WASHINGTON — Customers of Verizon and Sprint may have a couple bucks coming their way — and only a few hours left to claim it.
It was a multimillion-dollar slap on the hand that could benefit the little guy.
In May, Verizon and Sprint reached a settlement with the Federal Communications Commission, agreeing to pay $90 million and $68 million, respectively, for “cramming” customers’ bills.
The two mobile providers had partnered with third-party vendors that sell premium text messaging services, such as daily horoscopes, trivia and sports scores. But consumers who hadn’t signed up for the services were being billed anyway, typically about $9.99 a month, according to the Federal Communications Commission, Federal Trade Commission and several state attorneys general.
Regulators said they launched an investigation after receiving numerous complaints that the carriers had refused to refund the charges.
Customers can request a billing summary from their provider electronically to see if they were charged for the third-party services, but their claim must be received or postmarked by Dec. 31.
Neither carriers’ information specifies whether the cutoff is at the end of business hours on Dec. 31 or at midnight.
WTOP reached out to Verizon after hearing from a listener that operators were not staffed on New Year’s Eve. The carrier has yet to return our request.
Verizon customers can find information about filing a claim here.
Sprint customers can find information about filing a claim here.
