MSN faces billing problem
Microsoft Network (MSFT) says it is clearing up a massive billing problem that dates back to June but it will take a month or two until the situation is completely resolved. Many of MSN's 1.5 million subscribers face credit card charges for their usage in June, July, and August, but the company said most customers will pay less than $50 for those three months. However, some heavy users may find "several hundred dollars" of charges on their credit card statements, the company said. MSN Billing The problem is the second high-profile case which features the difficulties of billing for online services. Today in San Francisco, a judge will decide whether to permit a settlement between number-one online service America Online and subscribers who allege that they were not notified of AOL's billing procedures. Microsoft declined to say how much revenue was caught in the MSN backlog, but conservative estimates put it at more than $22 million. The basic subscription for MSN,