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Suddenlink Internet Class Action Lawsuit Overview:
- Who: A California consumer has advanced a class action lawsuit against a pair of Suddenlink internet providers, Cebridge Telecom CA, LLC and Altice USA, Inc.
- Why: Suddenlink internet users are hit with an unexpected fee on top of the price advertised by the telecom companies, says the plaintiff.
- Where: The class action lawsuit, originally filed in state court, was transferred to California federal court.
Suddenlink internet users are hit with an unexpected fee shortly after signing up for the service, claims a class action lawsuit lodged in California federal court Wednesday.
Lead plaintiff, Nick Vasques, wants to represent other California consumers who he says were duped by a “bait-and-switch” scheme to sign up for Suddenlink internet service. Vasques accuses Cebridge Telecom and Altice USA of luring consumers in with a flat monthly rate and then tacking on a “Network Enhancement Fee” amounting to an additional $3.50 a month for each Suddenlink internet user.
Vasques says that he signed up for Suddenlink internet based on a “particular flat monthly rate” advertised by the telecom providers. He says that nowhere in their promotional material or terms of service did Cebrigde Telecom or Altice USA disclose that a $3.50 Network Enhancement Fee would be added to his monthly bill.
Suddenlink Internet ‘Price for Life’ False Advertising
The plaintiff accuses the telecom companies of using a “Price for Life” promotion to falsely advertise Suddenlink internet services to California consumers. The promotion touts a fixed price for Suddenlink internet service for life.
In addition, the companies offered bundled services at a so-called flat monthly fee with a fixed price for one year; however, Suddenlink internet users, amounting to 19,000 in California, are hit with unexpected fees that the companies try to hide in their billing statements.
Indeed, Vasques claims that the telecom companies try to conceal the added fee from Suddenlink internet users by making it appear as a tax or government pass-through charge that they cannot control.
“In the event that a customer happens to notice the Network Enhancement Fee has been charged on their monthly statement and contacts Suddenlink to inquire about the Fee, Suddenlink agents falsely tell the customer that the Fee is a tax or government fee or is otherwise out of Suddenlink’s control,” states the class action lawsuit.
The plaintiff says these “fictitious” fees add up to more than $800,000 a year in profit for the Suddenlink internet providers.
The class action lawsuit accuses Cebridge Telecom and Altice USA of violating California consumer protection laws.
Vasques wants to put a stop to these Suddenlink internet fees. He also wants the Telecom companies to pay a Class of California Suddenlink internet subscribers back for Network Enhancement Fees they were charged.
Suddenlink internet users are far from the first to complaint of bait-and-switch schemes used to advertise telecom services. RCN Telecom Services was accused of duping consumers by falsely advertising their rates in a class action filed in March.
AT&T was recently accused of sending expired or nearly-expired Visa gift cards as a part of a marketing ploy.
Did you sign up for Suddenlink internet? Did you pay unexpected fees? Tell us about your experience in the comment section below!
The plaintiff is represented by Daniel M. Hattis and Paul Karl Lukacs of Hattis & Lukacs.
The Suddenlink Internet Fee Class Action Lawsuit is Vasquez v. Cebridge Telecom CA, LLC et al, Case No. 1:21-cv-06400 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
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23 thoughts onSuddenlink Internet Users Accuse Telecom of ‘Bait-and-Switch’ in Class Action Lawsuit
I live in Victoria Texas and I gave Suddenlink my bank account so I could qualify for life time fixed price of + or – $65.00 a month. They have since changed nome to Optimum – it has always been a subsidary to Altice. They recently raised my bill to $105.00 and I only found out because it is the only thing on certain credit card. They said they had notified on bill, which I dont get because it is automatically taken out. This company is as crooked as a dogs hind leg. They have been a monopoly and have always taken advantage of there position as such. I have other horror stories about this company!
I would love to join lawsuit, I live in Lubbock Texas. My bill went from 60.00 to 200.00 no call no email. I refused to pay without explanation. Got different internet service. Now they claim I owe 424.00 in late fees, 154.00 in equipment fees. I have a sighed affidavit from their employees that came by to pick up equipment that all equipment was accounted for. They now have turned it over for collection. My score went down 26 points. Such bs
Please add me . I live in WV and we don’t receive what we pay for.
Add Me
I signed up for Suddenlink January 24, 2022 due to having to have highspeed internet for work and they had a great deal going. Here is what they gave me:
2 Order Details
You’re receiving a special 12 month(s) promotion.
Total monthly recurring charges $59.99
This is what you can expect to see on your bill every month
unless a change is made to your account.
TV
$200 Gift with Purchase Promotion $0.00
Internet
Internet $89.99
Internet 1 Gig $50.00
HBO Max (HBO Max App Access Only) $14.99
Gateway Fee $10.00
Suddenlink Stream $5.00
Unlimited Internet Allowance $0.00
Auto Pay and Paperless Billing Discount $-5.00
Stream Promotion $-5.00
Internet Credit $-10.00
HBO Max (HBO Max App Access Only) Promotion for 12 Months $-14.99
Speed Discount $-20.00
Internet Credit $-55.00
Estimated Internet Taxes $0.60
Total one-time charges $-10.00
Special Discount $-10.00
Total first bill charges* $50.59
Balance due with your next bill* $49.99
*Does not include monthly fees or taxes on one-time charges.
The $200 was supposed to be a gift card that I should have received after 90 days as long as i didn’t terminate, pay late, or change the service. I was forced to move and had my service transferred to my new place on April 23rd. They closed the account I had and opened a new account that I had to create a new online login when they processed the transfer of my service. I called to ask about the Gift card and have been informed that because I moved and they disconnected my service it changed the account which violated the terms for the Gift card and I will no longer be receiving the Gift card due because of it. I literally had the service for a full 89 days and because I was forced to move and asked them to transfer the service I violated the terms.. I am so upset because I have been off work and needed that GIft card to pay the bill that I have with them. I believe that Suddenlink uses fraud tactics to scam customers into ordering their service and then they do use every reason they can to not follow through with their promises.
I live in Arizona (Sedona). When I signed up for Internet-only service in March 2020, my confirmation email clearly stated I had locked into a ‘Price for Life’ deal at $64.99/month. (Original wording from email cut-n-pasted: “Monthly Charges Internet 100 Unlimited Data and Phone $64.99* Use my own Modem & WiFi Router $0.00 * Indicates monthly charges that are included in the PRICE FOR LIFE promotion.”)
In April of 2022, the price shot up $30. I contacted Suddenlink and was directed to their corporate office. They asked me to forward the original emails, which I did (because I’m anal and keep everything). A week or so later, they claim they had found the email, but their forensics team could find no mention of the ‘price of life’ in the email. (Afterwards, my email was referred to as allegedly containing that phrase.) Suddenlink then closed the case and the representative kindly renegotiated a new price, slightly higher than my original.
I feel I need to escalate this with the FCC and/or FTC, because clearly, to me, it feels like a scam, but it’s my word against theirs.
Suddenlink has duped their customers and Employees using the same type of tactics. Employee’s are told one thing in regards to their pay. Then will gleefully take any and all commissions away. HR at the company now uses a 3rd party to handle these issues. Many issues will be moved to a different 3rd party in the middle of the dispute hoping that the employees will simply give up. 3rd party HR teams will then earn commissions on not resolving employees issues. The company AlticeUSA is a complete joke. It only cares about the bottom dollar profit and their New Optimum Mobile service, which piggybacks off of Real National Carrier’s. Which btw has already been switched to different National Carriers due to Altice not providing the correct service. But wait. There’s more. Suddenlink will soon go away. Replaced by Optimum Cable. Same company. Same crap service. But, most customers won’t understand that it’s just like a Firestone changing to Bridgestone after a major Safety infraction. Then when Bridgestone has a tragic defect. All of a sudden Firestone is back. Stay away from anything Altice touches.
I live in saint Joseph Missouri an I pay for a gig locked in for life have run a open port test on my. Cable modem an have 5 ports that are unknown and 1 port 7547 that is being used to hack in to modem by every Tom Dick an Harry. An sudden wont close this port an as I’m typing this they keep cutting into this web page an gobble up my spelling in sick an tired of there service have had mutable techs come here an do nothing when here my speeds off the chart 780 to 890 MB 15 min after leaving drop to 240 to 370 MB. Suddenlink St Joseph mo ripping all customers off I haven been able to stream TV on 1 smart TV without some kind of disconnects or flipping back to channels I just left of getting 10 sec replays of same Sean of a movie
Yes I have complained on this company. Please add me
How do I get in on this lawsuit!?
They are the only internet provider in our town and everything all the comments above are saying is like my experience playing on playback! Every since one of you guys experiences are exactly like mine. From saying on contrails its a flat rate of 50$ a month to sign up for 1G a month then all a sudden you get your bill and it’s 103$!! You call them and they play the oh I’m sorry I don’t speak English card and transfer you and then hang up on you. When you call customer service it sends you straight to their payment center. Like all they care about is your money and not actually helping out their customers!! I hate this company!! They are thieves and con artists and they get away with it because they are a monopoly!! Someone let me know how to help take this company to court to pay for what they are doing! Scamming and conning the American people!!