AT&T Agrees to Reimburse Customers for Misleading Charges

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP)--The nation's largest cell phone carrier has agreed to pay thousands of Florida consumers who were billed for services like ringtones and text messaging that were advertised as free.

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum announced the settlement with AT&T Mobility, a unit of AT&T (T).

The agreement allows consumers to seek refunds for the fraudulent billing, so the amount the Atlanta-based company will pay will depend on how many customers do so. Officials in the attorney general's office say the amount could be in the tens of millions of dollars.

AT&T Mobility, formerly Cingular Wireless, will also pay the state $2.5 million and contribute $500,000 toward consumer education on safe Internet use under the agreement.

The company didn't return emails seeking comment.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

Posted to the site on 29th February 2008