AT&T; Wireless Sued Over Billing Practices

AT&T; Wireless Services Inc., which Cingular Wireless is buying for $41 billion, was sued by customers who claim they were illegally charged full monthly rates after switching cellular-phone service providers before the end of a month.

A lawsuit filed March 30 in federal court in Seattle seeks to represent hundreds of thousands of former customers and asks for a jury trial, unspecified damages and reimbursement of legal fees. AT&T; Wireless violated the Federal Communications Act and imposed an “unjust and unreasonable” charge by assessing full monthly charges, the lawsuit said.

Another lawsuit filed in February in state court in Los Angeles claims AT&T; Wireless used “false and deceptive advertising to bait customers with one plan” before switching them to more expensive plans.

Shares of Redmond, Wash.-based AT&T; Wireless fell 3 cents to $13.69 on the NYSE.