Century Link to Pay Colorado And Customers For Overbilling/Fees

Century Link has been found to have violated Colorado's Consumer Protection Act and will be paying over $8 million in fines and reimbursement to customers and the state.

In a statement released Thursday, Phil Weiser, Colorado's Attorney General said:

“One of CenturyLink’s main selling points is that its prices are low and affordable. Yet, we received hundreds of complaints from consumers that their bills were more than the advertised price or the price that sales agents quoted them. This sticker shock often was a result of misleading hidden fees, overcharges for services, and CenturyLink’s failure to deliver discounts that they promised to consumers when they signed up for services, CenturyLink’s conduct broke the law: they deceived consumers by telling them they would pay one price, and then charging them more. The settlement we are announcing today holds CenturyLink accountable and provides relief to consumers they harmed with their deceptive conduct.”

Due to misleading and false advertising, Century Link positioned itself as an inexpensive alternative in the marketplace. This was false because they:

• Falsely advertised "price lock" and "fixed price"
• Billed some customers over twice the rate
• failed to deliver refunds to some customers, making them "prove" the equipment had been returned.

The company will reimburse customers $1,701,000 for overbilling errors no later than March of 2020 and the State of Colorado $6,775,000 for violating the Colorado Consumer Protection Act.

To avoid further issues, Century Link will:

• Disclose the actual price of services
• Cease charging the Internet Cost Recovery Fee
• Send Order confirmation within three days of order being placed
• Stop charging for equipment already returned
• Submit compliance reports for the next three years

If you are or have been a customer of Century Link, call the office to determine if you are owed a refund.