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Spectrum Agrees To Pay NYers Who Were Tricked Into Lousy Internet Service
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Dec 19, 2018
Modified Dec 19, 2018
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Charter Communications
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Dec 19, 2018
Modified Dec 19, 2018
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Charter Communications (a.k.a. Spectrum) will be forced to provide a whopping $174.2 million in cash and services for lying about the quality and consistency of its often terrible internet service, following a landmark settlement reached Tuesday with the New York Attorney General.
As a result, state residents who were defrauded by the company will be eligible for restitution between $75 and $150, which may not seem like enough to make up for the endless suffering & buffering inflicted by Spectrum, but is still quite significant: The $62.5 million direct refund is likely the largest-ever payout issued by an internet service provider in the United States.
"This settlement should serve as a wakeup call to any company serving New York consumers: fulfill your promises, or pay the price," Attorney General Barbara Underwood said in a statement.
The agreement wraps up a major investigation into the state's largest internet service provider, which began under Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. The 16-month probe of internet speeds determined that customers were "getting dramatically short-changed on both speed and reliability." Despite promises of "blazing fast" internet, the telecom giant was found to have "bottlenecks in its network [that] would result in many subscribers routinely experiencing the very hallmarks of a poor Internet connection."
As part of the settlement, Spectrum will be prevented from describing its internet speeds as "consistent," and will instead be forced to refer to its product as "wired." In addition to a bit of cash, victims of Spectrum's lousy coverage will soon have access to not-yet-specified new streaming services and premium channels—retail value of over $100 million, per Underwood.
The payout is unrelated to an ongoing fight between Spectrum and the New York State Public Service Commission, which accused the company of a pattern of "purposeful obfuscation" in its merger with Time Warner Cable. Over the summer, the state regulator revoked approval for the merger, meaning that Spectrum could soon be forced to spin off its Time Warner Cable division in New York.
"Charter’s non-compliance and brazenly disrespectful behavior toward New York State and its customers necessitates the actions taken today seeking court-ordered penalties for its failures, and revoking the Charter merger approval," Commission Chair John B. Rhodes said at the time.
The company increased its profit in 2017 by more than 180 percent and reported $10 billion in gross profit last year.
UPDATE: A spokesperson for Charter provided Gothamist with the following statement:
"We are pleased to have reached a settlement with the Attorney General on the issue of certain Time Warner Cable advertising practices in New York prior to our merger, and to have put this litigation behind us. Charter has made, and continues to make, substantial investments enhancing internet service across the state of New York since our 2016 merger, as acknowledged by the Attorney General in this settlement. We look forward to continue providing the best TV, Internet, Voice and Mobile products to our customers, and to bringing broadband to more homes and businesses across the state.”
Tagged
attorney general barbara underwood
internet
lawsuit
spectrum
time warner cable
universal broadband
Jake Offenhartz
Jake Offenhartz is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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