Verizon New England has agreed to pay more than $800,000 to resolve allegations that it overcharged hundreds of cities and towns for telephone services it provided under a statewide contract, Attorney General Martha Coakley announced.
Coakley’s office said that as the result of a systemic billing error, Verizon repeatedly overcharged the cities and towns, including numerous invoices that were sent after Verizon became aware of the error. Verizon has since refunded the overcharged amounts, which totaled $1.5 million. Through this settlement, the company will pay an additional $800,000. This includes an amount equal to twice the interest that would have accrued on the overcharged amounts, and a payment to the commonwealth for the costs of its investigation, according to a statement from the attorney general. Each of the affected communities will be paid from this fund, Coakley’s office said.
