http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/18/technology/sprint-is-sued-over-cellphone-bill-cramming.html 2014-12-17 19:39:27 Sprint Is Sued Over Cellphone Bill ‘Cramming’ The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed a suit in federal court on Wednesday, saying millions of dollars in unauthorized charges were put on consumers’ bills. === WASHINGTON — The The consumer bureau sued Sprint in Federal District Court in Manhattan on Wednesday, accusing Sprint of operating a billing system that allowed third parties to “cram” unauthorized charges onto consumers’ mobile phone bills. The F.C.C. is conducting a similar investigation, and people close to the investigation said the parties were close to completing a settlement under which Sprint would pay $105 million in refunds and restitution for the unauthorized transactions. Previously, the F.C.C., the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general have participated in lawsuits or settlements with AT&T; and T-Mobile over similar so-called cramming charges. The incidents usually involve the placement on customers’ phone bills of charges for premium text messages, often in the form of horoscopes or other digital content. All three mobile companies have been accused of ignoring warning signs that many of the charges were unauthorized, continuing to allow the third-party companies to assess the charges despite thousands of customer complaints. “Consumers ended up paying tens of millions of dollars in unauthorized charges, even though many of them had no idea that third parties could even place charges on their bills,” said Richard Cordray, director of the consumer bureau. “As the use of mobile payments grows, we will continue to hold wireless carriers accountable for illegal third-party billing.” Stephanie Vinge Walsh, a spokeswoman for Sprint, said in a statement: “We are disappointed that the C.F.P.B. has decided to target Sprint on this issue, and we strongly disagree with its characterization of our business practices. Sprint took considerable steps to protect wireless customers from unauthorized third-party billing and is an industry leader in proactively preventing unauthorized charges.”