Verizon, T-Mobile face class action lawsuit claims over accessibility, service, billing

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T-Mobile, Verizon class action lawsuits overview: 

• Who: Verizon and T-Mobile have been involved in a number of class action lawsuits recently.
• Why: Class action lawsuits and settlements involving T-Mobile and Verizon have collectively revolved around claims related to accessibility, service and billing. 
• Where: T-Mobile and Verizon are used by consumers nationwide. 

Verizon and T-Mobile are known as being two of the most reliable wireless carriers in the United States; however, the distinction has not protected the two industry giants from being on the receiving end of class action claims. 

A number of class action lawsuits involving T-Mobile and Verizon have been filed, litigated or settled recently over allegations revolving around their accessibility, billing and service. 

Verizon class action alleges company made unlawful charges 

Five consumers filed a class action lawsuit against Verizon earlier this month, arguing the company unlawfully charges its customers an administrative charge that is not initially disclosed to them. 

The consumers behind the class action lawsuit claim Verizon’s customers are oblivious to the administrative charge until they see it on their first billing statement.

“Verizon has used the Administrative Charge as a revenue lever to covertly jack up its monthly service prices and to squeeze its existing subscribers for more cash whenever Verizon desires,” the Verizon class action lawsuit alleges.

Verizon runs what is known as a “bait-and-switch scheme” by advertising a flat fee and then charging customers the administrative charge on top of the promised rate, the consumers argue.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has also had its eye on Verizon with the agency arguing earlier this month that the company should pay a $100,000 fine for failing to provide it with sufficient data for its Premium Visual Voicemail service. 

The FCC wants the data so it can ensure Verizon complies with the Communications Act of 1934 by providing sufficient access to the service for users who are living with disabilities. 

Verizon has disputed the FCC’s allegations, meanwhile, arguing that its Premium Visual Voicemail Service has always been accessible to all of its users. 

T-Mobile class action alleges anticompetitive conduct, network accessibility issues

T-Mobile, meanwhile, faced claims last month that the company’s April 2020 merger with Sprint was anticompetitive and financially harmed Verizon and AT&T subscribers. 

A group of Verizon and AT&T subscribers behind the class action lawsuit argue the merger allowed T-Mobile and Sprint to become one giant entity with no reason to have to “compete meaningfully” against AT&T and Verizon. 

T-Mobile’s long-term plan was always to merge with another large wireless carrier to dominate the market and optimize its revenue, the T-Mobile class action alleges. 

Also last month, T-Mobile was on the receiving end of a class action lawsuit arguing that the launch of its 5G network left some of its users with older devices without any service. 

The T-Mobile customer behind the class action lawsuit claims the company failed to disclose its intention to shut down older networks, which led to network incompatibilities for certain devices, when launching its new 5G service. 

“Many of the Class Devices have or will become wholly unusable as the non-Network older Sprint and T-Mobile networks with which they are compatible, including Sprint’s 3G, 5G and LTE networks, as well as T- Mobile’s 3G UMTS network, get shutdown,” the T-Mobile class action states. 

Earlier this month, T-Mobile agreed to pay $350 million to resolve claims it bore responsibility for a 2021 data breach that exposed the private information of more than 76 million Americans. 

The company also agreed to bolster its data security practices to keep another event occurring in the future as part of the class action settlement. 

T-Mobile’s class action settlement will compensate victims of the data breach for their time and money spent attempting to remedy losses incurred as a result of the incident. 

Individuals affected by the data breach will also receive a free two-year subscription to identify theft protection services, according to the T-Mobile class action settlement.

Verizon concluded in its 2022 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report released last month that human error was the leading factor in data breaches that occurred in 2021. 

FCC works to end auto warranty scam robocalls

The FCC has also been working to keep wireless companies accountable and working for consumers recently. 

Earlier this month, the agency directed all U.S. phone companies to stop carrying traffic from certain individuals and companies it says are responsible for flooding consumers with fraudulent auto warranty robocalls. 

“We are not going to tolerate robocall scammers or those that help make their scams possible. Consumers are out of patience and I’m right there with them,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement. 

The order expanded on a previous FCC cease-and-desist order given to a group of smaller carriers the agency alleged were responsible for hosting the auto warranty scam robocalls.

Also this month, the FCC adopted a new guidance for wireless carriers to help ensure customers do not lose service during climate catastrophes, such as a hurricane or wildfire. 

The FCC’s order is meant to help increase the resilience of the wireless networks by requiring carriers to come up with agreements on roaming privileges in the event a climate emergency occurs. 

“We’ve seen that the mutual aid and other provisions of this Framework can be effective at speeding recovery and ensuring responders have all the information they need, and it’s time that these practices be implemented on an industry-wide basis,” Rosenworcel said in a statement. 

Are you a customer of T-Mobile, Verizon or another major wireless carriers? Let us know in the comments! 

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