New York, NY: A consumer fraud class-action lawsuit against Verizon Wireless, claiming the company charged its customers for text messages sent to MiFi devices, PC Cards and USB modems continues to move forward.
The lawsuit, filed on August 4, 2010, in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, alleges that Verizon charged, and continues to charge users of mobile broadband devices for text messaging, even though the devices themselves have no effective capacity to view the messages. The lawsuit further alleges that this practice is a violation of various consumer protection laws, including the Federal Communications Act and the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act.
Verizon's mobile broadband devices allow its customers to access the internet through Verizon's wireless network. Each device is assigned a unique 10-digit telephone number and therefore, text messages can be sent to the 10 digit number associated with the device. However, according to the lawsuit, the devices have no screens and users have no effective way to view the text messages sent to their mobile broadband devices.
The action has been brought on behalf of all individuals who were charged for text messages while using a Verizon Mobile Broadband device from July 28, 2004, to the present. The suit seeks compensatory damages as well as an injunction prohibiting Verizon from continuing to bill customers for text messages through Verizon Mobile Broadband devices.
