Qwest Communications International, Denver, last week agreed to a $1 million-plus settlement of charges of alleged deceptive marketing. The telecom will pay $1 million to Colorado and an undetermined amount to residential, wireless telephone, and DSL customers who complained that Qwest didn’t tell them about low-cost service, instead selling high-priced packages. The settlement also provides for third-party monitoring of Qwest’s sales and customer-service calls. Qwest also agreed to fully disclose lowest-cost service options, give more detail to wireless customers, stop billing customers for services they didn’t authorize, and improve service for customers who call with service or billing problems.
Colorado’s attorney general began investigating last year after getting nearly 1,000 customer complaints. “This settlement reflects that Qwest’s new leadership is willing to resolve some of its historic problems and to move forward in a new and positive direction,” says AG Ken Salazar in a statement. Qwest customers have four months to file complaints to be eligible for restitution. This is Colorado’s biggest consumer-protection settlement.
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