FTC Issues Refunds to T-Mobile Customers Over Text Message ‘Cramming’

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The Federal Trade Commission has announced that it will be issuing nearly $20 million in refund checks to more than 617,000 T-Mobile customers who were subjected to unwanted third-party charges.

This FTC refund is part of a T-Mobile settlement reached in 2014 with the FTC and all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia. T-Mobile was to pay $90 million under the terms of the settlement.

According to the FTC, the average check will be $32. If you receive a check from the FTC T-Mobile refund, you should deposit or cash it within 60 days.

This is an additional payment for T-Mobile consumers who previously filed a claim for a refund. The deadline to file a claim for the T-Mobile refund program passed on June 30, 2015.

The FTC filed the text message subscription scam lawsuit against T-Mobile in July 2014, accusing the wireless carrier of allowing third parties to place charges on its customers’ bills for unauthorized “premium” text messages. This practice of fraudulently adding unauthorized charges to phone bills is called “cramming.”

According to the FTC cramming lawsuit, T-Mobile placed millions of dollars in unwanted third-party charges on customers’ phone bills. These charges were for text messaging services like celebrity gossip, love tips and horoscopes. T-Mobile reportedly billed customers about $9.99 per month for these services and received about 35 to 40 percent of each charge that was placed.

T-Mobile also made it difficult for customers to find and understand these third-party subscription charges, the FTC alleges. In many instances, information about the subscription charges were hidden deep within customers’ phone bills.

In addition to providing refunds to affected consumers, the FTC settlement also requires T-Mobile to obtain consumers’ express informed consent before placing third-party charges on their phone bills. T-Mobile is also required to ensure consumers are informed of any third-party charges and that they are aware of the option to block third-party charges.

T-Mobile reportedly discontinued the premium SMS text messaging services at the end of 2013 and implemented a refund program to reimburse T-Mobile customers who incurred unauthorized charges for these text messages. Top Class Actions readers reported that they received a credit of $40 from the T-Mobile refund program.

“Mobile cramming is an issue that has affected millions of American consumers, and I’m pleased that this settlement will put money back in the hands of affected T-Mobile customers,” FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez said after the T-Mobile settlement was announced in 2014. “Consumers should be able to trust that their mobile phone bills reflect the charges they authorized and nothing more.”

If you have questions about the FTC’s T-Mobile settlement, contact the FTC’s refund administrator at 1-844-746-4695.

The T-Mobile Unauthorized Third-Party Charges Lawsuit is Federal Trade Commission v. T-Mobile USA Inc., Case No. 2:14-cv-00967, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.