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Verizon, Sprint Agree To Pay Combined $158 Million Over Cramming Charges

Posted by Soulskill on from the now-only-incredibly-profitable-instead-of-ridiculously-profitable dept.

mpicpp sends news that Verizon has agreed to pay $90 million (PDF), and Sprint another $68 million (PDF), to settle claims that they placed unauthorized charges on their customers's bills. The process, known as "cramming," has already cost T-Mobile and AT&T settlements in the tens of millions as well. Most of the settlement money will go towards setting up refund programs, but Verizon and Sprint will be able to keep 30% and 35% of the fees they collected, respectively. In response to the news, both companies issued vague statements about "putting customers first." They are now banned from charging for premium text message services and must set up systems to ensure informed consent for third-party charges.

2 of 66 comments (clear)

  1. Thank God for Gov't Oversight by l0ungeb0y · · Score: 2, Informative

    Helping Corporations turn Crime into Billion Dollar Business Models. Can't wait to see what Amazing Verticals the Free Health Care Market comes up with.

  2. Obviously by Pollux · · Score: 3, Informative

    Of course it will deter them! Obviously, when you admit that you did wrong and accept responsibility for your misdeeds, the guilt and shame must be overwhelmingly embarrassing! Let's see how hard the hammer of the FCC came down this time...

    This Consent Decree resolves allegations that Verizon charged consumers for third-party products...The Bureau...contends that Verizon violated the law...To resolve the Bureau’s investigation...Verizon will provide a total of $90,000,000 in payments and funds for consumer redress...the public interest would be served by adopting the Consent Decree and terminating the referenced investigation.

    Hmm...I'm confused...[CTRL]-[F]..."Guilty"...No Results Found? ...

    Serving the public interest my ass. Ninety million bucks says Tom Wheeler goes to work for one of these companies the moment he leaves office.