Florida’s Attorney General scored a victory for consumers last week, when AT&T Mobility agreed to refund fees that third-party vendors snuck onto thousands of accounts under the guise of “free” ringtones, wallpapers, and text content. They also agreed to hand over $2.5 million to help fund the state’s recently-created CyberFraud Task Force, to spend $500,000 for “consumer education on safe Internet use,” and to start policing third-party vendors better and make sure all billed items are clearly described.
attorney general
Johnny Rockets Automatically Adds 15% Gratuity To Takeout Orders
By 2.24.08
She writes:
When I went to pay for the order, I noticed a gratuity already included on the bill. I told the waiter, “this is take out gratuity is not included.”
Cuomo Threatens Insurance Company Over Plans To Rank Doctors By Cost
By 7.15.07
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo told UnitedHealthcare to expect a lawsuit if they publish a ranking of doctors based on the cost of care to the insurer. UnitedHealthcare caused a furor in Missouri after introducing a similar ranking scheme in 2005.
Missouri doctors cited numerous objections to the pilot program, which was halted and is being redesigned. For example, most faculty members of the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis were initially excluded from the quality rankings because university-based care is generally more expensive. Doctors in major specialties were ranked by cost alone.
IDT Energy At Your Door? Call 212-416-8000
By 2.9.07
According to the NY Attorney General’s office, they’ve never heard any complaints about IDT Energy. Bryan writes:
Florida Sues AOL And Wins
By 12.12.06
The Florida Attorney General successfully sued America Online for their abusive customer billing practices. The State’s Attorney office received over 1,000 consumer complaints about cancellation requests being ignored, erroneous charges and unauthorized account reactivations.
BREAKING: Spitzer To Talk To AOL, Again
By 7.11.06
NY Attorney General Elliot Spitzer, pictured at right, throwing up gang signs (see the A and G his hands form?) will meet with AOL executives to discuss whether the company still impedes customers trying to cancel their accounts, Reuters reports.
Spitzer Sues FreeiPods.com, Spinners of Spam Dreams
By 3.24.06
You already knew all those WinAFreeIpod.coms were scams. Now the People’s Champion, New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, knows and he’s suing one of the companies behind it, Gratis Internet.
Best Buy Dupes Customers into Worst Mag Subscriptions
By 2.16.06
In a classic bait-and-switch, customers allege that Best Buy tells people they get a free magazine subscription and then charges them for it.
