The state of Florida is taking one of the nation's largest wireless companies to court, alleging that it automatically enrolled thousands of customers in a free trial of a roadside assistance program without disclosing terms of the program at the time of activation and billing customers without their specific consent.
Attorney General Charlie Crist alleges that Alltel Communications, Inc., also billed some customers for the Mr. Rescue program during Alltel's advertised "free trial" period.
An investigation that began with consumer complaints in April 2003 revealed that the company pushed its roadside assistance program by automatically enrolling every consumer who purchased a cell phone and service plan. The program was added to service plans by default unless a sales representative removed it at the customer's request.
Alltel's sales representatives were under pressure to sell additional features of calling plans in order to meet monthly quotas and generate commissions, so little care was taken to inform customers adequately about what they were buying.
Many consumers automatically enrolled in the "free trial" found $3 charges added to their monthly statements from that period. Others were not told they had to cancel the program prior to the free trial running out and were billed for months after the trial period ended.
More than 520,000 Florida consumers were enrolled in Mr. Rescue over the past five years, and investigators estimate that Alltel made more than $20 million from the program during that time period. It has not yet been determined what portion of those consumers were signed up improperly.
"This case is a classic example of stealth charges intended to claim every possible dollar from their customers," said Crist. "This is wrong and will not be tolerated."
The lawsuit alleges that Alltel not only failed to disclose the terms and conditions of the Mr. Rescue program, it also failed to obtain authorization from consumers when enrolling them in the program.
Crist encouraged Alltel customers to examine their bills carefully to see if they have been or are now being billed for the service without their knowledge. Consumers who may have been signed up for Mr. Rescue without knowing or authorizing it, who received the feature after rejecting it or who were charged for Mr. Rescue during the free trial period should contact the Attorney General's Office by calling the fraud hotline at 1-888-9-NO-SCAM (1-866-966-7226).
Alltel is being sued under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. Penalties for violations of the act include fines of $10,000 per violation or $15,000 if the victim is a senior citizen or is disabled.
