Customers owed refunds by cell phone companies for fraudulent charges

As part of the agreement with the FCC, Verizon will refund $70 million to its customers.

Verizon and Sprint customers have a week to claim their refunds for unauthorized charges on their bills.

Claims must be filed by December 31, 2015.

For those who don’t know, “cramming” refers to the practice of billing customers for $9.99 subscriptions to ringtones and premium text message services that they never signed up for. Richard Blumenthal said. “This insidious practice will not be tolerated and carriers who continue to profit by allowing third-parties to deceive their customers through cramming must reform their practices immediately-or face harsh penalties”.

“Talking about charges for horoscopes, celebrity gossip, sports tips, wallpaper for your phone, and special ring tones”, said Federal Communications Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel at at State Capitol News Conference. Verizon kept 30% of the revenue generated from this aptly named cramming, while Sprint kept 35% of the money generated.

AT&T and T-Mobile USA paid $105 million and $90 million, respectively, to settle similar government probes in 2014.

If you’ve fallen victim to cramming on Verizon, you can apply for your refund at this website and you can call the FCC to ask questions about your potential refund by calling 1-888-726-7063.

As a result of the settlements, both companies are now required to get customer approval before charging for third-party messages.

When it comes to Sprint, they have agreed to pay back $18 million in fees to state governments, while refunds to customers are in the amount of $50 Million.