According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), AT&T allowed scammers to charge customers a monthly fee for a fraudulent directory assistance service; The FCC announced that AT&T has agreed to pay a $950,000 penalty and will issue $6.8 million in refunds to current and former consumers who were charged the fee since 2012

Klobuchar previously pushed to hold Verizon, AT&T, and CenturyLink accountable for cramming charges on landline phone bills

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar made the following statement today on AT&T’s $7.8 million settlement with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to resolve a cramming investigation. According to the FCC, AT&T allowed scammers to charge customers a monthly fee for a fraudulent directory assistance service. The FCC announced that AT&T has agreed to pay a $950,000 penalty and will issue $6.8 million in refunds to current and former consumers who were charged the fee since 2012. Klobuchar previously pushed to hold Verizon, AT&T, and CenturyLink accountable for cramming charges on landline phone bills.

“No consumer should have to open their phone bill at the end of the month to find a string of complicated charges for services they never requested,” Klobuchar said. “This latest settlement helps to further crack down on these deceptive practices and returns money directly into consumers’ hands. I’ve fought to end cramming on phone bills, and I will keep working to provide consumers with the protection and security they need and deserve.”

Klobuchar has been a leader in the fight to protect consumers from unauthorized charges on their phone bills, both wireless and landlines. At a Commerce Committee hearing in 2014, Klobuchar called on the FCC to do more to protect consumers from cramming as consumers increasingly go wireless and as payment technology evolves. Since then the FCC, Federal Trade Commission, and other federal agencies have continued to take action against cramming.

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