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Nationwide Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Charter Claiming False Advertising, Deficient Equipment

Phillip Dampier April 3, 2017 Broadband Speed, Charter Spectrum, Consumer News 22 Comments

Charter Communications is facing a second lawsuit related to false advertising about its ability to provide fast internet service and allegations the company knowingly supplied customers with deficient equipment.

Hart et al. v. Charter Communications Inc., is seeking certification as a nationwide class action from a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

The suit claims that Charter’s subsidiary Time Warner Cable purposely leased out modems and wireless routers it knew were incapable of achieving Time Warner Cable Maxx broadband speeds, consistently oversold its broadband network — resulting in slower internet speeds and performance than the company advertised, and raised customers’ bills without adequate notice.

The California lawsuit closely mirrors one filed in February by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, and focuses on similar claims that Charter is engaged in “false representations and other wrongful business practices.”

The complaint claims:

  • The company willfully and intentionally advertised internet service it could not provide, claiming customers would receive internet service that was “fast” with “no buffering,” “no slowdowns,” “no lag,” “without interruptions,” “without downtime,” and “without the wait.”
  • Charter leased older generation modems and wireless routers to many of their customers that were incapable of supporting the promised internet speeds. Older technology modems could not provide the full benefit of Time Warner Cable Maxx speeds of 100-300Mbps, and company-provided network gateways delivered Wi-Fi service at speeds considerably lower than advertised.
  • Charter regularly failed to manage their network in a manner that would give customers consistent broadband speeds. Instead, “Defendants included too many subscribers in the same service group and provided too few channels for such subscriber, thus causing an internet ‘traffic jam’ (particularly during peak hours) that slowed every subscriber’s connection to speeds substantially below what was promised and paid-for. Indeed, even when consumers resorted to using wired connections, their Internet speeds still fell short of the promised speeds.”
  • Defendants also have adopted an unlawful and unfair practice of adding new fees or other charges to consumers’ bills without adequate notice and outside of the terms promised upon sign-up. In 2016, one customer signed up for a promotional “Spectrum Internet with Wi-Fi” plan with a fixed rate of $64.99 and a $10.00 “Promotional Discount,” making her plan cost a total of $54.99 per month. This amount was reflected in her February 2017 bill. However, on her March 2017 bill, the customer was automatically charged $59.99, a $5.00 increase of which she was not given adequate notice and which was improperly charged to her credit card automatically.

The lawyers bringing the case propose to include as class members anyone who purchased internet service from Time Warner Cable/Charter Communications nationwide, those who believed the company’s advertising that claimed speeds were fast and reliable, and customers enrolled in auto-pay who were not properly informed of changes in price or the terms of service. If certified, the potential size of the class action case could involve millions of customers.

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dev dugal
dev dugal
6 years ago

how does one take part in the lawsuit? i was baited and switched without my knowing. complete fraud.

Julia
Julia
6 years ago
Reply to  dev dugal

Dev,

Are you in NY? I know of a company called SendDavid who can help you demand a refund if you were billed more than you were expecting. You could also submit a FCC Complaint through them. Here’s a link: http://bit.ly/2oX8VmU

Hope this helps!

Julia

dev dugal
dev dugal
6 years ago
Reply to  Julia

i’m in california. is there only a class action in NY or is there one nationwide?

Julia
Julia
6 years ago
Reply to  dev dugal

The recent class action is in California, and the one from February is in NY. As of now there is no nationwide lawsuit. David only works in NY for the moment 🙁

Bobby
Bobby
6 years ago

Spectrum sucks ass. With the switch from TWC our total bill has gone up nearly double. The TV is what is killing us, we needed to upgrade to a higher priced “Tier” to get the same channels that we had with our TWC service months prior. Complete bulls**t.

Gina
6 years ago

I live in WI and because I have been a loyal customer for over 35 years to TW now that they became Spectrum I have been issued equipment that continues pixeling on my TV’s modems that do not update, and I over the last 6 mos have had tech out here to swap equipment and also pixeling issues…I have been told that the modem had not updated , had boot file issues and was not working and called the next day to see if they were fixed. With TW I never had to call in for tech support once in… Read more »

nbeacon
6 years ago
Reply to  Gina

The valid complaints with Spectrum/TWC have visited me many times over. Then suddenly my bill went from $76 to $102 without any notice. This charge is for internet and land line only! I tried to switch to AT&T but for some reason it is no longer available in my apt complex as it had been only a few years ago. The internet connection was unreliable for about 6 months w/TWC, and for the life of me I can’t really recall before hand all the issues I had with TWC, the frequency got out of hand I just gave up …… Read more »

Heather L Bindeman
Heather L Bindeman
6 years ago
Reply to  Gina

Agree.

Amy Atkins
Amy Atkins
5 years ago
Reply to  Gina

I live in Birmingham AL. Spectrum merged with Charter last year (2017) and we are having the same issues since! Beyond frustrating!
Any chance you were able to get them to resolve your issues?

Heather L Bindeman
Heather L Bindeman
6 years ago

We are in Florida.
Switched after having satellite for 18 years. Was lied to have had them out here from DAY ONE after we got connected.
They have sent service tech & maintenance out Numerous Times. On phone EVERY week.
I WANT $$ Back for Lies !! Sh**ty Tv. Pixels & voice cuts out. Channels not correct.

Heidi
Heidi
6 years ago

I upgraded my service May 25th, 2016 due to terrible reception. I called several times to complain, which TWC now says they have no record of. I also tried online trouble shooting. Each time I called they gave me a long list of things to do, which I did, yet yielded no results. I was supposed to be able to have several devices on with the highest speed they offered, yet I could not even get reliable service with one device. I finally got someone to come out and they said the unit I had been renting was out of… Read more »

Donald
Donald
6 years ago

How do we participate in this lawsuit? They blatantly told me I wasn’t getting what they promised. They are legitimately ripping us off…still!

Rosemary Reich
6 years ago

Throughout conversion to digital we have consistently mislead, lied to and bait and switched. If you like the Post Office and old Ma Bell…you will love these guys. The only thing worse is the FCC which allows them to get away with their scams. I would love to see a boycott or see Something done!

Joseph Lindberg
Joseph Lindberg
5 years ago

I pay $93.45 for just TV select $6.00 or so for two TV boxes each the cheap ones not dvrs and $14.99 or something in tax and $64.99 for the TV select package add it up its there but WTF 100$ a month for the next package above basic cablethats some kind of lawsuit or monopoly idkwtf I wish a Lawyer would do something about these Mfs call me I’ll testify email me more than internet speed monopoly highway robbery! F [email protected]

Greg Minkwitz
Greg Minkwitz
5 years ago

Charter is baiting and switching on me RIGHT NOW! I called about a $59 bundle offer, and they quoted me $150. I dropped it all back to base, and they still will not give me the advertised offer. Their promotional offer says, “bundle includes Spectrum Lifestyle TV, Spectrum Internet and 1 DVR; Free DVR service for year 1; standard rates apply after year 1…” They won’t supply the DVR because later in the fine print it says, “DVR receiver required for DVR service and is extra.” Well, yes, additional DVR’s are extra, but the deal states in plain, simple English… Read more »

Todd
Todd
5 years ago

Small claims. It worked for me when I went after them for ELP Internet. They said I was getting a speed upgrade for free, then a month later, tried charging me $5 more a month.

Todd Wright
Todd Wright
5 years ago

Hi all. It’s 7/26/18. I live in Dallas, Carrollton to be exact. I got Spectrum one year ago. Got a $40+ dollar rate increase in my last bill! Went from $120 including tax to $164. I called Frontier almost immediately and they have a basic triple play package for only 86 + tax, so I’m guessing about $96 with taxes and fees. Installation is free and they guarantee the rate for two years. They are coming out Saturday morning on August 4th. Thank God my apartment complex is serviced by more than one company. That was a 36% rate increase!… Read more »

Anthony Aguilar
Anthony Aguilar
5 years ago

I ordered the internet service only through Spectrum on 06/21/2018. I was given a 12 month promotional offer of 14.99 + an additional 5.00 monthly fee for the Modem rental that they supply. I was given a confirmation number which I still have as evidence clearly showing the details of the agreement made by the spectrum representative and I on the date mentioned above. The representative also checked and advised me that a cable line was already in place from the previous owner/tenant. And that all I needed to do was connect to it? Or that I may need to… Read more »

Patrick Marabella
Patrick Marabella
5 years ago

It’s 10/30/2018. I live in Florida.

I have had Spectrum for about a year and a half and have had 11 service calls. The service will work for a week or month and then I get signal issues all over again.

Spectrum advertises a 99% reliability which is absolutely false. How do I start, or begin a class action lawsuit against Spectrum Florida?

They need to be kicked out of this state, as well.

Mike Murch
Mike Murch
5 years ago

I would like to take place in lawsuit. I’m paying out the ass for high speed and don’t even get half what I’m paying for with my own equipment. I have documented proof and am a NY resident. This has been a inferiating case of mine for years now. And I’m completely fed up

Greg
Greg
5 years ago

I have had numerous issues since signing up with Spectrum months ago. Was not aware of this litigation but after reading it, Innow realize I am not alone. Have heard so many stories from Spectrum as to reasons why problems with streaming video occur. Thank you. Greg (Cincinnati).

teri johnston
teri johnston
5 years ago

Not only did we sign up for the worst Spectrum cable ever get never worked as you all know couldn’t get online couldn’t watch a movie inadequate equipment not only that they sent the same Spectrum agent to our home when he left two separate times are TVs no longer work and when I claimed a damage claim with Spectrum they said there was no evidence that there agent was responsible? Really? Are you serious he came out and serviced the inadequate service equipment when he left the TV didn’t work we called back to get the equipment to work… Read more »

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