Vonage will pay nearly $100 million in compensation to clients: Who will receive the checks and when
The FTC is sending close to $100 million in refunds to Vonage customers who were charged junk fees or victims of dark pattern practices by the company.
The Federal Trade Commission settled a lawsuit with Vonage last year in which the communications firm agreed to pay $100 million in compensation to customers. The federal consumer rights watchdog had accused the internet phone service provider of charging junk fees and using “dark patterns” to create significant obstacles to cancel their service.
These obstacles to cancelling contracted services including forcing customers to speak to a live agent by phone in order to do so while at the same time making it difficult for customers to find the phone number they needed to call. “Vonage made it easy to sign up but much harder to cancel, sometimes trapping consumers in an endless loop of call transfers,” said FTC Chair Lina Khan at the time of the settlement.
Even after cancelling Vonage’s services, the company kept charging some customers, or hit them with hidden early termination fees. As part of the settlement the internet phone service provider has to make it easy and simple to cancel and cease charging customers without their consent.
Vonage will pay nearly $100 million in compensation to clients: Who will receive the checks and when
On Monday, the FTC announced that it was sending refunds to nearly 390,000 affected customers of the New Jersey-based company. The average payment works out to around $260 but will vary depending on damages incurred.
The majority of the refunds are being sent as paper checks, which must be cashed within 90 days. Those customers eligible for refunds who don’t have an address on file will receive their payment via PayPal. The electronic payments must be redeemed within 30 days from receipt.
Epiq is administering the refunds from Vonage. Consumers with questions can contact the refund administrator at 1-877-525-4728 or consult the consumer watchdog’s page on frequently asked questions about the refund process by visiting the FTC website.
The Federal Trade Commission reminds consumers that it “never requires people to pay money or provide account information to get a refund.”