FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS ADVISORY
October 8, 2014
For More Information, contact:
Luther Strange
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
Alabama Attorney General
Claire Haynes (334) 242-7351
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AG STRANGE ANNOUNCES NATIONAL $105 MILLION
CRAMMING SETTLEMENT WITH AT&T MOBILITY
(MONTGOMERY) — Attorney General Luther Strange announced today that he
and the Attorneys General of the other 49 States and the District of Columbia, the
Federal Trade Commission, and the Federal Communications Commission, have
reached settlements with AT&T Mobility LLC. These settlements provide for a $105
million payment, and resolve allegations that AT&T Mobility placed charges for third-
party services on consumers’ mobile telephone bills that had not been authorized by the
consumer, a practice known as “mobile cramming.”
Consumers who have been “crammed” often complain about charges, typically
$9.99 per month, for “premium” text message subscription services (also known as
“PSMS” subscriptions) such as horoscopes, trivia, and sports scores, that the consumers
have never heard of or requested. The Attorneys General and federal regulators allege
that cramming occurred when AT&T Mobility placed charges on consumers’ mobile
telephone bills for these services without the consumer’s knowledge or consent.
AT&T Mobility is the first mobile telephone provider to enter into national
settlement to resolve allegations regarding cramming; AT&T Mobility was among the
four major mobile carriers – in addition to Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile – that
announced it would cease billing their customers for commercial PSMS charges last fall.
“It is important that consumers are not forced to pay for services of which they
are unaware and that they never requested,” said Attorney General Strange. “This
settlement puts sensible protections in place and compensates consumers who have
been wronged.”
Under the terms of the settlements, AT&T Mobility is required to provide $80
million in funds to be used to pay refunds to consumers who were victims of
cramming. The fund will be administered by the Federal Trade Commission.
Beginning today, consumers may submit claims under the AT&T Mobility
cramming refund program by visiting www.ftc.gov/att. On that website, consumers
can find information about how to obtain a refund. If consumers are unsure about
whether they are eligible for a refund, they can visit the claims website or contact the
Claims Administrator at 1-877-819-9692 for more information.
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501 Washington Avenue * Montgomery, AL 36104 * (334) 242-7300
www.ago.alabama.gov Page 2 of 2
The settlement requires AT&T Mobility to stay out of the commercial PSMS
business – the platform to which law enforcement agencies attribute the lion’s share of
the mobile cramming problem. Additional terms require AT&T Mobility to take a
number of steps designed to ensure that it only bills consumers for third-party charges
that have been authorized, including the following:
- AT&T Mobility must obtain consumers’ express consent before billing
consumers for third-party charges, and must ensure that consumers are only
charged for services if the consumer has been informed of all material terms and
conditions of their payment; - AT&T Mobility must provide a full refund or credit to consumers who are billed
for unauthorized third-party charges at any time after this settlement; - AT&T Mobility must inform its customers when the consumers sign up for
services that their mobile phone can be used to pay for third-party charges, and
must inform consumers of how those third-party charges can be blocked if the
consumer doesn’t want to use their phone as a payment method for third-party
products; and - AT&T Mobility must present third-party charges in a dedicated section of
consumers’ mobile phone bills, must clearly distinguish them from AT&T
Mobility’s charges, and must include in that same section information about the
consumers’ ability to block third-party charges.
AT&T Mobility also agreed to pay $20 million to the Attorneys General and $5
million to the Federal Communications Commission. The Alabama Attorney General’s
Office is receiving $291,742 for its participation in the settlement.
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