Cell phone giants to halt 'cramming' charges

AT&T Mobility, Sprint and T-Mobile have agreed to stop billing their customers for text message charges they didn't know they were racking up.

Attorneys general around the county are calling the development a major breakthrough that will save Americans hundreds of millions of dollars in what are called "cramming" charges.

The unwanted purchases were for things like screen-savers and ringtones that appear out of nowhere on phone bills.

"The cost of these unwanted services are usually in the neighborhood of ten bucks a month and many people don't detect them," said Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson. "One study by the Federal Communications Commission said only one in 20 consumers who have a crammed charge on their phone bill even detect it."

Swanson said Minnesotans should carefully review cell phone bills for unsolicited added services and report cramming incidents to her office.