AT&T to Pay Feds $700,000 in Overcharging Dispute

Accused of switching customers data plans

AT&T has agreed to pay $700,000 to the federal government to resolve complaints that that the company switched certain consumers to its mandatory monthly wireless data plans even though it had promised they could retain their existing pay-as-you-go data plans, the FCC announced Tuesday.

AT&T has agreed to refund excess charges paid by these "grandfathered subscriber," which could be as much as $25 to $30 a month, depending on data use, the Federal Communications Commission said in a press release. AT&T began transferring customers to to its monthly data plans in November 2009 shortly after the carrier required first-time smartphone subscribers and existing subscribers that upgraded their devices to enroll in the mandatory monthly data plans.