AT&T Settles Claims of Overbilling Texas Customers
Posted on: Saturday, 16 July 2005, 00:00 CDT
Jul. 16--Long-distance giant AT&T Corp. will pay $1.2 million to settle claims that it overbilled Texas residential customers.
AT&T overcharged 75,000 customers a monthly fee of $3.95 beginning in January 2004, said Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. It already has refunded or credited $805,393 to Texans for the error, which it blames on a computer glitch.
Under the settlement announced Friday, AT&T will pay an additional $390,000 to Abbott's office and the Texas Public Utility Commission in legal expenses and civil penalties.
"They finally acknowledged their mistake, but we needed to get it into a legal document so we can show we stopped this conduct and can prevent it from happening again," said Tom Kelley, a spokesman for Abbott's office.
New Jersey-based AT&T has paid similar penalties in other states, including New York, Minnesota and Missouri. In a written statement, the company said it's not admitting to any violations of Texas law.
"We corrected it as quickly as we could in most cases," spokesman Kerry Hibbs said. "We apologize for the error." San Antonio-based SBC Communications Inc. earlier this year agreed to buy AT&T for $16 billion. That deal is expected to close around the end of the year.
Although incidents of "cramming" -- in which phone companies add unauthorized fees to customers' bills -- have declined, Texas PUC officials urged consumers to stay vigilant.
"This settlement was based on customer complaints, so people should continue to keep an eye on their bills," spokesman Terry Hadley said.
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T, SBC,
Source: San Antonio Express-News
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