RSSAT&T settles suit over third-party ringtone downloads
By Tim Conneally | Published June 3, 2008, 2:52 PM
AT&T has agreed to settle a class action suit issued against it in Georgia, for allowing third parties to charge customers on unclear or wholly undisclosed terms for downloads.
The settlement received preliminary approval in the Superior Court of Fulton County, Georgia on Friday. The final hearing for the settlement will not occur until December 8th, giving customers approximately six months to file their claims.
The suit alleged that AT&T, in collusion with third-party providers of ringtones, wallpaper, games, jokes and news feeds charged customers either secretly or without adequate explanation. Downloads of such content would appear on subsequent telephone bills, apparently with the content provider and AT&T each taking a cut of the receipts.
Though AT&T admitted no wrongdoing, this is believed to be the first national class action settlement over third-party content. Subscribers eligible for recompense can claim up to three instances of fraudulent charges, and are entitled to a refund of either one-time or subscription charges.
Additionally, AT&T will begin using a notification system whenever a customer makes a third party transaction, making them confirm that it is a valid and acceptable exchange.
This morning, plaintiffs' lead attorney Jay Edelson issued an unusually conciliatory remark: "Most defendants who are sued tell us that their primary goal is to protect their customers. By agreeing to provide this type of unprecedented relief, AT&T proves that it stands behind its words. This is both a great result for the class and should put a lot of pressure on other carriers to demonstrate that they, too, are serious about their customers' welfare."
Similar suits have been filed by the same firm against Verizon, Sprint Nextel, and T-Mobile, and a total of 16 class action suits have been taken against AT&T in various state and federal courts in the US including California, Illinois, Minnesota, and New York.
Details of the settlement, including instructions for individuals wishing to declare themselves eligible for possible refunds, can be found at ThirdPartyContentRefund.com.
Yes, however, take a look at the settlement website: refunds won't be issued until after March 2009 -- a year away. I wouldn't call that justice. I'd call it allowing AT&T to continue to earn interest and invest funds that were ruled by the court to be illegally acquired.
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|They pulled this on me last year, charging me for a ringtone I never purchased (I never buy ANY of that junk). It was only around $2 or $3 and the guy at the store told me I'd have to call AT&T. I didn't even bother, and I suspect thats exactly what they hope for. These companies are thieves, and I hope they take in in the shorts for this kind of garbage.
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|This is funny at&t settled at all. Working for them I issued a ridiculous number of refunds for customers calling in and b****ing their kids downloaded a bunch of games so regardless of someone admitting they or someone they intrusted with the device was completely responsbile for the charges they would still get a refund, then they would get told the refund was from the content provider and they would have to wait up to 60 days and they would b**** more.
I've never seen a refund not given.
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