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Update:
- An AT&T customer objected to a proposed $14 million class action settlement agreed to by the company to resolve claims it charged its customers an improper fee.
- The objector argues the class action settlement allows AT&T to continue charging what it calls administrative fees and does not address a “core issue” of the complaint.
- Objector Eric Hughes argues the class action settlement does not fix AT&T’s alleged lack of transparency about the fee, its location on the billing statement and the alleged deceptive nature of its description on the company’s website.
- Customers accused AT&T of misleading them, and making hundreds of millions of dollars in profit, by telling them the administrative fees were legitimate surcharges.
(June 17, 2020)
A judge has rejected AT&T’s attempt to dismiss a class action lawsuit challenging the company’s so-called bait-and-switch pricing scheme.
Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler stated that despite the company’s protestations, Ian Vianu and Irrina Bukchin could sue the company while still being current AT&T customers.
The customers claim AT&T had wrongly tacked an administrative fee onto the advertised rate, yet AT&T responded that the customers could not complain because as customers, they are aware of the fee and are locked into a contract.
However, the judge determined this should not prevent them from taking legal action.
AT&T made its move to have the claims dismissed in March of this year. The judge did decide to dismiss some of the customers’ claims, but not the entire bait-and-switch pricing class action lawsuit.
“It seems a funny position to require plaintiffs to break their contract to challenge unfair practices about fees for their services,” Judge Beeler said. “The contracts are long-tern contracts, and breaking them comes with a penalty.”
According to the judge, they could still renew their plans with AT&T and make claims for injunctive relief.
Additionally, Judge Beeler said the company’s choice to charge the fee in question as a pass-through fee instead of a monthly cost then rendered its contract moot. That contract was allegedly the one preventing customers from suing over bills charged more than 100 days previously.
The company argued the customers were additionally barred from suing because they had not honored the 100-day period in which they were not allowed to bring forward legal claims.
However, Judge Beeler felt differently, saying customers had sufficiently argued that the company misrepresented an administrative fee as a pass-through cost.
Allegedly, the 100-day limit could have been honored if the company had just charged a monthly fee that was disclosed.
AT&T attempted to say some claims should be barred based on the statute of limitations, an argument Judge Beeler largely rejected.
In the judge’s view, each new bill a customer incurred had its own limitations period, whereas AT&T had attempted to lump the bills together to claim they were beyond the statute of limitations.
Judge Beeler did trim some claims from the AT&T bait-and-switch class action lawsuit. The judge did not allow customers to claim that the fee itself violated California law, and did not allow customers to make claims against the company before the 2018 identification of the fee in question.
The customers filed their AT&T bait-and-switch class action lawsuit in June 2019. They had claimed the carrier advertised a monthly price, based on which the customers decided to sign up for service. However, this allegedly turned out to not be the only fee they were charged.
According to the customers, AT&T then began charging an additional fee in 2013. The company allegedly called this a pass-through fee, but according to the customers, it was really an administrative fee from which the company profited. Allegedly, the fee rose from 61 cents to $1.99 per month over the course of five years.
The customers say the company advertised one lower price to entice customers to sign up for service with the company, but then required customers to pay more than what was advertised by tacking on fees on top of the base rate. Customers asserted that this scheme yielded “hundreds of millions of dollars” of profit for the company.
The AT&T customers then went on to say it was no accident the fee was hard to spot — the company supposedly intentionally hid the fee from view in online billing, to avoid customers from identifying the full cost of their service. Allegedly, many customers would not have chosen AT&T’s service had they been aware of the full cost.
Have you ever been affected by what you believed to be a bait-and-switch pricing scheme? Share your experiences in the comments below.
Vianu and Bukchin are represented by Michael W. Sobol, Roger N. Heller, Sarah R. London and Avery S. Halfon of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP; and by Daniel M. Hattis and Paul Karl Lukacs of Hattis & Lukacs.
The AT&T Bait and Switch Pricing Class Action Lawsuit is Ian Vianu, et al. v. AT&T Mobility LLC, Case No. 3:19-cv-03602, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
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807 thoughts onAT&T settlement over hidden fees faces objection by consumer
They over charged me for 20.00$ every month for 3 years or more on my unlimited talk text and data also told me I would get a discount for using auto pay and that never happened and if they had senior discounts it was never mentioned to me and I never got one, Please add me to this
I noticed charges for 2 land lines recently when I had to get a recent att bill out due to upgrading my adt alarm system from a land line to wifi. I have had one land line for 16 years specifically for my alarm system only. The phone was not used for any other reason. We did not call out on that land line or answer calls from that line. When I called att customer service… after speaking to several different representatives and a supervisor I was advised the second line was added January of 2018. They could not tell me why it was added when asked. They offered to give me a 1 month credit initially… then a 2 month credit… and eventually a 3 month credit. The amount owed to me for the second line I did not request… know about… or ever use… is over 1300.00. I refused their credit and told them to cancel all services with them. I wrote att presidents office. Paulette called me from that office stating she would be looking into it. After a short period of time she called back and told me their notes say I requested such line. I asked her to provide verification with something I signed. She said she didn’t need my signature. She said the notes said I requested such and the case was closed. I filed a complaint with the fcc. Again…Paulette called me advising she got the complaint and would do nothing further. I reached out to the fcc again advising I wanted att to prove I requested such. I advised I was told they didn’t need my signature. All phone calls are recorded. I advised they needed to provide such recording of me requesting such. The fcc reached out to att again… and again Paulette called me and said the same thing. The case was closed. They would do nothing more than what had already been discussed and I refused the credit. I told her I did not request the line and that att needed to verify I did by submitting the recording of me requesting that. Paulette told me that wasn’t for the public and they did not have to provide such. I am now waiting to hear back from the fcc again so I can tell them of her response. I’m sure nothing will be done… again! I cannot believe no one will help me and make them verify this supposed request from me. Anyone could have made that note in my file. I want proof!!!
I have been an AT&T internet customer for more than 15 years. Several years ago I took advantage of an internet promotion that was supposed to lock in the price of my internet service for as long as I had service. Earlier this year I saw a $5 price increase. Then this month I had been hit with another $5 price increase. Now they said that I am getting a $20 per month promotion…which is not the promotion I signed up for. I signed up to lock in my internet rate for as long as I had that internet package…not until they needed to make a few more bucks.
Ok so I need a cell phone me and my two friends and I called at&t and told them what phones I wanted and was told to go to the store to pick them up and give them my information and they would no what to do when I got there they would have all the information so I go to the store and tell them about it but they have no information of me having the 0 down payment and I was supposed to only have to pay the phone taxes but then they tell me apalety that it was some kind of on phone line deal that they where giving me so I have to start every thing all over again I even as the guy he there not going to double bill me or give me any hidden fees the man said no we dont do that so i proceed I get the phones i am told my bill will be 160 a month I pay the phone taxes for the 3 phones they tell em i have a month fres i dont have to pay anything tillthis month i am like cool so the month gose bye and the next month comes well before all that when i was on the phone with them the first time when they told me that i need to go to the store to pick up the phones they where going to order the sim cards for me and i would have them the day i would have them well i told them not to do it when i already was going to the storei would get them there td them to cancel those SIM cards thought every thing was good so I get my first bill after a month and like and a week my bill is 700 dollars Thay double charged me and charged me for the numbers on the phones that I was supposed to get Activision fees on the other phones and the phones I got at the store lied to me on the phone and at the store we could not pay the bill and now my credit sucks and if any of the laws the store has cameras and I no they where recording so that woukd be on there and all the times I called they are supposed to record everything so they well here all the lies and everything i was told and lied about witch to be hones that messed with my mental health i already have problems that made it ten time wose
AT&T sales rep came to our home in 2021 stating that we were now able to access fiber instead of regular cable internet service offerings by the other providers. We were with Spectrum and working from home so the internet would always drop between 1 PM – 3 PM consistently so we listened to the AT&T sales rep about the offerings which included some free services, free installation, and significantly reduced pricing for a promotional period. We agreed to move forward with the agreement and confirmed that we could cancel services at any time.
The next day, the installation tech arrives – nice guy – and he starts to climb the pole in our back yard to access the wires. So we ask, what’s going on and that’s when he tells us he was hooking up our cable and internet. We told him what we were told and he stated that we in fact were not getting fiber and to add insult to injury wanted us to accept lower upload/download speeds and a worse network on AT&T than what we had with Spectrum. So we call AT&T and the sales rep telling both to immediately cancel our services and installation as we are opting out and do not want to even try the services at that point. AT&T complys with our request – crazy, right? – and we returned everything on time and in perfect condition since the tech was not allowed to take the equipment back with him. Fast forward a month… We get a bill for not only services that were canceled and confirmed canceled, but for the installation, and equipment that they said wasn’t returned. We call AT&T and the person on the phone says they fixed it, no problem, all good. So we thought.
Fast forward to month two, we repeat month one and receive a bill now for all the above plus a second month of services and a bunch of miscellaneous late fees for not paying month one. We call, we get told the same thing… all good, don’t worry about it. Month three comes and once again we are back to where we were at month one, sending in all the information and other details as to who we spoke with, what the notes in our account say, etc. etc. etc. No more calls and no more bills for months until… we start getting harassed for non-payment on the account from almost a year prior by a collections agent. We provide the data to confirm the billing was incorrect and give all details to include audio recordings of the calls with AT&T. They go away… so we thought…
Today, I got a call from a guy who was calling from a call center somewhere in India who failed to understand US consumer laws and debt collection laws telling me that I needed to handle the debt (only in my husband’s name and cannot legally speak to me without his consent and does anyway even after I tell him he violated the regulations) as it’s been sitting out there for two years. We go back and forth and he then tells me once again I have file a dispute and if AT&T tells them, the debt collector – apparently that’s all they have to do per my guy at the debt collector’s call center in Dubai – that we MUST owe the debt. Unfortunately, he ended up speaking to me and not my husband because I’m well versed in consumer protection laws and unlawful debt collection activites. He was repeatedly informed that just because someone says so, doesn’t make it true and that he now has an obligation per my request to provide all qualifying evidence that the services were in the home and were used for the billing period and that all equipment was not returned. I also informed him I still have everything and had just looked at that file earlier in the day today before he called – was that the universe letting me know? Hmmm – Mr. Dubai got schooled in understanding that it may not be available to citizens where he’s from but in the United States we as consumers can sue and win in a court of law against companies who do bad things like make up bills and tell people to pay them or else. He told me, and I do quote “you can’t sue a company whose computer does a billing error. It’s a computer.” Unfortunately, Mr. Collections Agent got the answer of yes, I can sue AT&T (as there are several awarded class action lawsuits for this very issue against AT&T) and will also file suit against the company and him individually for the harassment of the 9:00 PM EST phone calls when I’m sleeping or the 8:00 AM phone calls when I’m sleeping. He tried to explain to me what harassment was and he woefully missed the mark. He further attempted to explain to me (a woman) that I must not understand how business works (I own my own successful consulting business) and that he wasn’t really telling me that I needed to pay the bill that he was simply letting me know that it’s been out there for two years. At that point, I informed him of my credentials, what I do and the type of business that I own and then went on to explain the regulations as it pertains to debt collection laws and that he woefully missed the mark and now is subject to investigation for his involvement in unscrupulous debt collection attempts that are in violation of CFPBs laws. He then tells me that I need to file the dispute again and they will see what they can do. Who knows maybe 2023 is the year AT&T finally understands that it cannot bill for services that were never rendered or bill for equipment they have repeatedly confirmed was in their possession two years ago. I doubt it… I am sure we will be told it’s good, don’t worry about it and then next year the calls will start again and the cycle begins. And simply because of this horrendus experience and the constant attempts in forcing someone to a non-existent bill, I would go back to morse code and pony express before I ever use AT&T services for cable, internet, or phone.
☆ AT&T Mobile Cell Service: Hello, I am Jesse Hines this bill does not show the discounts on the documents we received and the conversation we had. Also on legal documents we agreed to a $135.38 monthly payment yet our 1st bill in an email was $300.49. Finally the rep Richard Canales nor the Manager: Tiffany never said anything about the even phone trade delayed but price of phone applied or discounts both being delayed then fees applied and spreaded over 3 cycle periods. This is Not our agreement with AT&T cell phone service. Standby what you have put on paper. I went by the scenic Hwy location talked to the manager Tiffany, showed her the agreement given to us & reminded her of that day. Refused to return our cell phones.
ATT charged my daughter (who is on my ATT plan) $899.99 on ATT installment to upgrade her Iphone 13 to 14. They gave her an order # and set-up an appointment for someone to bring the phone to my address and set up the phone. Our window was between the hours of 12pm and 2pm. No one came to our hose. We tried calling ATT and they said we have to work with ATT Right for You. There is no phone number for ATT Right for You. ATT customer service transferred to other customer service rep for an hour until I just gave up. Seven day later, no phone, no update on the status from ATT Right for You. We called ATT again. After 2 hours of being transferred to what seemed like every person in ATT costumer services, we were told that the order wasn’t processed. It took the payment but the order wasn’t place. On top of that, we can’t cancel the order that was never placed. How is that possible that they can keep our money and give us no phone in return. We are going to an ATT store today to try to get a phone or our money back. ATT needs to monitor Right For You. It should be illegal to take money for a phone and not send it and then say we can’t cancel the order.
Yes they scam me cloned my esim tried to charge me for another device that wasn’t mine
AT&T is charging me an arm and a leg. They disconnected my Mobil before the due date. I am a disabled woman with no job. What can I do?
AT&T denied my insurance claims on two different phones wouldn’t give a reason an then wanted said phone nope they didn’t get them either an both phones were on within 3 or 4 months old an I had the best insurance plan they offer so I canceled insurance