The settlement will result in refunds for Iowans who were victims of the company's practices. Miller said the settlement, in the form of a Consent Judgment, will be filed for court approval later today. Miller's office alleged that Minimum Rate Pricing violated Iowa's Consumer Fraud Act by misrepresenting that consumers would stay with their current long distance carrier when, in fact, the company would switch them to the company's service. His office also alleged that the company misrepresented that it was merely verifying information when, in fact, it was getting information to switch the consumer's long distance service. His office further alleged that the company slammed some consumers again after they discovered the switch and switched back to their chosen carrier.
Consumers have a right to choose their long distance telephone service.
It is consumer fraud to switch a consumer's long distance service without the consumer's authority. Consumers who had their long distance service switched to the company prior to this year will be receiving a letter from the company telling them of their right to get the same re-rating and switch fee refunds and will not be required to file complaints with the Attorney General. Miller said the company's sales of long distance telephone service to Iowans have been in the hundreds of thousands of dollars annually in recent years. Miller said his office was aggressively going after long distance slamming, but that consumers had to be on the lookout because slammers have a lot of tricks up their sleeves. We've gotten refunds for hundreds of Iowa consumers and we're investigating more companies.