FTC Charges Un-Carrier with Un-Cool Cramming

It is hard to know what what is worse, T-Mobile US being charged by the Federal Trade Commission with cramming, or the abuse by third party information and content suppliers using third party billing.

Cramming is the practice of placing unauthorized, misleading or deceptive charges on a telephone bill.

Crammers rely on confusing telephone bills in an attempt to trick consumers into paying for services they did not authorize or receive, or that cost more than the consumer was led to believe.

Purportedly,  T-Mobile USA made hundreds of millions of dollars by charging customers for by “premium” text messaging services that never were authorized by its customers.

The FTC alleges that T-Mobile received anywhere from 35 to 40 percent of the total amount charged to consumers for subscriptions for content such as flirting tips, horoscope information or celebrity gossip that typically cost $9.99 per month.

According to the FTC’s complaint, T-Mobile in some cases continued to bill its customers for these services offered by scammers years after becoming aware of signs that the charges were fraudulent.