Schneiderman sues cable company over internet speed, reliability [View all]

ALBANY — Alleging that one of the nation's dominant cable and internet providers "has been ripping you off," state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman on Wednesday announced his office had sued Charter Communications and its subsidiary Spectrum, formerly known as Time Warner Cable.

In a Manhattan news conference, he said the 87-page complaint — filed in state Supreme Court in Manhattan — told "a consistent story of bad performance and a long-term business plan built on deceit."

The communications giant is the dominant cable and internet service provider in the Capital Region. In a statement, Connecticut-based Charter says it is "disappointed" that Schneiderman is suing the company over promises made by Time Warner before the acquisition. It says it's making "substantial" investments to upgrade the system.

The suit claims that at least since January 2012, the company engaged in what Schneiderman referred to in a Manhattan press conference as a "deliberate scheme" to defraud and mislead customers about what Charter's subsidiaries claimed were "blazing fast" connectivity speeds. Frequently, it failed to deliver — deficiencies that were discussed in numerous corporate communications excerpted in the complaint, but were allegedly ignored by corporate officials due to the cost of capital improvements.

Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Schneiderman-to-outline-Spectrum-Time-Warner-10899513.php