Sprint loses class action suit
In their battle over termination fees, mobile phone carrier Sprint was ordered to fork out $18.3 million to customers who filed a class action suit over fees charged for ending their contracts early.
Sprint must also pay out another $54.5 million to customers who were charged the fees but haven’t paid them yet, under the court ruling. This is a bad financial hit on already struggling Sprint.
While this class action was launched in California, it will have no direct impact on wireless customers in other states.
However, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is now considering a slew of federal proposals that will tackle early termination fees (ETFs).
Several telecommunications companies have lobbied the FCC to protect wireless carriers from class action suits filed in state court.
At an FCC hearing in July, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin raised the possibility of a plan calling for all carriers, including Sprint, to reduce ETFs over the life of the contract.
Some carriers, including industry leaders Verizon Wireless, AT&T, and T-Mobile, have this in place already.
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