AT&T Gets Spanked by Florida
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AT&T reached a settlement with Florida via our Attorney General Bill McCollum. They must repay Floridians for unauthorized third-party cell charges, such as ringtones and text messaging that were advertised as free.
The settlement could mean refunds totaling more than $10 million
McCollum said the main culprits are third-party companies. They often advertise ringtones and other services that are supposed to be free. When customers sign up, they ultimately find charges on their cell phone bill. Although it is the third-party companies who are using deceptive advertising, AT&T agreed in the settlement to begin policing agreements with third-party providers to make it more clear what the charges are for when they appear on the phone bills.
AT&T stressed that the problem is an industry-wide and that they did not actually sell their customers the ringtones and other services, but just provided the billing.
Check your bills for charges labeled things like “Other Charges” or “Usage”. If you call your provider’s customer service and ask what these charges are for, you may find you are being charged for text messaging or ringtones you id not authorize and you may be able to talk them into a refund.
Completely deserved; I hate it when telephone companies bundle all that junk like jokes/ wallpapers when you think you’re only getting a ringtone.
Too bad I don’t live in Florida, I’d love to get a refund check for something. (Even though I’m not quite sure that I’ve ever been over charged by them, heh!)