AT&T to pay $700,000 fine and refund wireless customers over billing error
AT&T has agreed to pay a $700,000 fine to the U.S. Treasury for unfairly forcing pay-as-you-go wireless data customers into monthly data plans. The wireless provider has also agreed to refund the customers who were affected, and to return them to their grandfathered-in pay-as-you-go plans (if they’re still eligible).
In 2009, AT&T started requiring that all customers purchasing new smartphones also purchase a monthly subscription-based data plan. However, AT&T assured its existing customers on pay-as-you-go data plans that their plans would be protected and grandfathered-in indefinitely. So long as existing customers did not purchase new AT&T-subsidized smartphones, their pay-as-you-go plans were (supposedly) protected.
But it turns out that some grandfathered-in customers were still forced into monthly data plan subscriptions, which cost around $30/month. This happened when customers replaced old handsets using a warranty or insurance, or when customers moved to different parts of the United States. AT&T specifically promised that such situations – replacing old handsets or moving to a different part of the country – would not affect customers’ data plans.
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http://www.techhive.com/article/2013603/atandt-to-pay-700-000-fine-and-refund-wireless-customers-over-billing-error.html
