If you’re a former AT&T customer who may have been bit by an unlimited data plan and haven’t cashed a check from the carrier to settle claims made by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), time is wasting. To help out, the FTC has announced a new claims process to return money to thousands of former AT&T customers who had those plans in place anytime between October 2011 and June 2015.
However, what if you are a current AT&T customer who had an unlimited data plan during this time? No need to file a claim — you should have gotten a bill credit from AT&T in early 2020.
The settlement goes back to the FTC’s claim that AT&T throttled their data, slowing down their internet speed after they used a certain amount of data in a billing cycle. The limits on this “unlimited” plan made it hard — and, in some cases, impossible — to browse the internet or stream videos. And, before people signed a long-term contract, AT&T didn’t adequately disclose to customers that it would slow down their internet.
Throttling has been a thorn in the side of the FTC for years now. In addition to AT&T, it also went after TracFone for the same thing.
AT&T's response? "While we continue to dispute the allegations in this lawsuit from 2014, we elected to settle in 2019 rather than continue with drawn-out litigation," the company said in an email to ConsumerAffairs.
Here’s what to know
If you think you meet the AT&T settlement criteria and want to move forward with a claim, here’s what you need to do:
Determine if you’re eligible and file your claim at ftc.gov/ATT.
You have until May 18, 2023, to file a claim.
Questions about filing a claim? Call the refund administrator at 1-877-654-1982 or email info@ATTDataThrottling.com.