consumers, incentivizing the telecom, bank, airline, or hotel industries to do the same thing all over again.įiled Under: broadband, consumers, fcc, fees, ftc, hidden fees, telecom, wireless And when they are “held accountable,” it usually involves a settlement far smaller than the total money stolen from U.S. We pay billions upon billions in predatory, completely nonsensical fees charged by companies that rarely see any accountability for fraud. Meanwhile, the lawyers are likely to get $3.5 million. The settlement “represents a refund of approximately 6-11 months of the average fees,” they read.

That’s only a fraction of what AT&T’s own records show it charged: $180 per customer on average since 2015, according to documents. The Verge’s Sean Hollister notes that a Judge tentatively approved the settlement in June and AT&T is now getting ready to refund users a tiny fraction of the money that was taken from them: That will be credited back to your account, so there’s no opportunity to use it for anything other than AT&T service. AT&T Mobility) was quietly settled in May for $14 million, netting each impacted user a one-time payment of between $15 and $29. With regulators completely AWOL (a common theme on this front) a class action lawsuit attempted to hold AT&T accountable. What it really does is allow AT&T to nickel-and-dime you beyond the advertised price. That’s particularly true of the cable and broadband industry, which has saddled consumers with billions in fees for decades, with little real penalty.Ĭase in point: since 2013 or so, AT&T has been charging its wireless subscribers an “administrative fee.” AT&T openly admits this isn’t a government tax or surcharge it’s just a completely bogus bit of nonsense AT&T says “helps cover a portion of costs to AT&T related to wireless service.” But that’s what your full bill is for.

regulators effectively declared that it was okay to rip off consumers with a dizzying array of bogus fees, letting companies falsely advertise one rate, then sock you with a bunch of additional surcharges when the bill comes due.

Att wireless