Hey, Gary Forsee!

Your patootie is not safe in Minnesota!

They want to kick it, according to Kare11:

“I’m livid on the way they’ve handled this,” says Dave Peterson, one of several Sprint Nextel customers who addressed reporters Thursday at a capitol news conference. “I’d like to give their CEO a big kick right in the patootie.”

What’s going on in Minnesota? Well, their attorney general has had it with Sprint’s habit of extending the contracts of hapless consumers without their knowledge or consent.

“When you receive complaints across the board, from firefighters to lawyers, from retirees to construction workers, all of whom feel they were unfairly manipulated by their cell phone company, you have a problem,” Swanson said.

The AG’s decision was prompted in part by the fact that the BBB says it has received over 30,000 complaints against Sprint Nextel in the 36 months leading up to this July.

“In a normal transaction, you have two parties coming together and making an agreement about a purchase. For these consumers, there was no real meeting of the minds. Rather, the company has tricked consumers into unknowingly extending their contract simply because they made a basic change to their plan,” Swanson said.

The state is alleging that Sprint “violated Minnesota’s Consumer Fraud Act and Deceptive Trade Practices Act” and “seeks to enjoin the company from further violations of the Acts. The suit also seeks civil penalties and restitution for Minnesota consumers injured by the company’s practices.”

Oh no, Sprint. Minnesota is on to your wicked ways and they are having none of it.

Attorney General Swanson Files Lawsuit Against Sprint Nextel [Minnesota AG]
Attorney General sues Sprint Nextel over consumer complaints [KARE11] (Thanks, David!)

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