T-Mobile US, which was facing serious cramming charges, settled a lawsuit filed by the US government after the company agreed to pay at least USD 90 million in refunds and fines.
The company was accused of unauthorized charging its customers, an illegal practice commonly called as cramming.
On Friday, Attorney General Tom Horne and Attorney Generals of 49 other states in the District of Columbia, the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission agreed to settle the lawsuit with T-Mobile USA Inc. after payment of USD 90 million in fine and refunds.
Calling the charges on alleged subscriptions offered without the customer’s consent as illegal, Attorney General Horne said that the State of Arizona does not allow any such unauthorized action and makes them punishable under the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act.
He also asked the T-Mobile US customers of the state to turn up to file a restitution claim against it.
The Federal Communications Commission and state attorneys general also participated in the probe with the Federal Trade Commission and found that the telecom giant received 35 to 40 percent of the amount charged in an unauthorized manner for their third party services on to the mobile phone bills of the customer.
In July, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had filed a complaint against T-Mobile US, accusing the company of putting subscriptions for Value Added Services (VAS) like celebrity gossip or horoscopes that were delivered via text message. These messages often cost an extra USD 9.99 per month on the mobile phone bills of the consumers and that too often without their knowledge.
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