Florida AG cracks down on misleading free ringtone ads

Verizon Wireless customers can expect refunds for cell phone ring tones that claimed to be free but weren't.P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Florida Attorney GeneralBill McCollum announced the $1.5 million settlement with Verizon and Alltel cell phone companies Wednesday. Customers were often billed from a third party for ring tone charges that claimed to be "free." Customers were generally charged an addition $9.99 to $19.99 per month on their account.P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">McCollum says there's no way to tell how many customers were impacted or how much money is at stake...but if you are a Verizon customer and you downloaded these ring tones, you should expect to get a notice in the mail. You are then required to fill out the appropriate paperwork in order to receive full compensation.P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">"The refunds--as I understand it--will give everybody their money, in other words, if you subscribed for $19.99 a month for 10 months or 12 months under this, my understanding of this agreement is Verizon will refund you the $19.99 for the same 10 months," said McCollum. P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Customers should receive a notice in their monthly bill. For those who are no longer subscribers, they should receive an email, including all necessary paperwork.P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Once consumers fill out and submit that paperwork, they should receive either a credit or a check--for those who are no longer customers--within 6 months.P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">If you think you might be eligible for damages, Attorney General McCollum encourages you to contact his office if you do not receive a damages notice within 30 days.P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">The $1.5 million settlement will pay for legal and investigative fees, as well as continued enforcement throughout the cell phone industry./>