Billionaire Carlos Slim’s Telcel Illegally Charges 135,000 Customers for “AI Service”

ByNancy Flores

This article by Nancy Flores originally appeared in the May 14, 2026 edition of Revista Contralínea.

Telcel illegally charged 53,562,790 pesos to 135,000 of its captive customers —those with mobile phone plans—for an artificial intelligence service. When contacted by Contralínea, the Federal Consumer Protection Agency (PROFECO) reported that these customers neither authorized nor requested the service, and the charges appeared on their March and April bills.

In those two months, the subsidiary of the multinational América Móvil —owned by magnate Carlos Slim—improperly charged 135,602 people 395 pesos for an artificial intelligence service (Google AI Pro) they did not request. Profeco confirmed that the service was imposed on customers without their consent: “ The consumers were not informed.”

However, the Federal Consumer Protection Agency assured Contralínea that it does not observe any malice in this illegal action: “It is noted that the provider erroneously charged 135,602 people; however, upon detecting the problem, the refund for the improper charge was carried out on three dates: April 1, April 10 and May 4, 2026.”

On May 11, at the Presidential press conference, this weekly publication asked Attorney General Iván Escalante about the status of complaints against Telcel regarding improper charges for artificial intelligence services, the annual bond fee, and the failure to provide invoices. Regarding the AI-related cases, PROFECO (the Federal Consumer Protection Agency) explained that “the Telecommunications Sub-Attorney General’s Office has a record of 22 complaints regarding these charges for artificial intelligence services; of these, seven were resolved with full refunds, and 15 are still pending.”

Regarding the mandatory annual security deposit of 200 pesos, which was non-refundable and was also charged to mobile phone plan customers, with the funds transferred to Afianzadora Inbursa, also owned by Slim, PROFECO explained that it is no longer mandatory. “The telecommunications adhesion contract, which is currently in effect and registered on June 3, 2025, indicates that the security deposit is one of the options for guaranteeing compliance with obligations by consumers.”

Just like the illegal AI charges, the mandatory bond also generated millions in revenue for Slim Helú’s conglomerate: for every million customers, it earned 200 million pesos. To date, Telcel itself boasts 76 million users, without clarifying how many of them have contracted plans.

Regarding the collection of the bond, PROFECO also indicates that if it is paid to Inbursa, it must be returned to the client at the end of the term: “it was established in clause 21.2 of the contract, which literally says: ‘in case the client has opted to guarantee the payment of his obligations by constituting a Security Deposit, at the end of the contractual relationship, if the guarantee granted was not used by the company, it will be returned to the client, at his choice: 1) as a credit balance in his Telcel account or, 2) in the same form in which it was paid’.

It adds: “The return of the security deposit or the remaining portion thereof will be made once the company has verified that the client has no outstanding debts. The security deposit will not accrue any interest, and the client acknowledges that they may not claim any amount other than that originally deposited, if applicable.”

The agency also reports that Profeco has registered 104 complaints between June 2025 and May 8, 2026, of which 95 percent have been resolved through conciliation. Regarding the supplier’s failure to provide invoices for services rendered, it specified that “seven complaints have been registered, all of which were resolved in favor of the consumers.”