Verizon Adds Hidden Fee to Postpaid Wireless Service Plans, Says Class Action

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Verizon Hidden Fee Class Action Lawsuit Overview: 

• Who: A group of consumers pinged Verizon Wireless with a class action lawsuit. 
• Why: The plaintiffs claim Verizon charges more for its postpaid wireless service plans than it advertises.
• Where: The class action lawsuit was lodged in California federal court.

Verizon Wireless, along with its affiliates, charge customers a higher monthly rate than it advertises for its postpaid wireless service plans, a new class action lawsuit alleges. 

Lead plaintiffs Teresa MacClelland, Karen Umberger, and Scott Willits claim Verizon adds on a flimsy “Administrative Charge” in order to charge more per month than advertised. 

MacClelland, Umberger, and Willits want to represent a Class of California consumers who have been assessed an “Administrative Charge” on a Verizon postpaid wireless service plan. 

Verizon Secretly Hikes Rates With ‘Administrative’ Fee, Claims Class Action

The plaintiffs claim the “Administrative Charge” is used by Verizon to “covertly jack up” subscribers’ rates. 

Verizon also misrepresents the added fee on subscribers’ bills by falsely claiming the charge reimburses the company for fees assessed by the government, the class action lawsuit alleges. 

MacClelland, Umberger, and Willits claim the “Administrative Charge” is actually just a flat charge that Verizon adds to postpaid subscribers’ bills, unilaterally setting the amount at its own discretion. 

The added fee was first added to subscribers’ bills as a 40 cents per month charge in 2005, according to the class action lawsuit, which claims the fee has risen all the way up to $1.95 per month starting in August 2020. 

“To date, Verizon has improperly collected over $1 billion in additional charges from its California subscribers through its Administrative Charge scheme,” states the class action lawsuit. 

MacClelland, Umberger, and Willits argue Verizon is violating California’s Consumers Legal Remedies Act, False Advertising Law, and Unfair Competition Law. 

Plaintiffs are demanding a jury trial and seeking injunctive relief as well as damages in the amount of the “Administrative Charges” paid by themselves and all Class Members. 

The wireless provider has faced claims of fraudulent charges before. In recent years, consumers accused Verizon of overcharging customers for products and services they did not request, purchase or use.

The company’s legal woes do not end there. Last month, a judge required Altaba Inc. to set aside $400 million to indemnify Verizon in the event a $117.5 million class action settlement over a Yahoo data breach is successfully appealed. 

Has Verizon assessed an “Administrative Charge” to your postpaid wireless service plan bill? Let us know in the comments! 

The plaintiffs are represented by Daniel M. Harris and Paul Karl Lukacs of Hattis & Lukacs, and Stephen P. DeNittis and Shane T. Prince of DeNittis Osefchen Prince PC. 

The Verizon Administrative Charge Class Action Lawsuit is MacClelland, et al. v. Cellco Partnership, et al., Case No. 1:21-cv-08592, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

• Internet Service Providers Overcollect User Data, Make It Hard To Opt Out of Sharing, Say Regulators
• Judge Approves Zoom Users’ $85m Deal Resolving Privacy and Data Security Claims
• Apple Overcharges, Misrepresents Digital Content It Sells to iTunes Customers, Claims Class Action
• Altaba Must Set Aside $400M for Verizon Over Yahoo Data Breach Settlement Appeal