Class action lawsuits seem to be aplenty for 2025 and a good portion of them appear to be tech related. This time, it is Verizon, a mobile network provider, who is on the proverbial chopping block. The case against the network company is something of a lesson in thoroughly reading through the terms and conditions of anything and everything you sign. Although, ironically, it appears that even doing that could not have helped the victims of this case since the administrative costs that led to the case being taken to court was not even mentioned.
Verizon adds hidden costs and further insults clients with minimal payouts
A class action law suit was launched against the network provider in April 2024 and the suit was filed by current and former customers. Subscribers felt deceived by the company when they had noticed additional fees on their monthly service bills. An “administrative fee” that was not advertised has been added to the monthly payment amount of customer’s who had purchased postpaid wireless plans.
The class action lawsuit was worth $100 million, and eligible customers had until April 15 to claim their share. Affected parties were promised a settlement payout with an amount between $15 and $100 and payments have begun to hit the accounts of eligible customers.
It bears importance to mention that the absolute minimum amount that is to be paid to customers is $15. A few days ago, however, customers had begun reporting that the payments they received were well below the the minimum amount they were owed.
Verizon subscribers took to social media platforms, like X, and posted their grievances about the laughably small sum that was paid to them by the company.
A screenshot of a prepaid MasterCard worth $2.37 as the Verizon Administrative settlement payment was posted by one customer with a caption reading, “got my pay out from the Verizon lawsuit !!! These lawsuits are a joke, waste of time”.
Other users also shared posts about receiving less than the agreed upon amount. If the $15 minimum payment was not even met, it would be quite a reach to even consider the possibility of anyone receiving the the maximum $100 payout.
How were payments determined?
A formula was developed to determine how much each member of the class action lawsuit would receive. It is as follows:
Each legitimate claimant was entitled to $15 per account, plus an additional $1 for each month they received postpaid wireless or data services from Verizon and were charged an administrative fee. Payout amounts were capped at $100, according to the settlement terms.
When CBS Money Watch reached out to the company with an inquiry regarding why customers were receiving payouts worth less than $15, Verizon did not immediately respond.
CBS News has also reported that current and former Verizon customers who purchased postpaid wireless or data service plans and were charged an “Administrative Charge” and/or an “Administrative and Telco Recovery charge” between Jan. 1, 2016, and Nov. 8, 2023, were eligible for compensation, according to the class-action settlement agreement.
Lawsuits, lawsuits, lawsuits
Recently, another class action lawsuit was taken out against Cash App’s parent company, Block, for misleading terms and conditions and unauthorized transactions with no remedy that benefits the customer. Another company that has been compelled to make settlement payouts is Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., an insurance company. Both of these companies are maintaining their innocence but both have agreed to make the payouts of $175 million and $21 million, respectively. Both of these cases are still pending so it remains to be seen if they will actually follow through on their payment requirements or if they will also pull a stunt that is practically insulting to customers like Verizon appears to be doing.