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Oct 23, 2008 -- Phantom contracts at center of Qwest lawsuit
There was a time when DirecTV and Dish Network had an edge over the monopoly cable companies because they offered great customer service.
Unfortunately, those days are long gone.
The 2 satellite companies -- along with all 4 major cell phone carriers -- are now infamous for locking customers into stinking contracts. But that's not the worst of it; they'll also often sneak you into a "phantom" contract if you call for a routine customer service issue. Such "phantom" contracts typically extend your existing contract without your knowledge or create secret fees for you.
Now, Qwest -- the monopoly phone company in much of the West -- is being sued over their "phantom" contract practices. It turns out Qwest will charge $200 if you quit them for high-speed Internet, but they never disclose the fee. You don't know until you get the bill.
We'll see how this plays out in the courts. Hopefully, a judicial ruling may change attitudes about "phantom" contracts. Clark feels that if you're such a coward as a capitalist that you need a contract, you should at least call it what it is. Would it be that hard to tell the truth? Do you have to cheat customers?
Unfortunately, Clark won't be able to answer any questions submitted via commenting. If you have a question, please try posting it to our message boards.
DirecTV did this EXACT same thing to me this weekend, and I am preparing a lawsuit. They claim my contract "automatically" renewed when I added service for my former roommate's room. The roommate has since moved out, and they are using the receiver on his room to lock me into a phantom contract extension on my overall service. This is a clear attempt to stifle competition, and consumers do NOT have to let cable companies get away with this. I am sure I am not the first they have done this to. A class action lawsuit along the lines of the Qwest case may be appropriate.
Qwest Lawsuit
Qwest did this EXACT thing to us, and when we decided to change carriers to save money, slammed us with the $200 charge as well as an additional month of DirecTV service. We fought these charges for two months, however, later to find out that Qwest sent our account to 'collections' the VERY FIRST DAY we called to inquire. We NEVER agreed to a 2-commitment. Unfortunately, they got their money, as we didn't want our credit tarnished. This should be illegal and I'm curious to see what happens if this lawsuit is ever completed. Does anyone know where to get any more details about it?
Qwest is evil
They lie and cheat and tell you what you want to hear but never tell you everything you need to know. The price changes and the comittment time increases and they never tell you what the termination fee is. Pure Evil!
Qwest Lawsuit
We just notified Qwest we were moving and would no longer need theri service and they immediately stated we would have to pay them $200 because we have a contract with them. We new nothing about this contract and were obviously upset. Then we found this article and were not surprised. I hope you are sending all these comments your getting on to the attorney who is suing Qwest, They deserve what they get but in the end they will just do something else to rip off their clients,
Qwest .....at it again
We recently moved and had our qwest services transferred to the new address. The rep.informed us that the new address was unable to receive the faster internet service e had and for the inconveinance we would pay 14.99 a month for the next 12 months and 29.99 for the remaining 6 months of our contract. We got the first bill for service, at the new address today and it was 250.00, all our past bills ran aound 140.00, we did not add any new services. Having called Qwest twice already, we keep getting the runaround. First of all they stated that thier rep who quoted usthe 14.99 price had misinformed us and there was no way they could honor that, then they tried to explain (confuse) that there was "pro rated" charges, regardless of this, the new bill should have been lower than the previous ones. Qwest is not a company I would recommend to anyone. We are not finnished getting to the bottom of this however I strongly suggest that if you do have a contract (we never signed anything) with them,as soon as it ends DO NOT DO BUSINESS with them ever again. They will "Double Talk" you all the way through the conversation. By the way, we did record our conversations with Qwest (just as they do), I now have proof of everything they said to me and I intend to fight this every step of the way. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH QWEST!!!!Please, save yourself the headaches.
May Qwest colapse and burn in Hell!
Something else to add to the lawsuit is that Qwest will continually charge routine monthly service fees WHILE THE ACCOUNT HAS BEEN CLOSED FOR LATE PAYMENTS! In other words: THEY'RE CHARGING FOR SERVICES THAT ARE NOT BEING USED, LET ALONE AVAILABLE!!! CROOKS! SCAM ARTISTS!! I look forward to the day the company collapses, even at the cost of thousands of jobs. (It didn't help that the customer service rep COMPLETELY ignored the fact that I was unable to finish my contract due to my mother's death.) If you ask me, this company is total %#@$ from the ground up. Since then, I've switched to Comcast, and I've never looked back.
When I quit Quest to change my carrier I waited until my 2 yrs was up. Otherwise I had to pay the fines.
DirecTV scam
I had DirecTV and then moved to another city in Georgia, planning to get cable. When I called to cancel, the "customer service rep" suggested I suspend rather than cancel, in case I changed my mind later.
I was pleased with the cable service and then SHOCKED when, after 6 months, I received a bill from DirecTV for monthly service, over $50.
I called DirecTV, got a credit for the charge and permanently canceled service.
Don't let this happen to you, don't suspend, CANCEL if you stop the service.
