AT&T customers who noticed bogus cell phone charges on their bills have not been shy about asking for refunds.
Some 359,000 individuals have sent in claims to the Federal Trade Commission seeking refunds since AT&T agreed to reimburse customers last week, a spokesperson with the agency told Time. Jessica Rich, director of the FTC's bureau of consumer protection said the response from customers "was one of the largest the agency has ever seen," according to the report.
The only case she could remember with a larger number of claims was a 2012 deceptive marketing settlement with Sketchers, which resulted in nearly a half million complaints. And the AT&T case is likely to surpass that.
"We expect this to be a lot higher," Rich told the news outlet.
The FTC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The revelation comes after AT&T last week agreed to pay $105 million for adding unauthorized cell phone charges to its customers bills in a practice known as "cramming." As part of the settlement, AT&T will pay $80 million to the FTC, which will be used for customer refunds. AT&T Mobility will also pay $20 million to state governments participating in the settlement, and will make a $5 million penalty payment to the U.S. Treasury.
At issue are bogus charges for monthly subscriptions to things like ringtones, wallpaper, and text messages with horoscopes, flirting tips, celebrity gossip, and more. Most of these charges were $9.99 per month, though in some cases they were as high as $60 per month.
In many cases, customers did not agree to these charges, which were hidden on phone bills, the FTC said.
If you think you were hit with bogus charges, head to ftc.gov/att to seek a refund.