CT AG goes after internet company charging ‘junk fees’

Connecticut’s attorney general announced today he’s going after an internet company for charging “junk fees” and undermining advertising statements with nearly unreadable fine print.

Attorney General William Tong’s office began the investigation into Altice/Optimum Online in November 2022 in response to more than 500 complaints from customers about hidden fees, poor technical support and slow internet speeds.

The company has violated three categories of the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act, including the improper fee, inadequate speed disclosures, and English-language disclosures on Spanish marketing materials, Tong said in a release Monday.

The state is seeking to end and recoup millions in “unlawfully charged Network Enhancement Fees” for customers, as well as penalty fees to be paid to the state.

The company has been charging Connecticut consumers a monthly “Network Enhancement Fee,” since 2019, Tong said, and the fee has increased over time from $2.50 per month to $6 per month with little notice.

The attorney general claims that the fee was only disclosed in customers’ shopping carts once a customer had selected a service plan.

The complaint also takes issue with the way Altice reported disclosures about advertised speeds: “by listing them on the back of mailers in tiny print, in gray-on-gray backgrounds online and in print, and in small words that float away from the screen in their TV ads,” Tong said. Often, the disclosures were only given in English on Spanish advertisements.

“When customers pay for Internet service, they have a right to expect promised speeds and network reliability without being nickel and dimed with junk fees,” Tong said. “Altice has extracted millions of dollars in hidden, escalating fees from Connecticut customers over and above the base rate simply to keep their network running. And even with all that extra revenue, they won’t stand by their promised advertised speeds without a series of fine print, fast moving caveats. Our complaint seeks to hold Altice accountable for these unfair, anti-consumer practices, and to stop and claw back millions of dollars in these inappropriately collected fees.”

Department of Consumer Protection Commissioner Bryan T. Cafferelli said the suit is one way Connecticut is going after junk fees.

“Just because junk fees are common practice, doesn’t mean we should settle for paying them, especially as companies find new ways to extract extra money from consumers,” said Department of Consumer Protection Commissioner Bryan T. Cafferelli.

“Altice claims the fee is necessary to “maintain and improve the network”—a basic business function that customers already pay for in the base rate,” Tong’s release said.

In August of 2022, the state reached a $60 million settlement with Frontier Communications after investigating more than 1,400 consumer complaints about equipment returns, internet quality, customer service, and excessive charges. In the settlement, Frontier promised to expand access to high-speed internet for its customers in economically distressed communities, end a hidden monthly $6.99 internet surcharge and improve marketing and customer service.