AT&T; Agrees to Pay $300,000 Fine
<i> Bloomberg News</i>
AUSTIN, Texas —
AT&T; Corp., the largest U.S. phone company, agreed Thursday to pay a $300,000 fine for illegally switching customers in Texas to its long-distance service without their permission.
The agreement covers 96 customers that the company and the Texas Public Utilities Commission verified were illegally switched, or “slammed,” from September to February. The commission received 400 complaints against AT&T; during that five-month period.
New York-based AT&T; said the Texas customers were slammed by other companies it had hired to recruit customers. AT&T; stopped using outside sales agents in March.
AT&T; shares fell 25 cents to close at $59.25 on the New York Stock Exchange.
