Verizon Passes Out up to $90M in Refunds to Customers

If you're a Verizon Wireless customer, you could benefit from a massive refund pool being developed that could see up to $90 million paid out to current and previous cell phone customers who were improperly billed for Internet access or data usage over the past few years. The unprecedented refund move was prompted by customer inquiries that eventually spread out in to an FCC Enforcement issue. Apparently, (and we used Verizon for years but never apparently triggered this), users could trigger a $1.99/MB data "rate" that could appear on your bills anytime you accidentally initiated data or Web access on your phone (presumably even if you didn't follow through and actually use it).

From the AP report:

In a statement on its website Sunday, Verizon Wireless said most of the 15 million customers affected will receive credits of $2 to $6 on their October or November bills. Some will receive larger sums. Customers no longer with the New York-based carrier will get refund checks.

It's not exactly a windfall, but the move isn't meant to be punitive in nature, but simply to credit consumers for errant charges that may have flown under the radar. Verizon Wireless claims that the majority of the data charges involved minor data exchanges caused by software built into users' phones. The company has already made modifications to ensure no errant or incorrect changes occur in the future.

Source: AP via Yahoo News