Iowa files suit against Texas buying club

The Iowa attorney general's office has filed a lawsuit against a Texas buying club, claiming the company used deceptive sales tactics to charge Iowans for unwanted memberships.

The lawsuit against Plano, Texas-based Stonebridge Benefit Services Inc. was filed Tuesday in Polk County District Court in Des Moines. It claims Stonebridge violated Iowa's Consumer Fraud Act and Buying Club Memberships law, which requires that membership sales include specified notices, disclosures and contracts.

Attorney General Tom Miller says Stonebridge sold more than 50,000 memberships to Iowans generating about $4 million in revenue without customers' permission. He says consumers had been billed for months and years for unused memberships that purported to offer savings on consumer goods, health products and entertainment.

A telephone message left for Stonebridge was not immediately returned.