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AT&T will finally refund $88 million in unauthorized charges
Thanks to some shady business dealings between AT&T and a pair of companies known for bloating customers' cell phone bills, roughly 2.7 million current and former AT&T mobile subscribers are getting more than $88 million dollars in refunds from the Federal Trade Commission. The refunds are part of a 2014 settlement in which AT&T was accused of "mobile cramming" -- the practice of tacking unnecessary third-party fees onto your bill without consent -- along with two known cramming companies Tatto and Acquinity.
AT&T to pay $80 million in refunds for unauthorized charges
In order to settle an FTC complaint over unauthorized third-party charges, AT&T will pay $80 million to the Commission for customer refunds. The FTC complaint alleges that the carrier billed "hundreds of millions of dollars" in charges from outside companies for subscriptions, ringtones, horoscopes and more without consent -- a practice more commonly referred to as mobile cramming. It also states that AT&T pocketed at least 35 percent of collected funds that usually appeared as $9.99 monthly additions. Folks who think they might've been charged without giving proper consent can submit a claim with the FTC starting today. AT&T will also pay $20 million in penalties and fees to 50 states and the District of Columbia alongside a $5 million penalty to the FCC. That brings the grand total of the settlement to $105 million. An AT&T spokesperson responded to the matter, noting (among other things) that it was the first carrier to stop billing for this so-called premium SMS content in late 2013. The rest of the statement resides after the jump.
