Consumers have obtained a settlement in a class action lawsuit alleging DirecTV and CenturyLink made their bills available to the public.
The DirecTV, CenturyLink billing privacy class action lawsuit alleged that the telecom companies failed to properly protect the sensitive personal information on customer billing statements.
In fact, according to the DirecTV, CenturyLink class action, a quick Google search revealed the name, addresses, and phone numbers of customers based on their online bills.
DirecTV fought the class action lawsuit, arguing the claims should have first gone to arbitration.
The plaintiff contended that the arbitration clauses contained in his contracts with the company were unfair.
Under the terms of the DirecTV, CenturyLink class action settlement, approximately 1,000 DirecTV customers whose bills were allegedly posted online between March 5, 2017 and May 18, 2017 will receive approximately $700 each.
“The parties engaged in an exchange of substantive information relating to Jantos’ and the settlement class’ claims,” noted the motion for preliminary approval of the DirecTV billing privacy class action lawsuit.
“And the record developed through the investigation and discovery process allowed the parties to realistically estimate class damages and assess the risks of further litigation.”
Though the number of Class Members may only reach into the thousands, the plaintiff’s attorneys are set to receive $150,000 in fees.
The plaintiff will receive $10,000 under the terms of the class action settlement.
“It was only after the parties thoroughly investigated and evaluated the strengths and weakness of the case, and attended mediation, that the settlement was completed,” stated the motion for preliminary approval of the CenturyLink, DirecTV class action settlement.
The plaintiff in the DirecTV class action lawsuit alleged that he became aware that his personal information was publicly available through a simple Google search of his billing statement.
He claimed that this information was available to others without the use of a password or other security feature that would limit access.
The DirecTV billing privacy class action lawsuit alleged that the telecom companies had violated the federal Communications Act by causing customer’s online billing statements to become publicly available.
The federal Communications Act, according to the class action lawsuit, requires companies to prevent the unauthorized access of consumer’s personal information.
Further, according to the CenturyLink, DirecTV class action lawsuit, making customer billing statements publicly available was a widespread practice among the telecom companies, including DirecTV, CenturyLink, and Qwest.
The DirecTV, CenturyLink class action lawsuit sought damages at the rate of $100 for each day each customer’s billing statement was publicly available or $1,000.
Top Class Actions will post updates to this class action settlement as they become available. For the latest updates, keep checking TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter. You can also receive notifications when this article is updated by using your free Top Class Actions account and clicking the “Follow Article” button at the top of the post.
The plaintiffs and Class Members are represented by Richard E. Spoonemore and Chris R. Youtz of Sirianni Youtz Spoonemore Hamburger, and Michael D. Myers of Myers & Co. PLLC.
The CenturyLink, DirecTV Billing Privacy Class Action Lawsuit is Jantos v. DirecTV, et al., Case No. 2:18-cv-00413-TSZ, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.
UPDATE: On June 14, 2019, the CenturyLink, DirecTV billing privacy class action settlement received final approval. Let us know on our Top Class Actions Facebook page when you get a check in the mail!
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76 thoughts onDirecTV, CenturyLink Settle Billing Privacy Class Action Lawsuit
Add me been with then since 2001
Please add me to the list – I have both these companies for services in my home.
How can I get in on this DTV/Cen. link lawsuit?
My apartment caught on fire in 2009 which i lost everything, we called direct tv to let them know to cancel our service because we were temporally in the middle of looking for a new place of residence. they asked us to mail back their cable box, to which we told them about the accident, the customer service rep we spoke to asked us to provide a police / fire department report in order to excuse that. which we did, then later found out they took us to collections for the missing cable box which not only affected my credit score, but also left me owing them more than $600 because we “kept” their box
I was a DirectTV customer during the time period noted in lawsuit and don’t recall receiving notification regarding this class action. Please Tell me where I can obtain the Claim Form. Please include me in this suit.
I’m charged for services I don’t receive. Disconnected for owing $2.87. Am disconnected now for refusing to pay 10.00 late fees when they knew I only got paid on 3rd of month. DIRECT TV took all money in my account and had to borrow money to live the rest of the month. I wish as big as MSP is we had other places to choose from. I want to file suit on them for taking advantage of people please.
Please I would like to be added .
Also I need to start class action suit with direct tv for another issues can a lawyer call me please .
How do I sign up for the settlement relating to my information being publicized? I haven’t received any documentation to date, indicating that my information was publicized, but I contacted Directv last year via chat when I received texts from spoofed phone numbers telling me to call a phone number to save money on my bill (I still have all these texts and cellular call logs to show what happened & Directv chat transcripts where they blew me off and told me to call another Directv phone number to report it and when I did call, they told me on the phone to write to an address… I already spent several days and several hours each day trying to tell them my information was exposed and kept getting told to call / write to someone else)… and CenturyLink was of no help either… they basically said they noted the information and for me to ignore the text messages and not respond to them.
Anyway, when I called the number in & the text to have them take me off their call list, the caller had my name, my Directv & CenturyLink account numbers, and my billing address as well as knew how much my monthly bill was! And… in addition to all that, the caller had copied AT&T/Directv’s voice message system and although it sounded like I was calling Directv, the options to press 1 for new service, etc. were out of normal order and had some weird options too… and they instructed me to go buy a $300 E-Bay gift card and call them with the gift card number and stated my Directv bill would be FREE for 6 months in exchange for that. Obviously a scam, but CenturyLink or Directv information off my bill was available to someone who should not have had it!
I’ve been overbill for services…
Please add me i was billed for services I never received !!!!!