Verizon Wireless 'Get It Now' Plan Challenged in Class Action

A class action lawsuit against Verizon Wireless charges the company improperly charges consumers $9.99 per month for its “Get It Now' download service. The suit, filed by Sarah Groggin of Brooklyn, NY, alleges the charges are “unidentified, unwarranted and recurring” and seeks refunds and damages for all affected consumers in the United States.

It charges that Verizon imposes the charges, which appear on monthly bills under headings including “Get It Now,” “Get It Now Downloads” and “Data Usage Charges” without explanation and without reference to any particular subscription and no identification of the purported download.

“Verizon Wireless is no stranger to improper billing practices,” the suit alleges. It notes that on Oct. 28, 2010, the company agreed to pay $25 million to settle a federal investigation of “mystery fees” it charges millions of customers for data sessions they never intended to launch.

As part of that settlement, Verizon Wireless agreed to establish a “Data Charge Task Force” that would resolve data charge complaints and ensure that customer service employees were aware of any widespread data billing issues.

It also agreed to provide its customers with plain-language information about data charges through bill inserts, welcome letters, online bill messages and an online bill tutorial.

Nevertheless, the suit charges, Verizon Wireless improperly charges many of its customers for the “Get It Now” downloads, including those who have repeatedly asked to cancel the purported service and demanded refunds.

But instead, the suit alleges, Verizon Wireless “intentionally instituted billing and customer service practices designed to prevent customers from understanding what they are being charged for and avoiding such charges.”

$9.99 x 2

Groggin said she subscribes to Verizon's “Nationwide Talk 450” plan for $39.99 per month. In addition, she subscribers to a data plan entitled her to 25 megabytes of data download per billing cycle for $9.99 per month.

Groggin said she is also charged $9.99 per month for “Get It Now” downloads even though she has twice contacted Verizon Wireless and complained about the billing. On each occasion, she said she was refunded the $9.99, only to have it appear on subsequent bills.

So just what is “Get It Now?”

According to the company's website, “Get It Now is a technology and service that allows you to download and use applications on your Verizon Wireless Get It Now-enabled phone. For example, you can quickly and easily download ringtones, games, emails, directions, instant messages and more to your phone and use them right on your handset. It is a new enhancement to wireless technology.”

To download the various applications, Verizon Wireless customers use either airtime or megabyte usage charges. Most applications take about a minute or .24 megabytes to download.

The company says there is no monthly fee to use Get It Now. Instead, customers pay per application when they download it.

But the suit charges that it is exceedingly difficult for consumers to identity Get It Now charges. Downloads are billed as a data call to the number 777-000-0000. The only way to differentiate between a Get It Now session and a mobile web session, the company's website says, it to match the date of the airtime charge to the date of the download.

The suit charges that Groggin and others are routinely charged $9.99 per month without any explanation and without reference to any particular subscription or application purchase. It alleges that complaints about the practice appear on numerous consumer websites and social media and even on Verizon Wireless' own website.

“I just got the bill and charged $9.99 since last month. What's this?” said one complaint on the Verizon site. “I paid last month for no reason and it keeps charging me. What is that for? I never downloaded something.”

The suit charges that Verizon's action violates several laws and regulations, including the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Truth-in-Billing Act, which provides that “charges contained on phone bills must be accompanies by a brief, clear, non-misleading description of the service or services rendered.”

The suit was filed by attorney Mark C. Rifkin of the New York City law firm Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP.