--- title: Verizon and Sprint Customers Have Until Dec. 31 to Claim 'Cramming' Refunds description: If you use Verizon or Sprint, you might be owed some cash—but have only until the end of the year to claim it. authors: - name: Susie Poppick url: https://money.com/author/susie-poppick/ at_money_since: 2013 articles: 117 covers: - Shopping - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Personal Finance - Retirement - Taxes - Technology social: - https://x.com/susiepoppick former_staff: true published: '2015-12-24T16:55:34.000Z' modified: '2024-05-07T10:27:48.000Z' section: Shopping tags: - cell phones - consumer - cramming - Refund - Settlement - Sprint - Verizon word_count: 203 canonical: https://money.com/verizon-sprint-cramming-refund-deadline/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![verizon-sprint-cramming-refund-deadline](https://img.money.com/2015/12/verizon-sprint-cramming-refund-deadline.jpg) If you use Verizon or Sprint, you might be owed some cash. But you have only until the end of the year to claim it. Earlier this year, government agencies [reached a settlement](https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/cramming-unauthorized-charges-your-phone-bill) with the two mobile carriers to refund $158 million to customers who had been unfairly charged for premium text messaging services they didn't authorize. That illegal practice is called "cramming," since victims' phone bills are crammed with third-party charges they didn't ask for—and might not even notice. Extra services might include horoscopes, celebrity gossip, sports tips, or trivia games, attached either without your permission or at a higher rate than you expected. (T-Mobile was also recently reprimanded by government watchdogs for cramming.) Here's an example of what cramming charges might [look like on your cell phone bill](https://time.com/2950184/what-is-text-message-cramming/). The Federal Communication Commission found that Verizon and Sprint typically charged customers $9.99 a month for the services. As part of the settlement, Verizon must pay back $90 million and Sprint $68 million. If you have checked over your phone bill and think you might be the victim of cramming, make sure to file for a refund before the December 31 deadline. To do so, visit the refund websites for [Sprint](http://www.sprintrefundpsms.com/) or Verizon. ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/verizon-sprint-cramming-refund-deadline/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Shopping", "item": "https://money.com/shopping/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Phones and Tablets", "item": "https://money.com/phones-and-tablets/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Verizon and Sprint Customers Have Until Dec. 31 to Claim 'Cramming' Refunds" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/verizon-sprint-cramming-refund-deadline/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/verizon-sprint-cramming-refund-deadline/", "name": "Verizon and Sprint Customers Have Until Dec. 31 to Claim 'Cramming' Refunds", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2015-12-24T16:55:34.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/verizon-sprint-cramming-refund-deadline/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/verizon-sprint-cramming-refund-deadline/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-05-07T10:27:48.000Z" }, { "@type": "Article", "headline": "Verizon and Sprint Customers Have Until Dec. 31 to Claim 'Cramming' Refunds", "articleSection": "Shopping", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2015/12/verizon-sprint-cramming-refund-deadline.jpg", "width": 3000, "height": 2000, "caption": "verizon-sprint-cramming-refund-deadline" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Susie Poppick", "url": "https://money.com/author/susie-poppick/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/susie-poppick/#author", "image": "https://img.money.com/2014/05/14-05-21_bio_author_poppick.jpg?quality=85&w=190&h=190&crop=1", "email": "susie_poppick@moneymail.com", "sameAs": [ "https://x.com/susiepoppick" ] } ], "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization", "datePublished": "2015-12-24T16:55:34.000Z", "description": "If you use Verizon or Sprint, you might be owed some cash—but have only until the end of the year to claim it.", "abstract": "If you use Verizon or Sprint, you might be owed some cash—but have only until the end of the year to claim it.", "@id": "https://money.com/verizon-sprint-cramming-refund-deadline/", "inLanguage": "en-US", "dateModified": "2024-05-07T10:27:48.000Z", "wordCount": 203, "keywords": [ "cell phones", "consumer", "cramming", "Refund", "Settlement", "Sprint", "Verizon" ], "about": [ { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Shopping", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shopping" ] }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Tablet computer", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tablet_computer" ] } ] } ] } ```