Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson has filed a lawsuit against Sprint Nextel Corp., accusing the cell phone company of extending customer contracts without consent.
The suit alleges that Reston-based Sprint Nextel violated Minnesota's consumer protection laws by extending consumers' wireless-phone contracts for up to two years without giving adequate disclosure.
In a press release, Swanson's office said it was responding to complaints the state had received.
When customers made small changes -- like adding extra minutes, replacing a phone, responding to solicitations for additional services or receiving courtesy discounts -- they were given unwanted contract extensions. Some consumers were threatened with early termination fees of up to $200 when they tried to cancel the wireless service.
"In a normal transaction, you have two parties coming together and making an agreement about a purchase," Swanson said in a statement. "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 is seeking restitution for victims and civil penalties of up to $25,000 per incident.
A Sprint spokesman could not be reached for comment.
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