By Allen Tsai | Thu Jan 28, 2010 1:20 am |
AT&T has agreed to pay $18 million to settle claims that it imposed unfairly high early termination fees on subscribers who wanted to end their contracts.
The Dallas, Texas-based company said the case covers customers who were charged a termination fee from as far back as 1998.Those who can prove they were charged a termination fee during that period could be eligible to receive up to $140. Those who didn't cancel their contract, for fear of the charge, could still be eligible for an AT&T long distance phone card for up to 200 minutes, or have their current AT&T contract changed from a $175 flat rate to one that is prorated. More details are available at the settlement Web site. Before 2008, AT&T charged a $175 termination fees regardless of the time left on a subscriber's contract. Now the company switched to a prorated fee structure, so customers who are closer to the end of their contracts are charged less that those who opt out earlier. Early termination fees have been a sensitive subject in recent years. Wireless companies insist that they are necessary to recover part of the subsidies paid to discount new phones. But in several lawsuits filed against AT&T and other operators, customers claimed the fees were illegal due to "hidden charges" that discouraged them from switching to rival operators. AT&T said the settlement is not an admission to wrongdoing and no court had found it at fault. In August, Sprint agreed to pay $17.5 million to settle a similar lawsuit. Earlier this week, the Federal Communications Commission sent letters to AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile and Google, asking them to explain how they notify their customers about termination fees. The inquiry is part of a broader FCC investigation started last year to determine billing practices in the industry.
|
] |
CellReception.com |
CellRisk.com |
Appedia.com |
Tabletedia.com
[ 
] |
iTVedia.com