile phone operators in the country, will be paying off $105 million to consumers for billing them unlawfully on services that were uncalled for. The company will have to pay the hefty amount as penalties and refunds for inconsiderately billing cellphone accounts of customers.

As part of the settlement, AT&T’s wireless business agreed to pay $80 million to the Federal Trade Commission (F.T.C.) in order to provide refunds to customers who were billed hundreds of millions of dollars, often without their knowledge or consent. The innocent customers are learned to have been billed for items including ringtones and text messages with love tips and horoscopes. The F.T.C. has accused the company of charging fees to these people for texting services like flirting tips and celebrity gossip that the customers never ordered. In addition, AT&T would be paying $20 million in penalties and fees to 50 states and the District of Columbia along with a penalty for $5 million to the Federal Communications Commission for its mobile cramming practices.

The problem, as cited by the commission, is that even after it became apparent that customers were being harassed and harmed, AT&T repeatedly failed to solve the problem at its end. The problem has been cited by the F.T.C. in a complaint filed in the federal court in Atlanta. The F.T.C. chairwoman, Edith Ramirez, has openly condemned the irresponsible act by AT&T. She resented that instead of acting to stop the charges, AT&T continued to mint hundreds of millions of dollars by drawing at least 35 percent of every charge without relenting to provide refunds to many consumers.

In its defense, AT&T said that while it had rigorous protections in place to guard consumers against unauthorized billing from these companies, it had discontinued third-party billing for Premium Short Messaging Services the last year.


It is learned that the settlement AT&T will have to pay is the largest that regulators have brought to date against mobile phone companies for cramming.