Verizon Wireless to Pay Subscribers for Overcharges
Verizon Wireless overcharged more than 15 million Americans tens of millions of dollars in unwarranted fees for data use, the FCC Enforcement Bureau found in an investigation, Bureau Chief Michele Ellison said in a statement. The carrier said it will repay subscribers money they don’t owe, but Ellison sharply criticized the company for having responded slowly when complaints emerged last year.
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Customers without data plans were billed for data sessions on their phones that they did not initiate, the FCC said. In December 2009, the Consumer and Government Affairs Bureau sent Verizon a letter asking about the overcharges. Commissioner Mignon Clyburn said then she was “alarmed” that the carrier charged customers when they accidentally pressed a handset key launching mobile Internet service. “Given the magnitude of the problem that Verizon Wireless revealed … we must quickly get to the heart of what happened, when, and why,” Clyburn said late Monday. “While I appreciate that Verizon Wireless has acknowledged its billing errors, the refunds to millions of Americans have been a long time coming.”
"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,” said Mary Coyne, Verizon Wireless deputy general counsel. “We will mail former customers refund checks.” Most are owed $2 to $6, though some will receive larger credits or refunds, she said. The carrier is taking steps to make sure the mistake doesn’t happen in the future, Coyne said. “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."
Ellison questioned why the carrier hadn’t agreed more quickly to pay back customers. “Consumers have a right to receive straight bills and to get straight answers when they question them,” she said. “Questions remain as to why it took Verizon two years to reimburse its customers and why greater disclosure and other corrective actions did not come much, much sooner."
"Verizon’s admission of guilt is not a result of corporate transparency and goodwill; it’s a result of getting caught greedily deceiving your customers,” said Free Press Policy Counsel Chris Riley. “The FCC must continue to investigate such shady billing practices, establish clear rules to prevent hidden and erroneous charges, and create a forum for users to bring complaints."
Consumers Union noted that Verizon Wireless normally gets high marks for its service from subscribers. “Even companies that seemingly get customer service right most of the time can mess up in spectacular fashion once in a while,’ the group said. “What’s most egregious about Verizon’s error is that it had seemingly been going on for at least a year, apparently without action or acknowledgment from the company."
Larry Fishelson, CEO of DynaLink, a nationwide switchless phone provider, said he was surprised how slowly Verizon Wireless had moved. “For a company as sophisticated as Verizon, to take two years to find out something like this is definitely a little wild,” Fishelson said in an interview. “If this was that many people and it happened in every device with the software, this is something that should have been picked up long, long, long before.”