Anne Bucher  |  June 4, 2018

Category: Consumer News

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CenturyLink Inc. is facing a class action lawsuit accusing it of engaging in aggressive and deceptive sales tactics.

Plaintiffs Bob Glodowski and Hollie Richman filed the CenturyLink class action lawsuit last month in Utah federal court, claiming the company runs “an aggressive boiler room sales operation and a sham customer service process.”

According to the CenturyLink class action lawsuit, CenturyLink promises customers low prices during the sales process but actually charges them higher amounts and adds unauthorized charges during the billing process.

“These practices bilked customers out of tens of millions of dollars,” the CenturyLink class action lawsuit says.

Glodowski and Richman claim that CenturyLink has attempted to minimize customers’ concerns by characterizing them as “billing disputes.”

“But this action is not about mere billing disputes,” the plaintiffs argue. “It is about CenturyLink’s uniform business model; the generate-sales-at-all-costs programs it forced on its sales offices and employees, the reckless incentive programs it perpetuated, and the rampant customer abuses that necessarily resulted.”

According to the CenturyLink class action lawsuit, the company’s “customer service representatives” are actually well-trained sales employees who are motivated to “meet draconian sales quotas and revenue targets through any means necessary.”

CenturyLink customers say they are promised one rate during the sales process but are actually billed at a higher rate. They also claim that they are charged unauthorized fees.

Some of the allegedly unauthorized fees include billing for services that were not ordered, for duplicate or fake accounts, for services that had been ordered but were never delivered, for equipment that had been properly returned, and for early termination fees, the CenturyLink class action lawsuit says.

When customers complain, CenturyLink’s practice is to allegedly make a variety of excuses in order to keep as much of the overcharges as they could. The company reportedly denies the original quoted price had ever been quoted, claims that prices or services it had previously offered were impossible to deliver, refuses to honor promised prices, denies that equipment had been returned, blames the computer system, and informs customers that any attempt to cancel their service would result in early termination fees.

The plaintiffs claim that CenturyLink is aware of its sales representatives’ actions and actually condones their behavior. Sales representatives who complain about unlawful conduct are either ignored or punished, the plaintiffs say.

Glodowski and Richman filed the CenturyLink class action lawsuit on behalf of themselves and a proposed Class of consumers in the United States who had an account with CenturyLink for telephone or internet services within the relevant Class Period. They also seek to represent a Utah subclass.

The CenturyLink class action lawsuit asserts claims for violations of portions of the Federal Communications Act, breach of contract, the Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, negligent misrepresentation, fraudulent inducement, and unjust enrichment.

Glodowski and Richman are represented by Richard M. Hagstrom of Hellmuth & Johnson PLLC.

The CenturyLink Sales Tactics Class Action Lawsuit is Bob Glodowski, et al. v. CenturyLink Inc., Case No. 2:18-cv-00384-BCW, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah.

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128 thoughts onCenturyLink Class Action Lawsuit Alleges Aggressive Sales Tactics

  1. Heather says:

    OMG! This is great news. I left Comcast for these guys and they were impossible to deal with when I got my billing state,ents and had descreptencies that I wanted resolved. I spent hours upon hours on the phone waiting for a CSR to help me. They would transfer me and I would get through 5 different people just to TRY to get something resolved. I felt i was intentionally cut off at times. Their customer service was garbage and their billing errors endless. I might still have my statements. I ended their services and went back to Comcast.

    1. Hollie Richman says:

      Thank goodness you got rid of them… They are horrible to deal with.

  2. Yvonne Crain says:

    They increase bills without notice. Charge fees if you pay only price you thought you agreed to. Customer service never available.

    1. Alana says:

      Is this class action still going on what abt the one being litigated in my own state of MN? I want to join it as I have had CL for 10 years now and my bill fluctuations each month in spite of having just internet and no other charges. Also I was quoted incorrect prices from day one.

  3. Victoria A. Usher says:

    We have had to communicate with Century Link sevrral times to get our prices reduced because they increased the prices on us. Occassdionally the C.Service Rep. was not very pleasant to me. Finally I got one really nice Rep. who helped me get a lifetime internet price.

  4. Christina Bennett says:

    I received outrageous bills and telephone calls. The are charging me with fees that I have no knowledge of. Adjustments were made and which lowered payments. I never received a debit card for signing up with Direct TV, and internet.

    1. Alana says:

      I had to fight with them for months over a promised debit gift card of $100 they promised me for keeping with CL upon my move to a different address. I told them I wasn’t happy and can get a different company for internet and they promised several eels to stay- one free month, a $60 immediate credit, my hook up and new modem costs waived a $100 gift card. The gift card would not have come ever had I not called them 10 times argued by phone and online chat for months, and finally a chat person fixed it for me. This shouldn’t happen and it’s stressful to me to be on customer service for hours upon hours over something I was promised outright.

  5. Kim says:

    Century link has to be one of the worst customer service I went to there store last month and was treated so rudely by one of there employees. I was inquiring about my tap application the employee was telling me have to do some work. I had come from being in hospital having emergency surgery had to get rode there and was treated rudely. This was after I had received call early morning when I was getting ready to leave to hospital for a prior surgery. The phone message said to stay on line for 10 minute application or the forms will arrive in mail to sign. I did not have time to sit on phone as I was headed to hospital. Month later no application arrived. So after I came out of hospital second surgery less them 2 months walked in there could barely walk after abdominal surgery incision cut 6 inches in middle my stomach and got treated rude. I was not even talking to him I was explaining situation to a female rep. He came over with card with 800 number and says you have to work for the discount.

  6. Anne Bell says:

    I am signed up, but please add me

  7. Jannice Osburn says:

    Please add me too

    1. Jeannie says:

      Add me to the lawsuit

  8. Costella smith says:

    Please include me I the century ink lawsuit

  9. Juanna Brown says:

    Please add me

    1. Top Class Actions says:

      The case is still moving through the courts and has not yet reached a settlement. Claim forms are usually not made available to consumers until after a court approved settlement is reached. Setting up a free account with Top Class Actions will allow you to receive instant updates on ANY article that you ‘Follow’ on our website. A link to creating an account may be found here: https://topclassactions.com/signup/. You can then ‘Follow’ the article above, and get notified immediately when we post updates!

  10. Teresa Miner says:

    I had the worst customer service with Centurylink in 2016 so I left them. They became very angry with me when they learned I was leaving them and started sending me statements with additonal charges which I didn’t understand. When I questioned them over a period of several months about the charges, they admitted that they were mistaken and sent me a final statement with a zero balance. Two and a half years later, I have recently received a letter from a collection agency saying I owe Centurylink $91.00. The worst part of this story is I kept all their documentation because I didn’t trust them for 2 1/2 years until the month before I got the collection letter because I was cleaning out old paperwork after I had finished filing my taxes. Of course, when I called Centurylink to straighten this issue out they informed me that they don’t have any files that go back. How can they say I owe them when they don’t have access to those records??

    Please include me in this lawsuit and keep me informed as to what I’m supposed to do and how to stay involved.

    1. Top Class Actions says:

      The case is still moving through the courts and has not yet reached a settlement. Claim forms are usually not made available to consumers until after a court approved settlement is reached. Setting up a free account with Top Class Actions will allow you to receive instant updates on ANY article that you ‘Follow’ on our website. A link to creating an account may be found here: https://topclassactions.com/signup/. You can then ‘Follow’ the article above, and get notified immediately when we post updates!

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