FTC sues T-Mobile for allegedly hitting customers with hundreds of millions in bogus charges
In what might be the “Uncarrier’s” worst blunder in years, T-Mobile is being sued by the Federal Trade Commission after it was discovered that the provider has allegedly been placing bogus charges on customers’ phone bills for “premium” SMS texting subscriptions, which in many cases were never authorized by the subscriber. It is estimated that T-Mobile made hundreds of millions of dollars as a result of this unsavory practice.
According to the FTC, T-Mobile received anywhere from 35%-40% of the total amount charged to customers for unwanted subscriptions to “flirting tips, horoscope information or celebrity gossip that typically cost $9.99 per month.” T-Mobile apparently continued to collect its percentage years after the fraudulent charges were discovered.
“It’s wrong for a company like T-Mobile to profit from scams against its customers when there were clear warning signs the charges it was imposing were fraudulent,” said FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez. “The FTC’s goal is to ensure that T-Mobile repays all its customers for these crammed charges.”
As the FTC explains it, “cramming” is the practice of placing charges from third-party sources on a subscriber’s bill without their consent (or knowledge, as is often the case). The charges were allegedly difficult to find as well, requiring T-Mobile subscribers to comb through their bills online, click through multiple links and even then the charges wouldn’t be listed separately, just grouped together under the banner “Premium Services.”
We’re anxiously awaiting a response from Legere and T-Mobile.
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This article was originally published on BGR.com
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