Firm Settles Suit Over Sales Tactics

An authorized dealer of AT & T products has agreed to settle a lawsuit that claimed its representatives used unfair tactics to sell home-security systems to elderly residents in Ventura County and across the state, prosecutors said Monday.

The $250,000 settlement with Glendale-based Ideal Systems Inc. comes four weeks after prosecutors reached a similar agreement with AT & T.

Ventura County prosecutors said AT & T knowingly let Ideal salespeople falsely identify themselves as employees of the giant telecommunications company. Ideal pressured many senior citizens into buying products at inflated prices, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors announced March 1 that AT & T had agreed to settle a civil lawsuit by paying $1.25 million. The suit alleged that AT & T knew that Ideal employees were falsely identifying themselves and did not halt the practice.

The settlement is the largest in the history of the district attorney’s office, prosecutors said. They also said more than 400 elderly customers throughout California, including about 75 in Ventura County, complained of being the victims of heavy-handed sales tactics by representatives from Ideal and other authorized AT & T dealers.

The average customer spent $5,000 on the equipment, which also included medical-alert systems.

Prosecutors also announced Monday that Garden Grove-based Tri-Ed Inc.--an AT & T distributor--has agreed to a similar settlement of $25,000.