Charter class action claims company fails to prorate canceled Internet service

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Charter Internet class action overview: 

• Who: A Spectrum internet consumer is suing Charter Communications.
• Why: The plaintiff says Charter violated the law with its cancelation policy.
• Where: The Charter Internet class action was filed in a California federal court.

Charter Communications violates the law when it stops its customers’ internet immediately after they cancel their service plans, even though they have paid for their services to the end of the month, a new class action lawsuit alleges.

Plaintiff Erica Steinberg filed the class action lawsuit against Charter Communications Inc. on March 10 in a California federal court, alleging violations of state and federal consumer laws. 

According to the lawsuit, the cancellation policy for the telecommunications company’s internet service violates state consumer laws by requiring customers to pay for the internet even after the service has been stopped.

The lawsuit says Charter offers “Spectrum InternetTM Total,” a monthly service. Consumers purchase the product to obtain internet services for their home. 

“When individuals who have bought the [Spectrum] service cancel it, they are still charged for one whole month of service, even though Defendant Charter has stopped the service,” the lawsuit alleges.

Customers threatened with collections, lawsuit states 

Steinberg says she first bought the Spectrum internet package from Charter about five to seven years ago, and was paying $74.99 per month. 

She canceled her service June 2, 2022, due to a move, but was told she would need to pay for services through June 30, even though the internet was no longer available, she alleges.

Steinberg added that Charter used the threat of sending the bill to a collections agency, potentially affecting her credit score, to force her to pay.

“Charter essentially extorts consumers, forces them to pay unlawful termination fees and knowingly ruins consumers’ credit ratings for services that were not even used,” Steinberg alleges.

Charter conceals its cancelation policy from consumers and reaps ill-gotten gains at the expense of customers, the lawsuit states.

Steinberg seeks to represent a class of consumers who canceled their account and were still required to pay until the end of the month. 

She is suing for violations of California consumers laws, breach of contract and unjust enrichment and seeks certification of the class action, damages, fees, costs and a jury trial. She is also asking the court to reimburse the payments made to Charter after the cancellation of services.

Charter cable TV customers sued the company in a Connecticut federal court in January 2022 over an alleged bait-and-switch scheme. 

Do you have a Spectrum Internet Total service through Charter? Let us know in the comments! 

Steinberg is represented by Shalini Dogra of Dogra Law Group PC.

The Charter class action lawsuit is Erica Steinberg, et al. v. Charter Communications, et al., Case No. 2:23-cv-01821, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

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