Lawsuits Target "Mystery" Cell Phone Fee

I am beginning to wonder whether the cell phone industry likes to keep its bills as confusing as possible. That way, a charge of $3 for things like Roadside Assistance can more easily be overlooked, expecially if it is sandwiched among six other miscellaneous fees.

As I was researching a story on cell phone gripes, I heard about two related class action lawsuits against Cingular Wireless and Verizon Wireless. Both suits are based on a monthly $3 to $4 itemized charge showing up on Cingular and Verizon Wireless cell phone bills for a third-party service called Roadside Assistance. In both suits, customers were surprised by Roadside Assistance charges on their monthly bill and claim no knowledge of ordering the optional service.

After reading about the suits, I asked myself "how could someone be so stupid as to overlook a $3 monthly charge for so long?" Then I checked my own Cingular Wireless bill. It turned out I had been paying Cingular $3 a month for the past 13 months for Roadside Assistance also. I was shocked because I had no idea what the charge was for and how it got on my bill.

It turns out Cingular's Roadside Assistance is a third-party extra offered by Asurion Insurance Services to Cingular customers. The fee is an automobile roadside insurance program. Should I get a flat, get locked out of my car, or run out of gas, I can call a special number on my Cingular handset for someone to come to my rescue for no charge. This is a perfectly acceptable service I might consider. But, the problem is I don't recall ever requesting the service.

Neither did California resident Michael Gellis. He is suing his cell phone company, Verizon Wireless, in Circuit Court in Oakland, California. Cingular Wireless customer Margaret Moffatt is also suing her wireless provider in Circuit Court in Wayne County, Michigan. Both say they were billed without consent monthly for a Roadside Assistance program for over two years.

Both class-action suits allege violation of local state consumer protection act laws, breach of contract, and "unjust enrichment". Both cases have been transferred to U.S. District Court in Detroit and are being handled by attorney Peter W. Macuga, a Detroit, Michigan attorney with the firm Macuga and Liddle.

Cingular says the Roadside Assistance charge is traced back to when customers upgrade or change their wireless plan. That's when sales staff typically up-sells the customer offering a free trial of the Roadside Assistance service. If the Cingular customer doesn't cancel the service after the free trial period of 60 days, then the free service converts to a monthly fee.

The question for Gellis, Moffat, and me is how did we get the service to begin with? We aren't alone. I poked around on Google and found no shortage of people scratching their heads wondering the same thing.

When I called Cingular's official press representatives, I was told consumers must opt-in to receive the trial of Roadside Assistance and it is never automatically added to a customer's monthly charges.

"If folks have had that on their bill, and they didn't order it, obviously there is a mistake somewhere and we can correct it," says Mark Siegel, Cingular spokesperson. Media relations at Verizon Wireless told me essentially the same thing.

My Bill, My Problem

That sounds fair enough. So as a Cingular customer, I called my service provider's customer service number to cancel the Roadside Assistance charge and ask about my bill.

When I called Cingular customer service, I was told the charge had only occurred on the current bill--not 13 months worth. I politely corrected the man and asked to have this problem escalated to a higher level.

I was transferred to woman who confirmed I had been charged for the past 13 months for Roadside Assistance. When I asked how the charge got there in the first place, she said I signed up for a free trial of the service when I upgraded my phone about 15 months ago. I told her I was 99.999 percent sure I hadn't. She conceded to me store representatives could sometimes do a better job at telling people about the Roadside Assistance service.

She agreed to credit my account for three months of Roadside Assistance fees, but no more.

"Your bill is ultimately your responsibility," she explained.

She was right. But I still wasn't happy. But what can I do? Canceling my Cingular contract would cost me a $175 early cancellation fee.

Have you gotten stuck with an unwanted or mystery service on your cell phone bill? I want to hear about it.