Verizon announced today that it will refund up $90 million, one of the largest ever customer refunds by a telephony carrier.
The announcement came after Verizon Wireless held talks with FCC regarding customer complaints of unauthorized charges related to customers without data plans but accessed the internet with capable phones, costing one or more of $1.99 access charges.
Customers will receive $2 to $6 credits in their October or November bills. For former customers, it will be a check.
“These customers would normally have been billed at the standard rate of $1.99 per megabyte for any data they chose to access from their phones, The majority of the data sessions involved minor data exchanges caused by software built into their phones; others involved accessing the Web, which should not have incurred charges. We have addressed these issues to avoid unintended data charges in the future.” Verizon has stated.
But customers and media have informed Verizon over and over regarding these charges and did not pay attention to complaints until FCC began a formal investigation in to the unauthorized charges in January.
Regarding the refunds, FCC did not seem to be considering it is the end, “gratified to see the repayment, but for millions of Americans it’s a day late and a $1.99 short.Getting consumers repaid is just the first step; ensuring this doesn’t happen again comes next,” Michele Ellison, the chief of the FCC enforcement bureau, said in a statement.
Some of the complaints are recorded on The Times’s David Pogue's blog.
Verizon Wireless Statement;
BASKING RIDGE, NJ — OFFICIAL STATEMENT.
May be attributed to Mary Coyne, Deputy General Counsel, Verizon Wireless:Verizon Wireless values our customer relationships and we always want to do the right thing for our customers.In October and November, we are notifying about 15 million customers, through their regular bill messages, that we are applying credits to their accounts due to mistaken past data charges. We will mail former customers refund checks. In most cases, these credits are in the $2 to $6 range; some will receive larger credits or refunds.As we reviewed customer accounts, we discovered that over the past several years approximately 15 million customers who did not have data plans were billed for data sessions on their phones that they did not initiate. These customers would normally have been billed at the standard rate of $1.99 per megabyte for any data they chose to access from their phones. The majority of the data sessions involved minor data exchanges caused by software built into their phones; others involved accessing the web, which should not have incurred charges. We have addressed these issues to avoid unintended data charges in the future.Verizon Wireless issues credits to customers from time to time based on regular review and monitoring. When we identify errors, we remedy them as quickly as possible. Our goal is to maintain our customers’ trust and ensure they receive the best experience possible.
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