You have until Decemto submit a claim to Verizon and Sprint. However, some of these customers complained that Sprint would offer only partial refunds, or only refund charges for two months even if the customer had been charged for unauthorized charges for much longer.”
“For example, in three months in 2013, Sprint issued over 30,000 PSMS refunds to thousands of wireless customers who stated that they had never requested or authorized the PSMS services for which Sprint charged them. Regarding Sprint cramming ( pdf), the FCC said it had received numerous complaints from consumers who claimed they never authorized the PSMS charges that showed up on their bills.
Customers complained that Verizon refused to refund the charges or refunded charges for only a few months.” Regarding Verizon Wireless cramming practices ( pdf), the FCC received many complaints and gave the following example: “In just eight months in 2013 to 2014, Verizon billed tens of thousands of PSMS charges to wireless customers who complained that they had never requested or authorized the services for which they were charged.
SPRINT TEXT MESSAGING FOR MAC FREE
Additionally, the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau requires Verizon and Sprint to “offer a free service for customers to block all third-party charges.” Customers who called to complain were often denied refunds, and yet, when the FCC requested proof that customers had authorized charges, the carriers were unable to prove that these services were ever requested.Īccording to the FCC, the wireless carriers must now “obtain informed consent” before allowing third-party charges and those charges must be “clearly and conspicuously” identified on phone bills. Numerous consumers have complained to the FCC, other government agencies, and the carriers that they never requested or authorized the third-party services for which they were charged. Verizon retained 30% or more of each third-party charge that it billed, while Sprint received approximately 35% of collected revenues for each of its third-party charges. The monthly charge for these third-party premium text messaging services ranged from $0.99 to $14.00, but typically were $9.99 per month. “We call these fraudulent charges ‘cramming,’ and with today’s agreements we are calling them history for Verizon and Sprint customers.”
“For too long, consumers have been charged on their phone bills for things they did not buy,” said FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. Yesterday the FTC and FCC announced, “Verizon Wireless will pay $90 million and Sprint Corporation will pay $68 million to settle investigations that revealed the companies billed customers millions of dollars in unauthorized third-party premium text messaging services.” Ringtones are but one example of Premium Short Messaging Services (PSMS) which customers did not authorize but wireless carriers still billed for such third-party services.
It’s a practice known as mobile “ cramming” and all the big wireless carriers have been found guilty of billing customers for unauthorized third-party premium text message services. Do you just pay your cellphone bill or do you actually check out the bill first? If you are a current or former Verizon or Sprint customer, then you might want to double-check to see if you were ever billed for charges from third-parties that you did not authorize or for services you did not receive.
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