U.S. Consumer Finance Regulator Sues Sprint Over Mobile-Phone Charges

By Alan Zibel 

WASHINGTON--The U.S. consumer-finance regulator filed its first legal action against a telecommunications company on Wednesday, accusing Sprint Corp. of hitting mobile phone customers with unauthorized charges.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sued the wireless carrier in federal court in New York, alleging the company unfairly charged customers by creating a billing system that allowed outside companies to place unauthorized charges on customers' bills.

The CFPB said the charges ranged between 99 cents a month and $9.99 a month. The CFPB said it cooperated with the Federal Communications Commission on the case.

A Sprint spokeswoman said the company strongly disputes the CFPB's depiction of its business practices. The company "took considerable steps to protect wireless customers from unauthorized third-party billing and is an industry leader in proactively preventing unauthorized charges," she said.

The Federal Communications Commission is preparing to fine Sprint $105 million over similar cramming practices, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

Write to Alan Zibel at [e-mail]

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