Class Action By Ex-AT&T Wireless Customers Allowed

NEW YORK (AP)-- AT&T Wireless subscribers who felt mistreated when the company was bought by Cingular can go ahead with a class action lawsuit, a federal court has ruled.

Cingular is now part of Dallas-based AT&T Inc. after buying AT&T Wireless in 2004. Some customers complained that service deteriorated as Cingular started dismantling the AT&T Wireless network, and that they were forced to pay to get new Cingular phones.

The lawsuit asks the company to pay back extra charges, plus damages.

The company sought to quash the class action on the grounds that its service agreements mandated that customers submit their complaints to arbitration.

A U.S. District Court in Seattle on Tuesday denied the company's request, saying that arbitration would be too expensive for individual customers to pursue.

"We respectfully disagree with the court's conclusions," said AT&T spokesman Fletcher Cook. "Our arbitration clause is among the most consumer-friendly in the nation, and has been shown to be very consumer-friendly in other cases. We're studying this ruling and considering our options."