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AT&T to Pay $700,000 Fine and Refund Customers for Data Overcharges
By Kimberly Mirando
AT&T has agreed to pay $700,000 to the federal government to settle charges it overcharged wireless data customers by automatically switching those on pay-as-you-go data plans to its mandatory monthly wireless data plans. AT&T will also refund affected consumers who were overbilled, which could be as much as $25 to $30 per month, depending on data use.
The Federal Communications Commission said in a press release that it began investigating AT&T over these practices last year after receiving a number of consumer complaints. The problem started in 2009 when AT&T made monthly plans mandatory, but promised existing pay-as-you-go data plan customers they could keep their old plans. According to the FCC investigation, however, some consumers who replaced these phones under warranty or insurance, or who moved to a new residence, were switched to the monthly plans, even though AT&T told them they could keep their old plans.
AT&T spokesman Marty Richter downplayed the FCC consent decree, which will require AT&T to pay $700,000 to the U.S. Department of Treasury and refund individual customers affected by these changes. Richter said less than 0.03 percent of AT&T wireless customers are affected by the consent decree, adding that AT&T had already discovered and corrected the issue by November 2010 and provided refunds to customers who contacted AT&T.
“Based on a review of our refund process, we believe a vast majority of those customers affected by the billing error have already been made whole,” Richter said. “But as part of the decree we’ll be providing a bill-page notice to affected customers, offering refunds, and giving them the option to return to a data pay-per-use plan, or to have a data block applied to their phone.”
Still, the FCC urges AT&T subscribers to check their bills closely and contact the company if they feel they’ve been wrongly overcharged for wireless data.
So far no class action lawsuit has been filed over the AT&T data overcharges.
Updated November 9th, 2012
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12 thoughts onAT&T to Pay $700,000 Fine and Refund Customers for Data Overcharges
data over charges
Add me
I am having the same problem. AT&T is over charging me every month. I am the only one using the internet. There is no way I am using150 GB every month.
Please add me to this lawsuit.
I have text and data block on 3 of my kids phones. ATT is charging me $30/month for a forced data plan on one of those lines, even though data can’t be used because it has data block. I have to called to get it removed. Then they stopped removing the bogus charges and forced me to pay it. I left AT&T and disputed only the last two months with my credit card. Now ATT is threatening to send me to collections on the $63.00 I disputed for the service I never recieved. I don’t believe I should pay them for a service they did not provide but I don’t want to go to collections for $63.00. Any advise??
Seems to me that att does not care for my business after years of having them. This company screws customers over and employees dont care because they are all trying so hard to meet their goals or they will be fired so they lie and cut corners to meet the company goals that go up every year.. Sound like a place you want to do business ???
I had to call at@t about every other month to fix our bill. When they locked our phones from downloads, ringtones , and internet use lots of times it worked for a month or so then started overcharging us…so after this song and dance from at@t for years we switched to t-mobile. AT@T needs to learn customers are assets just like good employees neither of which they care about.
I have been raped by AT&T for the last 1 yr and have spent countless hours on the telephone with them trying to get them to assist with the plan they sold me and now use the data plan to constantly overcharge me.
I have been overcharged by AT&T for the last 1yr and half, they have bait and switched by plan and have inflated my monthly bills on a continous basis. I spend over 2 hours each month trying to get it right. They are now bombarding me with textes and emails stating I am over my data plan, I am a nervous wreck and dread getting my bills, this month it was over $300, i am lost as to where to turn. please HELP ME.
i have several phones by att for more than ten years