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A class action lawsuit says that AT&T charges customers an “administrative fee” on post-payment wireless plans, and does not notify customers of the fee in an attempt to boost their profits.
Plaintiffs Ian Vianu and Irina Bukchin claim that when they signed up for an AT&T wireless plan, they were not notified that they would be charged an administrative fee.
However, they say that they were charged the fee and the price raised gradually over the course of their contract.
Vianu notes that he did not notice that the fee was being charged at first, because it increased so slowly. Allegedly, after a number of months, he noticed that his rate had risen by around $15.
Allegedly, both Vianu and Bukchin say that after their initial contract with AT&T, they then signed new contracts with the company when they purchased new phones, and in Bukchin’s case, allegedly added a new line to her phone plan.
The plaintiffs claim they were not told that they would be charged an administrative fee when they resigned their contract, as they were not told when they signed their initial contract.
The AT&T administrative fee class action lawsuit asserts that the fee was charged unjustly, because administrative fees should have been included in the price of the wireless plan as advertised by AT&T.
Furthermore, the AT&T class action lawsuit says at the wireless company does not advertise the fees to its customers. Allegedly, this fee is not disclosed in the contract, and is hidden in the company website.
AT&T reportedly raised this fee without notifying customers that it exists or notifying customers that it is being raised. The customers assert that this rate hike happens gradually so customers do not notice it is being raised, and is effectively a way for AT&T to increase their monthly charge to customers without having to advertise a higher rate.
Vianu and Bukchin say that AT&T intentionally misleads customers about the fee in an effort to make their services seem like a better deal than they are.
To emphasize their assertion that the company charges this fee without customers’ knowledge or consent, the customers note that this fee is only charged to customers who are on post-payment plans, not prepayment plans.
The customers argue that AT&T charges this fee to post-payment and not prepayment customers because post payment customers are less able to cancel their plans if they do not want to incur the fee. Allegedly, post-payment customers would be charged a large fee for the service they already used and would face penalties for breaking a contract.
Vianu and Bukchin are represented by Michael W. Sobol, Roger N. Heller, Sarah R. London, and Avery S. Halfon of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP; and by Daniel M. Hattis and Paul Karl Lukacs of Hattis & Lukacs.
The AT&T Wireless Plan Administrative Fees Class Action Lawsuit is Ian Vianu, et al. v. AT&T Mobility LLC, Case No. 3:19-cv-03602, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
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593 thoughts onAT&T Class Action Alleges Bait-and-Switch Pricing Scheme
Add me. I’m going through the same for my wireless service
stayed with them two years before leaving my bills were almost 300$
add me to this i get screwed every month by them
I have to call AT&T every month my bill is not right
The bill is never the same. Customer service is horrible you stay on phone two hour n get disconnected. I hate att
I was told my bill would be locked in for 150.00 a month now my bill
Is 174.00 plus I was told I had high speed internet I did the speed test and I can’t even get pass a 1.0 up load mps so many people have experience this problem because of that I can’t even work from home ..
Add me
I would like to be included for false BOGO promotion with AT&T. It was a Bait&Switch on the BOGO on the New Note 9 at the time. I called several times with names of who I spoke to, supervisor’s and their ID’s(allegedly). They instructed me to go back to the store 3 times, spoke with a supervisor THERE and I was told I would be REFUNDED, check by mail, by card, on the account. Never happened.
please add me i signed up for wireless phone i was told they would send me 2 cell phones never received them now im being charged for two lines . then was told i could cancel within 14 day they wont let me cancel. now i have a bill for 172 dollars dont know how long they can charge me with out me using there service . ATT is a rip off.
They got me real good. Told me I would get the hotspot for 30 a month with no data cap. Purchased it signed agreement and got my first bill and it was 150 called them and they said they had no such plan. I was livid. Needless to say I didn’t pay and now they put $600 against my credit report.