Frontier Lied About Internet Speeds and 'Ripped Off Customers', FTC Says (arstechnica.com) 22
The Federal Trade Commission today said it "has moved to stop Internet service provider Frontier Communications from lying to consumers and charging them for high-speed Internet speeds it fails to deliver." From a report: Frontier was sued by the FTC in May 2021, and on Thursday, it agreed to a settlement with the FTC and district attorneys in Los Angeles County and Riverside County who represented the people of California. Frontier must pay $8.5 million to California "for investigation and litigation costs" and another $250,000 that will be distributed to Frontier customers who were harmed by Frontier's alleged actions. Frontier must also make changes, such as letting customers cancel service at no charge and "discount[ing] the bills of California customers who have not been notified that they are receiving DSL service that is much slower than the highest advertised speed," the FTC said.
Rip-off? (Score:5, Insightful)
"$8.5 million to California "for investigation and litigation costs" and another $250,000 that will be distributed to Frontier customers"
It costs 34 times as much to 'investigate and litigate' as the damage done to customers?
More like the lawyers get paid, the customers get pennies, and life goes on, virtually unchanged. As if Fronter will now deliver what they promised/advertised, no they will not, they will change the numbers and not miss a beat.
Something is broken here.
Re:Rip-off? (Score:4)
Something is broken here.
Yes, customers who paid will get a 20 USD refund and everyone else 6 figures. They should have forced Frontier give everyone 1 year free or a full refund totaling for 1 year at current rates.
Re:Rip-off? (Score:5, Funny)
They should have forced Frontier give everyone 1 year free or a full refund totaling for 1 year at current rates.
A free year of Frontier service? Great.
Sounds like that joke:
First Prize: A one-week vacation in Philadelphia.
Second Prize: Two weeks in Philadelphia.
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
They should have forced Frontier give everyone 1 year free or a full refund totaling for 1 year at current rates.
A free year of Frontier service? Great.
Sounds like that joke:
First Prize: A one-week vacation in Philadelphia.
Second Prize: Two weeks in Philadelphia.
But the losers live there?
I don't actually have anything against Philadelphia, but I'm trying to humor the joke?
Re: (Score:2)
Sounds like that joke:
First Prize: A one-week vacation in Philadelphia.
Second Prize: Two weeks in Philadelphia.
I don't actually have anything against Philadelphia, but I'm trying to humor the joke?
The prize is so bad, the losers get more of it. Maybe you're too young to know, but it's a joke by the comedian W. C. Fields [wikiquote.org] who used to make fun of Philly (where he was born). He even joked that he'd like the epitaph on his gravestone to be, "Here lies W. C. Fields. I would rather be living in Philadelphia." (there are alternate phrasings) Another well-known joke of his is, "Last week I went to Philadelphia, but it was closed."
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As a Frontier consumer, I resemble that remark.
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The pay is proportional to the work. The effort of being a lawyer is high, and the money is split among a smaller pool. The effort of being duped by a con artist is very low, literally the dumbest people can accomplish this feat.
If the legal system could start firing C-suite and board members instead of simply fining them, then we'd see a real change in attitude from corporations.
Re: (Score:2, Troll)
> Something is broken here.
Theater: Frontier lied and California bureaucrats PUNISHED them!
Reality: Many of the bureaucrats are married to the executives and together they agreed to make a $9M token payment and put the matter behind them, while issuing a press release so that the People know their government is DOING SOMETHING for them and Frontier is MAKING IT RIGHT.
Meanwhile $8M goes to the bureaucrats and the subscribers each get $5.
The sad thing is 83% of voters will remember that their government is
Re: (Score:2)
They were never under an obligation to deliver to some mandated level of service in the first place, so the remedy is to match the advertising to the service, not the other way around.
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"$8.5 million to California "for investigation and litigation costs" and another $250,000 that will be distributed to Frontier customers"
It costs 34 times as much to 'investigate and litigate' as the damage done to customers?
Did you expect something different from a system that was designed by lawyers for lawyers, or were you just expecting something different this time?
Something is broken here.
Depends on who you ask. According to those who designed it, it's working perfectly.
comcast (Score:5, Funny)
okay, now do COMCAST
I smell another rip-off (Score:5, Insightful)
$8,500,000 for the lawyers and commissioners, $250,000 for the customers?
From a customer's perspective, that was a complete waste of time.
Re: (Score:3)
From a customer's perspective, that was a complete waste of time.
Well, I guess it's a good thing for the lawyers then who designed this system, since they truly don't give a shit about the customers "perspective".
Certainly wasn't a waste of time for them.
Re: (Score:2)
*cough*Prop 65*cough*
If I could wave a magic wand and make one California proposition go away, that would be near the top of my list. But truth be told, Prop 65 annoying but mostly harmless (unless you're on the receiving end of a shakedown lawsuit). There are other propositions which are doing great harm, they really ought to be repealed first.
My internet provider lied about my speed too!!! (Score:2, Funny)
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> I love my Google Fiber (I'll duck now).
Don't worry, Google will get bored of that project soon enough and then we'll feel sorry for you.
Re: (Score:1)
> I love my Google Fiber (I'll duck now).
Don't worry, Google will get bored of that project soon enough and then we'll feel sorry for you.
Don't worry, Google will get bored of that project soon enough and then close down the project nationwide.
TFTFY
Real punishments (Score:5, Insightful)
Its a lot easier to lie about things (Score:2)
then it is to actually improve your service.