Barber sues Altice for COVID-related shutoff, fees
A barbershop owner has sued Altice, alleging the company cut off his service and then "coerced' him into paying a fee to keep his previous phone number. Credit: Barry Sloan
A barber from Valley Stream has filed a $20 million lawsuit against Altice USA Corp., alleging the company "coerced" small businesses to pay an "illegal ransom fee" to restart their telephone and internet service after pandemic shutdowns left them behind on their cable bills.
The case seeks class-action status on behalf of the barber's Bronx-based Continental Barber Shop and other small businesses that the suit says experienced "severe and lasting damages" throughout Altice service territories, in New York and beyond.
The case, filed Wednesday in federal court for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn, says Long Island City-based Altice "terminated" thousands of customers for "non-payment" as a result of shutdowns, then "coerced small businesses into entering new service agreements – imposing an exorbitant one-time 'start-up' fee" of $180 to restart their service and keep their previous phone numbers.
Altice said Wednesday it hadn't yet been served with the complaint, and would "respond appropriately upon receipt."
Throughout the pandemic, the company said, it has been "committed to providing support and relief to our customers," including "free broadband services to students and suspending disconnections for households and businesses during the height of the pandemic as part of the 'Keep Americans Connected Pledge.'"
Plaintiff Artem Shalomayev of Valley Stream, in an interview Wednesday with Newsday, said Altice's practices were a "big problem" for his barber shop as he tried to restart his business following COVID shutdowns last year. He said some of the problems persist, including disconnect messages when Optimum callers try to reach his business.
Jon Norinsberg, a Manhattan-based attorney for Shalomayev, in an interview with Newsday speculated that "most likely tens of thousands" of small businesses may have been charged a $180 fee to restore their service. "We think it was a deliberate, intentional policy" by Altice to "recoup losses incurred during the pandemic," he said.
When Shalomayev returned to his business in June 2020, he found that Altice had "terminated all his services," in violation of its pledge "not to terminate broadband or voice service to any residential or small business customers because of their inability to pay bills" due to the pandemic, according to the suit.
Shalomayev in court papers said he was told by Altice that to get his service restored, he’d have to set up a new account and pay an "activity fee" of $180. He said he was told he’d lose his previous business phone number if he didn’t pay the fee.
"Plaintiff felt that if he refused to make the payment ... he would permanently lose the number that his barbershop had used for over 50 years, since the early 1970’s, which would be catastrophic for his business," the suit says.
Altice has been the subject of a state investigation for its response to Tropical Storm Isaias last year and agreed to pay $72 million to settle claims it "failed to adhere to many significant aspects of its response plan."
Mark Harrington, a Newsday reporter since 1999, covers energy, wineries, Indian affairs and fisheries.
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