Is Your Charter Internet As Fast As Promised?

Charter internet services provided by Charter Communications has come under legal scrutiny with the resurgence of a proposed class action lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Western Division, Santa Ana. The first complaint was registered in March 2017, but has been amended now for the third time.

The lawsuit seeks relief for consumers who were purported misled by false “no contract” advertising and unrealistically high Charter internet speeds given the overcrowded nature of the company’s infrastructure and networks. Charter Communications is the parent company of Spectrum Management Holding Company, LLC.

A Timeline of Corporate Mergers

Time Warner Cable
was purchased by Charter Communications in May 2016, according to Wikipedia. This acquisition absorbed Time Warner’s ranking as the second largest cable company as measured by revenue—Comcast was number one. In 2014, Comcast was poised to acquire Time Warner Cable, but the conversation came to an abrupt close regarding this possibility in April 2015.

Then Charter Communications stepped in line to complete the deal with a much higher offer of $78.7 billion. Completing this acquisition in May 2016, Charter internet services were provided under the new brand name of Spectrum or, in some cases, they retained the Time Warner name.

What Was Promised Before and After the Merger?

Both of the plaintiffs in the amended class action lawsuit as proposed are citizens of the State of California and were patrons of Time Warner Cable prior to the merger and then Spectrum afterward.

According to Le’Roy R., he was promised internet speeds that were never approached even when falling back to reliance upon a wired connection. Charter Communications technicians coming into his home were never able to register connectivity speeds greater than 130 mbps despite paying for premium services in the range of 300 mbps.

The second complainant—Elizabeth H.—claims that she leased a modem from Time Warner which she retained through the merger. She upgraded her internet plan once prior to acquisition due to failure of reaching the speed promised on the most basic plan without interruption or buffering.

There was no change to her connectivity with the upgrade and no counsel was provided that suggested the modem was inadequate for the task at hand.

Elizabeth upgraded once again after Time Warner became Spectrum to a plan promising 100 mbps. This promise yet again remained unfulfilled.

According to a Feb. 1, 2017 article on CNet, the Office of New York’s Attorney General undertook an investigation into Charter internet speeds as compared with advertised promises. The investigation revealed that top management refused to pay attention to engineer warnings that speeds, as promised, were unachievable.

The Attorney General’s office released a summary which indicated that those promised 300 mbps were actually getting only 85 mbps and those promised 100 mbps were maybe clearing 50 mbps. The respective rates for this defective internet connectivity were $110 and $70 per month.

This current class action, if certified, hopes to put an injunction in place that stops false and misleading advertising by Charter Communications and recovers funds for consumers which has unjustly enriched the defendants. If you feel that you qualify, you may join this class action or initiate an individual lawsuit of your own.

Join a Free Internet Speed False Advertising Investigation

If TWC, Spectrum, and/or Charter failed to deliver the internet speeds, reliability, and performance that you were promised, you may be entitled to seek a cash refund, future discounts or credits, or other legal remedies in court, in arbitration, or as part of a settlement.

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This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.