(RTTNews) - AT&T Inc
(T) will offer refunds to customers who were charged for third party cell phone content as part of a settlement from a group of class-action lawsuits. Customers claimed that the downloaded content, including ring tones and daily text messages, was unwanted.
Third party vendors often solicit customers to sign up for their product by entering their phone numbers on websites or via text messages. The charges, which can be poorly explained if at all, show up later on bills. The cell phone carrier keeps part of the fee and passes the rest on to the vendor.
The class action suits alleged that AT&T should have been more careful with third party vendors. While they reached a settlement, AT&T did not admit wrongdoing.
Now, the company requires customers that sign up for these third party services with recurring fees to confirm via text message. AT&T also requires the content providers to send monthly reminders on how to unsubscribe from the services.
Currently, there is not estimate for how much the settlement will cost AT&T. The cell phone carrier has agreed to refund third party mobile content fees that it billed from January 1, 2004 through May 30, 2008.
Similar suits are already pending against Verizon Wireless
(VZ), Sprint Nextel
(S) and T-Mobile USA.
For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com