I have been a Sprint cell phone customer for many years. I recently changed from a "month to month" plan for my service to a 2 year contract. I noticed that I was still being charged $10/month for being on a "month to month" plan. When I complained and asked for…
Phone
Ever gotten a cell phone bill that you just couldn’t believe–data charges that you couldn’t track to any service, overages on minutes or texts that cost you hundreds of dollars? We want to give you more control over your service and your bills.
Consumers Union News Releases
- Consumer Groups Urge FCC To Reject “ABC Plan” For Universal Service Fund
News Release Consumers Union – Publisher of Consumer Reports Tuesday, October 04, 2011 WASHINGTON – Consumers Union, Consumer Federation of America, the National Consumer Law Center, National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates and AARP today sent a joint letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to raise serious concerns about the broadband industry’s Continue Reading
- Seven States Join DOJ in Suit Against AT&T
Consumers Union – Publisher of Consumer Reports Friday, September 16, 2011 WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Friday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) gained the support of seven state attorneys general in their efforts to block the AT&T/T-Mobile merger. Attorneys general from New York, Washington, California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Ohio and Pennsylvania, representing more than one-third of the Continue Reading
- CU praises Sen. Kohl’s call for federal regulators to block AT&T/T-Mobile merger
An acquisition would decrease the number of national competitors from four to three
- Consumers Union to Testify Against AT&T/T-Mobile Merger at House Hearing
Consumers Union to Testify Against AT&T/T-Mobile Merger at House Hearing Merger would have negative impact on prices, choice, and innovation, CU says Thursday, May 26, 2011 Contact: David Butler or Kara Kelber, 202-462-6262 dbutler@consumer.org or kkelber@consumer.org WASHINGTON, D.C. — Parul P. Desai, policy counsel for Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports, will testify Continue Reading
- New Poll Shows Consumer Support Building for “Bill Shock” Protection
New Poll Shows Consumer Support Building for “Bill Shock” Protection NEWS RELEASE Thursday, May 12, 2011 Contact: David Butler (dbutler@consumer.org), Kara Kelber (kkelber@consumer.org): 202-462-6262 WASHINGTON, DC – Over 60% of wireless customers with traditional cellular plans would support a government rule to avoid cell phone “bill shock”, according to a new poll released today by Continue Reading
- AT&T Files with FCC for T-Mobile Acquisition: Consumers Union Statement
NEWS RELEASE Consumers Union – Nonprofit Publisher of Consumer Reports Thursday, April 21, 2011 Contact: David Butler (dbutler@consumer.org), Kara Kelber (kkelber@consumer.org): 202-462-6262 AT&T Files with FCC for T-Mobile Acquisition: Consumers Union Statement WASHINGTON, D.C. – AT&T filed its acquisition proposal with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today, marking the official start of the review process. Continue Reading
- New Poll Shows Cell Phone Owners Believe Government Should Address Cell Phone Interoperability Rules
NEWS RELEASE Consumers Union – Nonprofit Publisher of Consumer Reports Monday, April 18, 2011 Contact: David Butler (dbutler@consumer.org), Kara Kelber (kkelber@consumer.org): 202-462-6262 New Poll Shows Cell Phone Owners Believe Government Should Address Cell Phone Interoperability Rules WASHINGTON, D.C. – A nationwide poll by Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports, found that nearly Continue Reading
- AT&T/T-Mobile Merger Tips the Scales against Consumers, Says New Ad from Consumers Union
NEWS RELEASE Consumers Union – Nonprofit Publisher of Consumer Reports Thursday, April 14, 2011 Contact: David Butler (dbutler@consumer.org), Kara Kelber (kkelber@consumer.org): 202-462-6262 AT&T/T-Mobile Merger Tips the Scales against Consumers, Says New Ad from Consumers Union WASHINGTON, D.C. – As Congress prepares to hold a hearing on the AT&T/T-Mobile deal next month, Consumers Union unveiled a Continue Reading
- Consumers Union Warns Congress that AT&T/ T-Mobile Merger means Higher Prices, Less Satisfied Customers
News Release Consumers Union – Nonprofit Publisher of Consumer Reports Tuesday, April 12, 2011 Consumers Union Warns Congress that AT&T/ T-Mobile Merger means Higher Prices, Less Satisfied Customers WASHINGTON – Recent surveys show wireless consumers who choose T-Mobile have access to lower priced plans and are more satisfied with their service than AT&T customers, according Continue Reading
- Consumers Union Urges Congress to Examine AT&T / T-Mobile
WASHINGTON, March 23, 2011 – Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports, urged Congress to scrutinize AT&T’s proposal to purchase T-Mobile. In a letter sent to key House and Senate lawmakers on Wednesday, the organization warned that implications of the proposed merger could negatively impact consumers and further stifle competition in the wireless market. Continue Reading
Blog Posts
- Verizon user buying an IPhone?
What happens when the new IPhone comes out? We tried to find out, but we still don’t know. Watch the video and sign our quick petition to the company.
- Verizon Wireless Refunds for Unauthorized Charges Don’t Solve Problem
This weekend Verizon Wireless fessed up to billing 15 million of its customers for data services they didn’t use. The admission came amid an FCC investigation of the deceptive charges. We are glad Verizon has finally admitted to slipping these sneaky charges into the bills of millions of consumers for services they did not ask for, authorize, or inadvertently accessed, but we are far from satisfied with the solution offered by Verizon.
- Some Shocking Survey Numbers on “Bill Shock”
A couple of weeks ago we wrote about “bill shock,” the unpleasant experience of receiving a huge, unexpected bill from a wireless company. Now we have some new numbers from the FCC showing the true breadth of bill shock among American consumers. A new FCC survey has found that 30 million Americans – or one in six wireless phone users – have experienced a sharp and sudden increase in their monthly bill not caused by a change in their service plan.
- FCC Seeks Solutions for Wireless “Bill Shock”
The Federal Communications Commission wants to cut down on “bill shock,” the unpleasant phenomenon consumers experience when they get unexpectedly get a huge wireless phone bill.
- FCC Takes Important First Steps on Several Consumer Issues
The Federal Communications Commission has taken a number of steps which could eventually benefit consumers by making it easier to navigate smart video devices, gain additional “roaming” access for wireless devices, and getting broadband service into areas that currently don’t have it.
- As a Consumer Watchdog, FCC Needs Both Bark and Bite
Saying it must be a “vigilant watchdog for the consumer,” the Federal Communications Commission is launching a “consumer task force” to advance the commission’s consumer agenda and promote collaboration across the agency. We hope that means a watchdog with both a bark and a bite.
- FCC Needs To Call Verizon on its Non-Answers About its Doubling of Early Termination Penalties
A few weeks back the Federal Communications Commission asked Verizon Wireless to explain its sudden move to double early termination penalties for its high end phones from $175 to $350, including its popular new Droid model.
Verizon has now sent a response to the FCC – well, sort of a response, actually. - Verizon Doubling Price for Consumers Who Leave for Better Deals
We are rarely at a loss for words here at www.hearusnow.org, but we have to admit we were left speechless by Verizon’s stunning announcement it’s doubling its already ridiculous penalty on customers who want to get a better phone or service from another company. Beginning next week, Verizon will raise its “early termination fee” to $350 per line for its more advanced phones, including its popular Blackberry devices and its just-introduced Droid.
- Consumers Deserve Truth-in Billing
We hear from thousands of consumers here at www.hearusnow.org and the two subjects they bring up the most – by far – are indecipherable bills and misleading marketing tactics. With that in mind, Consumers Union – the publisher of this blog – has teamed up with six other public interest groups to encourage the Federal Communications Commission to protect consumers from misleading, confusing and harmful advertising and billing practices by phone, cable and wireless providers.
- AT&T, Apple and Verizon Moves Could Benefit Consumers
AT&T and Verizon, the country’s two largest wireless carriers, each made announcements yesterday that could help consumers.
Tell Facebook to strengthen privacy!
Busy people can still keep up with one another, thanks to tools like Facebook. But managing relationships and managing privacy have always gone hand in hand. Companies like Facebook must create easy to use privacy tools so consumers know how to control who sees what.
Creator Mark Zuckerberg hopes investors will pay $100 billion for Facebook. While the IPO spotlight is on the company, act now to improve privacy. Take action now!