A lawsuit has been filed against Frontier Communications, alleging that the company did not provide many consumers with internet service at the speeds it promised and charged many for more expensive and higher-speed service than Frontier actually provided.
The lawsuit alleges that Frontier advertised and sold internet service in several plans, or tiers, based on download speed. Frontier touted these tiers using various methods, including mail and online ads, and has sold them to consumers over the phone and online.
Frontier responded to the lawsuit, and issued the following statement:
“Frontier believes the lawsuit is without merit. The plaintiffs’ complaint includes baseless allegations, overstates any possible monetary harm to Frontier’s customers and disregards important facts including the following:
• Frontier offers Internet service in some of the country’s most rural areas that often have challenging terrain, are more sparsely populated and are the most difficult to serve.
• Frontier’s rural DSL Internet service was enthusiastically welcomed when it was launched and has retained many satisfied customers over the years.
• Frontier’s DSL Internet speeds have been clearly and accurately articulated, defined and described in the Company’s marketing materials and disclosures.
Frontier will present a vigorous defense.”
The lawsuit alleges that Frontier did not provide many consumers with the maximum speeds they were promised and, instead, the speeds often fell far short of what was touted in purchased plans.
The allegations concern Frontier’s Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) internet service, which is transmitted over copper telephone wires. Frontier provides DSL service to approximately 1.3 million consumers across 25 states, including Arizona. Frontier provides DSL internet service to more than 40,000 households in Arizona. Frontier’s Arizona customers are primarily located in rural communities.
Since at least January 2015, thousands of consumers complained to Frontier and government agencies that the company failed to provide DSL internet service at the speeds they were promised. Many consumers have complained that the slower speeds actually provided by Frontier failed to support the typical online activities they should have been able to perform at the speed tiers Frontier had sold to them.
The complaint alleges that Frontier violated the FTC Act and various state laws by misrepresenting the speeds of internet service it would provide consumers and engaged in unfair billing practices by charging consumers for a more expensive level of internet service than it actually provided.
Joining the FTC in its lawsuit is Arizona, Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina, and Wisconsin, as well as the district attorneys’ offices of Los Angeles County and Riverside County on behalf of the State of California. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
If you believe you have been the victim of consumer fraud, you can file a consumer complaint by visiting the Attorney General’s website. If you need a complaint form sent to you, contact the Attorney General’s Office in Phoenix at (602) 542-5763, in Tucson at (520) 628-6648, or outside the Phoenix and Tucson metro areas at (800) 352-8431.