Verizon $100 Million Administrative Fee Settlement: Payments Sent in January 2025

The case is Esposito et al. v. Cellco Partnership d/b/a Verizon Wireless, Docket No. MID-L-6360-23, in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Middlesex County. Verizon customers claimed that the prices Verizon advertised for postpaid wireless plans were misleading because they left out a monthly Administrative Charge (and, later, an Administrative and Telco Recovery Charge), and that Verizon added and increased the fee in a deceptive and unfair way. Critics often describe charges like this as hidden fees.

Verizon denies it did anything wrong, and the court never decided whether the claims were valid. The settlement website notes that Verizon says it will keep charging the Administrative Charge and can increase it. As part of the deal, Verizon agreed to add revised Administrative Charge disclosures to its Customer Agreement.

The settlement was signed on November 8, 2023, and the fairness hearing was held on March 22, 2024. The settlement became effective on September 20, 2024, when the remaining appeal was withdrawn.

The class was all current and former individual consumer account holders in the United States (based on last known billing address) who received postpaid wireless or data service from Verizon and were charged and paid an Administrative Charge or Administrative and Telco Recovery Charge between January 1, 2016 and November 8, 2023.

• Prepaid customers were not included.
• Business accounts were not included; the class covered individual consumer accounts.
• Payments were per account, not per line.
• People who received a mailed or emailed notice were in the class according to Verizon's records.

Being a class member was not enough; you had to file a claim by April 15, 2024 to be paid. Class members who did nothing received no money and still gave up the right to sue Verizon over the fee.

The formula was a starting point. The settlement said that if the fund could not cover all valid claims after administration costs, fees, and service awards, every payment would be cut pro rata. That is what happened. CBS News reported on January 7, 2025 that customers were receiving payments well below the $15 minimum, including one prepaid Mastercard worth $2.37.

The administrator did not publish an average payment on the settlement website. Payments went out by check, electronic payment, or prepaid Mastercard. The prepaid card has no expiration, but after 12 months without a transaction it is charged $0.95 a month, so spend any balance you still have. Our guide on why payouts come in smaller than expected explains how pro rata cuts work.

If you filed a claim and got nothing, or your payment was lost or expired:

1. Search your email, including spam, for messages from the settlement administrator with your digital payment or prepaid card.
2. Contact the administrator at 1-844-689-0186 or info@VerizonAdministrativeChargeSettlement.com, with your Notice ID and claim confirmation if you have them.
3. If a check went uncashed or was undeliverable, the settlement treats that money as unclaimed property of the class member under state procedures, so search your state's unclaimed property database.

The mailing address for the administrator is Verizon Administrative Charge Settlement, c/o Settlement Administrator, 1650 Arch Street, Suite 2210, Philadelphia, PA 19103. For general steps, see what to do if you haven't received a settlement check and what happens to unclaimed settlement money. Be wary of anyone who offers to recover your payment for a fee; see settlement scams.

As of September 2026, the Verizon settlement has paid out and no new claims are possible. Class members who did not opt out by February 20, 2024 released their claims over the Administrative Charge billed during the class period.

If you were in the class and did not opt out, you gave up claims about the Administrative Charge covered by the release in the approved settlement. The release covers the issues in the lawsuit for the class period that ended November 8, 2023. Whether charges after that date could support a new claim is a legal question for an attorney, and Verizon says the settlement lets it keep charging the fee with better disclosure.

People with complaints about carrier fees and price increases can follow our T-Mobile and Verizon fees lawsuit page, where investigations are tracked. Those are allegations, not findings. If you believe you were charged fees you never agreed to after November 2023, a free case review can connect you with independent attorneys who handle these cases.

Other settlements over fees include the Chick-fil-A delivery fee settlement and the Disney Plus price settlement. To see what is open now, browse our open settlements. For this settlement, the official settlement website linked above remains the source for administrator contact details.