AT&T Slapped With Class Action Suit Over Alleged Bait-And-Switch Pricing Of DirecTV Now
2019 has been a rough year for telecommunications giant AT&T. The company is already being sued by Sprint for falsely branding some of its products as 5G E. A class action lawsuit now accuses AT&T of misleading customers and investors about the pricing of DirecTV Now.
Last summer, AT&T purchased Time Warner. The company promised customers that it would slash the prices for DirecTV Now, a subscription streaming television service. The class action lawsuit argues that AT&T not only refused to reduce prices, but that it purposely mislead their customers. AT&T eliminated existing streaming bundles and charged more for new bundles. After some time had passed, it brought back the older bundles at higher prices.
The lawsuit also claims that AT&T “touted false and misleading financial results, trends, and metrics and omitted material facts rendering those financial results, trends, and metrics materially misleading.” DirecTV Now lost over 260,000 customers in December, but AT&T purposely provided misleading information to cover this loss. The company also did not disclose the potential risks of price increases to their investors.
AT&T has therefore been accused of violating the United States Securities Act. The act was passed in 1933 during the Great Depression and requires companies to share financial and other important information regarding securities with investors. Companies must let their investors know if they are doing something risky that could possibly threaten financial securities. Price increases, especially if those increases violate a company’s promise to their customers, could certainly qualify as harmful to investors.
There are technically two class action lawsuits against AT&T over this issue. One lawsuit has been filed by Pomerantz LLP law firm on behalf of the investors, and the other has been filed by Klein Law Firm on behalf of the shareholders. Two other law firms are currently investigating the matter and may also file separate lawsuits.
AT&T claims that the lawsuit is ridiculous. A spokesperson stated that it is a “carbon copy of a baseless suit filed in February. In both cases, the claims are wholly without merit.” At the moment, the plaintiffs have not demanded a certain amount of compensation, but argue that the amount will be decided during court proceedings. It will be interesting to see how AT&T fares during all of the upcoming court cases. Let us hope that the company will be more honest about its offerings in the future.
Last summer, AT&T purchased Time Warner. The company promised customers that it would slash the prices for DirecTV Now, a subscription streaming television service. The class action lawsuit argues that AT&T not only refused to reduce prices, but that it purposely mislead their customers. AT&T eliminated existing streaming bundles and charged more for new bundles. After some time had passed, it brought back the older bundles at higher prices.
The lawsuit also claims that AT&T “touted false and misleading financial results, trends, and metrics and omitted material facts rendering those financial results, trends, and metrics materially misleading.” DirecTV Now lost over 260,000 customers in December, but AT&T purposely provided misleading information to cover this loss. The company also did not disclose the potential risks of price increases to their investors.
AT&T has therefore been accused of violating the United States Securities Act. The act was passed in 1933 during the Great Depression and requires companies to share financial and other important information regarding securities with investors. Companies must let their investors know if they are doing something risky that could possibly threaten financial securities. Price increases, especially if those increases violate a company’s promise to their customers, could certainly qualify as harmful to investors.
There are technically two class action lawsuits against AT&T over this issue. One lawsuit has been filed by Pomerantz LLP law firm on behalf of the investors, and the other has been filed by Klein Law Firm on behalf of the shareholders. Two other law firms are currently investigating the matter and may also file separate lawsuits.
AT&T claims that the lawsuit is ridiculous. A spokesperson stated that it is a “carbon copy of a baseless suit filed in February. In both cases, the claims are wholly without merit.” At the moment, the plaintiffs have not demanded a certain amount of compensation, but argue that the amount will be decided during court proceedings. It will be interesting to see how AT&T fares during all of the upcoming court cases. Let us hope that the company will be more honest about its offerings in the future.
