Do you know what cramming is? Hmmm... cram·ming (KRAMing) n.- the fraudulent practice of adding unauthorized charges to a customer's phone bill. So who has been cramming? The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a formal complaint earlier this summer against cell phone service provider, T-Mobile. It seems that T-Mobile was scamming hundreds of millions of dollars from its customer base by sneaking in extra charges on the premium phone service which most customers had. And how did T-Mobile do this? By engaging in "third-party billing" which is also known as cramming.
This is how it worked: T-Mobile charged customers on behalf of another company (third party) which in return got a "kickback" of the services charged. Customers could've requested a refund IF they had found out. If the customer did not realize, then T-Mobile would continue to charge them month after month for services they never even knew they had! Even after some customers requested a refund, the company would only give a partial refund! And T-Mobile knew they were doing this all along!
But just like professional scammers, T-Mobile couldn't stop. This was like free money! And who was going to stop them?! How about the FTC! The ruling came down this past December. In the settlement, T-Mobile will have to pay $90 million in refunds to customers! T-Mobile should feel lucky that it wasn't worse! If you suspect any cramming, call your phone carrier and/or file a complaint online with the FTC!
This is how it worked: T-Mobile charged customers on behalf of another company (third party) which in return got a "kickback" of the services charged. Customers could've requested a refund IF they had found out. If the customer did not realize, then T-Mobile would continue to charge them month after month for services they never even knew they had! Even after some customers requested a refund, the company would only give a partial refund! And T-Mobile knew they were doing this all along!
But just like professional scammers, T-Mobile couldn't stop. This was like free money! And who was going to stop them?! How about the FTC! The ruling came down this past December. In the settlement, T-Mobile will have to pay $90 million in refunds to customers! T-Mobile should feel lucky that it wasn't worse! If you suspect any cramming, call your phone carrier and/or file a complaint online with the FTC!
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