Hatch accuses
An LCR spokesman, Martin Tibbitts, said he hadn’t seen the court filings and couldn’t immediately comment. Some shady phone companies get consumers to switch service with misleading pitches or trick «This is definitely the most offensive case we have ever seen,» Chief Deputy Attorney General Kris Eiden said at a news conference. «It’s just beyond belief.» Officials played recordings of several phone conversations in which telemarketers hired by LCR posed as the account holder and agreed to switch phone service. One telemarketer identified himself as Richard Lambert, owner of R. C. Lambert & Associates of St. Paul. When asked to verify his date of birth, he said it was in January. But the real Richard Lambert, who was present at the news conference, said that’s not true. «I’m the real Dick Lambert, and actually, my business is in Roseville, not St. Paul,» Lambert said. «I wasn’t born in January. The conversation was obviously totally bogus.» LCR’s tactics enabled it to grow its Minnesota customer base from four accounts in January 2003 to more than 2,700 customers 16 months later, Eiden said. The total amount due to affected consumers could approach $1 million. Hatch’s office cannot bring criminal charges, but Eiden said she would refer the case to the proper authorities for prosecution. Hatch said the case is a lesson to consumers. «With telephone companies and telemarketing, it’s buyer beware,» he said. «Don’t trust these people. They’re there to take your money.»