Is Frontier Communications a Class Action Lawsuit?
A complaint has been filed against an online phone company by a class action lawsuit. The class action lawsuit argues that defendant represents to its consumers that there would be no activation charges, installation fees or other additional charges other than the advertised fee of its online service plans if that is true. The Frontier Communications class action lawsuit claims that Frontier Communications knew that its initial pricing was deceptive, and that it continues to conceal this information from consumers. It is a rather interesting scenario, if not one that is new to the Internet, as companies have been forced to change their plans several times in the past few months to make way for either a merger or acquisitions.
Frontier Communications a Class Action Lawsuit
It is true that there were some situations where internet providers were nickel-and-dime providers where there were no activation fees, and yet the customer was still stuck paying the same advertised price, or even worse, a higher price. For this reason it’s important that you always check with your internet provider just as you would with any other retail store. You must also read the fine print in any contracts and make sure you know just what your obligations are in the event that you decide to cancel your internet service (such as DSL or Cable). If you find that your internet provider has changed the plans once you’ve checked with them and found that they’re offering you something else, it is wise that you go back to the original internet plan.
So how does this class action lawsuit assert that Frontier Communications intentionally deceived its customers? Well, the class action lawsuit contends that Frontier failed to disclose the low price that was advertised in the original promotions.
There were several complaints that this low price was misleading, as it did not include all of the services, equipment and support that would normally be included for that low price. This included several months’ worth of service, and even more money after the introductory period expired. When these consumers tried to cancel their internet services they were charged full price without their permission. This is known in the industry as “deceptive advertising”, and here is how it works: when an ISP promises a great deal, and then fails to deliver, they cannot be held responsible.
But this class action lawsuit goes even further to point out the failure to warn consumers about this low price, which could have easily been foreseen.
As mentioned above, Frontier Communications was advertising a low price for internet services, but failed to mention that this would include installation of a new telephone line. This is especially important, as many consumers already had a high telephone bill and were not willing to pay a second bill for another line, or for installation of a new telephone service. It is perfectly clear that Frontier could have reasonably offered the advertised price, but chose not to, because of this deceptive advertising lawsuit. In other words, they did not want to be held responsible for their deceptive advertising.
However, perhaps the most telling part of this deceptive advertising class action lawsuit is the deceptive method by which the ISP advertises the low price.
Upon signing up for internet service, consumers are often sent an invoice, which often has an introductory rate. But upon further investigation, consumers discover that this introductory rate is not the same as the true monthly rate. The final bill, after taxes and fees are added, reveals that the final bill amount is substantially higher. This means that in the time it takes consumers to understand the true final pricing, but only after they have signed up with the ISP, they are already paying much more than the advertised rates.
In short, there appears to be no question that Frontier Communications is responsible for its part in this internet service false advertising class action lawsuit.
However, they may not be liable for the statements made by their advertising salesperson about this case. This is why we urge you to contact an experienced attorney. He or she will know how to best represent you in court and will also know when to fight back when the ISPs try to sweep these cases under the rug.
A complaint has been filed against an online phone company by a class action lawsuit. The class action lawsuit argues that defendant represents to its consumers that there would be no activation charges, installation fees or other additional charges other than the advertised fee of its online service plans if that is true. The Frontier…