FCC fines Sprint and Verizon $158 million for shady billing practices

The Federal Communications Commission is taking Sprint and Verizon to task for billing practices that hid extra charges in customers' bills

On Tuesday the agency ordered the carriers to pay settlements totaling more than $150 million for billing customers for third-party texting services, without their knowledge. Verizon will have to cough up a total of $90 million while Sprint will have to pay $68 million in fines.

Of the $158 million, $120 million will go toward a customer redress program to pay back subscribers who were charged as a result of premium texting services they didn't sign up for for. This practice, known as "cramming," added as much as $14 per month to people's bills, with Verizon and Sprint pocketing 30% and 35% of the revenue. Read more...