Lawsuit forces CenturyLink to stop charging "Internet Cost Recovery Fee"

[RainCaster]

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/12/lawsuit-forces-centurylink-to-stop-charging-internet-cost-recovery-fee/

Thanks to our state AG, CenturyLink will have to stop billing WA residents for a bogus fee that is just part of the normal cost of doing business.

CenturyLink has agreed to pay a $6.1 million penalty after Washington state regulators found that the company failed to disclose fees that raised actual prices well above the advertised rates. CenturyLink must also stop charging a so-called "Internet Cost Recovery Fee" in the state, although customers may end up paying the fee until their contracts expire unless they take action to switch plans.

"CenturyLink deceived consumers by telling them they would pay one price and then charging them more," Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson said in an announcement yesterday. "Companies must clearly disclose all added fees and charges to Washingtonians."

Ferguson encouraged Washington residents "who believe they have received bills that include undisclosed fees to file a complaint" with the state.

Ferguson's office said it began investigating CenturyLink in 2016 "after receiving complaints from consumers that their actual bills were more than the advertised price, or the price that they were promised by sales representatives."

[msongs]

1. so where's the jail time for ppl responsible for committing fraud here? nt

[abqtommy]

2. I used to have an account with Qwest/Century Link but now deal with Comcast. Century LInk's

business model is harder on consumers than Comcast's is, and that's saying quite a bit.