The Federal Trade Commission has filed a federal lawsuit charging DirecTV with defrauding its customers, CNN reports.
The complaint alleges that DirecTV lured customers with promises of $19.95 a month satellite TV service, but to get that deal, customers had to sign a 2-year contract obligating them to much higher charges in the second year, and they would be charged additional fees, even in the first year, for premium channels unless they took steps to cancel that service.
The lawsuit asks for an injunction and customer refunds. Stock of AT&T, which is acquiring DirecTV, appeared unaffected by the lawsuit in today’s trading. Of course, conservatives oppose government regulation of business, and if a majority of FTC commissioners were appointed by a Republican president, a lawsuit like this probably would never be filed.