You might have a part of a class action lawsuit reward coming your way.
The United States Federal Trade Commission on Thursday announced that it will be distributing more than $88 million in refunds to 2.7 million AT&T customers who had unauthorized third-party charges added to their service bills, something better known as “mobile cramming.”
The refunds come from a $105 million settlement AT&T paid the FTC back in October of 2014, after the carrier was accused of allowing third-party companies to bill customers for things like ringtone subscriptions without their consent. Money was also collected from Tatto and Acquinity, two companies involved in the cramming scheme.
Nearly 2.5 million AT&T subscribers will receive credits on their monthly bills within the next 75 days, while more than 300,000 will be given refund checks averaging about $31. The checks started going out today.
According to the FTC, the AT&T refunds being provided to customers represent the most money that’s ever been returned to consumers in a mobile cramming case.
Up until late 2014, AT&T and several third-party companies were charging customers up to $9.99 per month for subscriptions that provided sham services like ringtones, horoscopes, love tips, and more, with AT&T keeping 35 percent of the money that was taken from its subscribers.
Other wireless carriers, such as T-Mobile, engaged in similar cramming practices. As of December 2014, T-Mobile agreed to pay out $90 million in fines.
Recently, AT&T also agreed to pay out an additional $7.75 million for a separate issue that allowed scammers to charge AT&T customers $9 per month for a fake directory service.
So, you may have a credit or a check coming your way over the next few months.
If you’ve experienced any overcharges or third-party cramming or participated in the class action lawsuit, please let us know about it in the comments.
Via MacRumors and the Federal Trade Commission