WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) — The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will refund checks totaling close to $20 million to more than 617,000 T-Mobile consumers who had third-party charges added to mobile bills, allegedly without consent.
The checks come as part of a settlement agreement with T-Mobile that stemmed from a 2014 case. The case involved all 50 states and Washington, DC, as well as the Federal Communications Commission.
T-Mobile agreed to pay the full refund for unwanted third-party charges if consumers applied for a refund. The average check is for $32. The company also agreed to remit remaining funds up to $90 million to the FTC that are not used in the refund program. The FTC plans to use these funds to send checks to other customers who allegedly had third-party charges placed on their bills without consent.
The FTC noted that recipients of the checks need to cash or deposit them within 60 days. The FTC also noted that it never requires people to pay money or provide account information to cash the checks.