Settlements & Refunds · Notice
AT&T throttling refunds: $5.6 million
Customers on unlimited plans had their speeds cut after a monthly threshold. The FTC is now paying people who never cashed the first check.
The Federal Trade Commission is sending more than $5.6 million to former AT&T customers in the latest round of a refund program over data throttling, the practice of slowing down the connection of customers who had paid for unlimited data.
What the case was about
The FTC sued AT&T and the company agreed to settle. According to the FTC's case page, AT&T unfairly reduced data speeds for customers with unlimited data plans. After a customer passed a monthly threshold, the speeds became so slow that many ordinary activities, including web browsing and video, were affected.
The word "unlimited" is what made this a deception case rather than a network-management dispute. A plan sold without a cap that behaves as though it has one is, in the FTC's framing, not the product that was advertised.
Who is being paid now
This round targets a specific group: former customers who were sent a payment earlier and did not cash the check or accept the PayPal payment. The FTC is now sending them Zelle payments instead.
That is the same pattern as several other long-running FTC programs. The first distribution reaches most people, a substantial minority never collect, and the agency returns later with a different payment method rather than letting the money go unclaimed. Nothing has to be claimed at any stage; the FTC works from the company's own customer records.
The impersonation risk
Telecommunications refunds are among the most imitated. A message claiming your carrier owes you a settlement payment, with a link to enter your bank details, is a standard phishing template. The FTC does not send links to release payments, and it never asks for a fee, a gift card or account credentials.
If you were an AT&T customer on an unlimited plan in the period the case covers and no payment has reached you across the rounds, the FTC's case page names the refund administrator. Reach it by typing the FTC's own address, not by following a message.
The FTC refunds tracker lists this program alongside the others currently distributing money.
What to do
- Watch for a Zelle payment to the contact details on the old AT&T account; nothing has to be claimed. Official link
- Treat any message asking you to click through to claim this refund as an impersonation. Official link
Questions readers ask
- What is data throttling?
- Slowing a customer’s connection after they pass a monthly data threshold. The FTC alleged AT&T did this to customers on unlimited plans, making ordinary activities such as browsing and video difficult, which made the “unlimited” claim deceptive.
- Who is being paid in this round?
- Former AT&T customers who were sent a payment earlier and did not cash the check or accept the PayPal payment. The FTC is now sending them Zelle payments, more than $5.6 million in total.
- Do I need to do anything?
- No. Payments are automatic from AT&T’s customer records. If none has reached you across the rounds and you believe you qualify, the FTC case page names the refund administrator.
Filed under: FTC refunds: who is being paid now
Mentioned:Federal Trade Commission
How we reported this
Built from 2 primary documents linked in the Source Card. Every number was copied from the document, not from another outlet.
Written by Mirza Seraj Baig · Checked against the documents in the source card (editorial standards).