Verizon to refund phantom data fees
I recall reading a while back about a frustrating feature on Verizon phones without data plans where a data session would be initiated accidentally, incurring a $1.99 charge.
Verizon announced today that they are refunding $2-6 per customer (or former customer) for erroneous charges they say occurred because of “web links” or faulty handsets. Verizon explained the settlement in a press release, which read in part:
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 included accessing certain web links, which should not have incurred charges. We have addressed these issues to avoid unintended data charges in the future.
Verizon also indicated that some of the refunds will exceed the normal $2-6 range, but did not elaborate on how many refunds that could be, how the refund amount would be determined, or when specifically (aside from “October and November”) customers and former customers could expect to receive their credits.
