James Delahunty
29 Oct 2010 18:20
Verizon Wireless, the top mobile phone service provider in the United States, will have to pay out another multi-million fine for over-charging customers.
The service provider has agreed to pay the U.S. Treasury $25 million on top of the $52 million+ it has alreaddy agreed to pay back to customers for overcharging them for services. The additional $25 million fine is the largest in the Federal Communications Commission's history, according to FCC chairman Julius Genachowski.
Last month, Verizon Communications Inc and Vodafone Group Plc said it would pay refunds to 15 million cellphone customers overcharged for mobile Internet usage.
Verizon said in a statement that the settlement is being made voluntarily and has apologized for the "accidental data charges" experienced by customers.
"People shouldn't find mystery fees when they open their phone bills and they certainly shouldn't have to pay for services they didn't want and didn't use. In these rough economic times, every $1.99 counts," Genachowski said.