AT&T gets caught up in class action lawsuit over hidden fees

A new lawsuit has been filed in California, claiming that AT&T is charging customers more than their advertised rates. The litigation specifically mentions a $1.99 per month “Administrative Fee” that AT&T charges at least its postpaid customers.

The complaint says that AT&T is charging more than advertised, because after the “administrative fee” is tacked on, alongside other fees, customers are paying more than advertised rates.

The lawsuit also claims that AT&T is trying to conceal these numbers by buying it “deep” within their web site. Customers will find the “Administrative Fee” buried in the “Surcharges & Fees” section of customer bills. This is usually where government fees — such as 911 services — are, but there is an administrative fee that just goes straight to AT&T.

Anyone who goes into their AT&T account and looks at their bill will usually see some odd fees that were never mentioned upon sign-up.

The plaintiff seeks to recover hundreds of millions of dollars in undisclosed fees for effected AT&T customers. AT&T, however, says that the fees were properly disclosed.

We’re not sure if this will go anywhere, but it will at least force some sort of explanation out of the telecommunications provider.

source: Ars Technica