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Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist has filed a consumer fraud lawsuit against Alltel communications, Inc., one of the country's biggest wireless companies. The suit claims the Alltel automatically enrolled over half a million Florida consumers in a roadside assistance program without revealing the terms of the agreement and charging customers without consent.
Furthermore, Crist alleges that the company billed some consumers for the Mr. Rescue program although it was advertised as a “free trial.”
Over 520,000 customers have been enrolled in the roadside assistance program in the last five years, and officials estimate that Alltel has made $20 million or more on the program in that time. However, it has yet to be determined how many of those customers were improperly signed up.
The investigation into the company began in 2003 after numerous consumer complaints revealed that Alltell fraudulently pushed the Mr. Rescue program by automatically enrolling every consumer who bought a cell phone and some type of service plan. The roadside assistance program was added to the plans by default unless the consumer specifically requested it be removed.
A lot of customers were also automatically enrolled in the free trial offer, but were billed $3 extra to their monthly statements. Others were never told they were supposed to cancel the program before the free trial ran out and were charged for the service for months.
“This case is a classic example of stealth charges intended to claim every possible dollar from their customers,” Crist said. “This is wrong and will not be tolerated.”
According to the consumer fraud lawsuit, Alltel failed to disclose the conditions and terms of the Mr. Rescue Program and failed to get consent from consumers before enrolling them.
Alltel customers are urged to carefully look over their monthly bills to see if they have been charged for any services without their knowledge.
Victim of consumer fraud? Please contact us today to speak with a qualified and experienced consumer fraud attorney who can protect your legal rights and maximize your interests.
Consumer fraud class action lawsuits are specifically designed to help individuals who have been similarly aggrieved to pursue a common goal – namely to hold the deceptive business accountable for any damages suffered. Thus, consumers who have been defrauded by a corporation or other entity may file a consumer fraud class action lawsuit on behalf of themselves and others to seek compensation for their shared grievance.
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