Items tagged with cramming
In December 2014, T-Mobile faced the music and agreed to settle with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to the tune of $90 million for phone “cramming.” A few months prior, in October, AT&T coughed up $105 million for the same offense. So what is cramming? Cramming consists of unauthorized charges that appear on your monthly phone bill, the bulk of which come from third-party Premium Short Message Services (PSMS). Wireless carriers have been reluctant to crackdown on cramming in the past because they receive a kickback (somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 to 40 percent) from each unauthorized charge that appears on a customer’s bill which translates...
Read more...
AT&T agreed to settle with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to the tune of $105 million in early October for its part in a “cramming” scheme that bilked customers out of millions of dollars. Cramming refers to any unauthorized charges on a customer’s cell phone bill, and typically come in the form of unsolicited text messages. Today is T-Mobile’s turn, as it has agreed to a settlement with the FTC and will pay at least $90 million. That sum will be compromised mostly of consumer refunds, but $18 million will go towards fines and penalties owed to all 50 states and $4.5 million will go directly into the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) pockets.The FTC just poured a bucket of cold...
Read more...
We aren't entirely surprised that most CEOs aren't as outspoken as T-Mobile's CEO, but the more John Legere speaks, the more we wish that he'd give lessons in whatever spare time he has. Facing a media blitz regarding bill cramming -- a practice whereby major carriers shoved "Premium SMS" services into bills from 2009 to 2013 -- Legere has come out in defense of his company. In a raw, unfiltered post on T-Mobile's site, the CEO straight up admits that politics are rubbish at times, and he explains what exactly went on, and is going on, in regard to cramming. Essentially, he admits that the T-Mobile that existed prior to his onboarding participated with the other carriers in offering Premium SMS...
Read more...
We'd like to say we're surprised by Verizon's latest claims regarding fees, services, and ridiculous pricing, but after the "Share Everything" plans pegged the cost of a gigabyte of data at up to $50, we're immune to much of anything. A recent blog post at NetWorkWorld details one person's request for an explanation as to why having an unlisted phone number costs him $5/month. Verizon's answer: "The cost charged to offer unlisted phone numbers is chiefly systems and IT based." She goes on to claim that unlisted phone numbers require special service to make certain their information isn't stuffed into the details Verizon sells to everyone else. Verizon's online customer service appears to have...
Read more...
