Who is a Class Member
You are included in the Frontier Late Payment Fee Class Action Settlement if Frontier California (formerly Verizon California) “assessed you a Late Payment Charge or an Erroneous Late Payment Charge that was paid from December 1, 2008, through February 21, 2018.”
“Late Payment Charge” means the late payment charge that Frontier/Verizon assessed its residential telephone customers in California in the amount of the greater of $2.50 or 1.5 percent of past due balances of $20 or greater.
“Erroneous Late Payment Charge” means the late payment charge that Frontier/Verizon imposed on its California residential telephone customers at the rate of the greater of $9.00 or 1.5 percent of past due balances of $20 or greater, beginning on July 10, 2017, and continuing for approximately five weeks thereafter.
Note: If you received either voice-over-internet- protocol telephone service or “FiOS” telephone service, you are not included in this settlement.
If you don’t qualify for this settlement, check out our database of other class action settlements you may be eligible for.
Settlement Amount
- $10,600,000.00
Estimated Award
- Varies
The actual amount of your individual payout will be calculated based on the amount you paid in Late Payment Charges between December 1, 2008 and February 21, 2018 divided by the total amount of Late Payment Charges all claimants paid for that period.
Former Customers have the option to receive their payment via check or credit to his or her Paypal or Zelle account. Due to the expense of issuing and sending checks, no check will be issued for less than $1.00. However, credits for recoveries of less than $1.00 will be issued to Paypal or Zelle accounts. Payouts to Current Customers will be in the form of credits on future bills from Frontier.
Proof of Purchase
- Class Members who are former Frontier California or Verizon California customers will need to provide the telephone numbers for each residential landline telephone account for which they are submitting a claim for as well as the name(s) used for your landline account(s) listed on the bills at the time of the charges(s).
Claim Form
Note: If, as of April 30, 2018, you are a Current Customer, you do NOT need to complete the Claim Form. If the Settlement is granted final approval, you payout will be in the form of a credit on your bill.
Frontier Late Payment Settlement Notes
- Gastelum v. Frontier California, Inc.
- Case No. CGC-11-511467
- Pending in San Francisco County (California) Superior Court
Plaintiffs Deanna Gastelum and Heather Bryden brought this class action lawsuit against Frontier California (formerly Verizon), alleging late payment charges imposed by the company violate California law.
In 2007, the California Public Utilities Commission issued an order allowing incumbent local exchange carriers such as Verizon to offer such services on a “detariffed” basis, and to provide them pursuant to private agreement with its customers. According to the complaint, Verizon imposed late fees of $2.50 or 1.5 percent of the unpaid balance of $20.00 or more, whichever was higher, to customers’ bills when prior bills were not paid in full.
“The Late Fees constitute unlawful penalties that are void and unenforceable under” California consumer protection laws, the plaintiffs contend, which in turn have generated substantial revenues and profits for Frontier.
In agreeing to settle the late payment fess class action lawsuit for $10.6 million, Frontier maintains it did nothing wrong. Complete details about the case and settlement can be found on the Frontier Laete Payment Settlement website.
Class members who wish to exclude themselves or object to the Frontier Late Payment Fee settlement must do so by June 21, 2018. Class members who wish to receive a payout from the settlement must submit their claim form on or before June 21, 2018.
Important Dates
- 6/21/18: Claim Form Deadline
- 6/21/18: Objection or Exclusion Deadline
- 7/20/18: Final Hearing at 9:00 a.m. PT* (class members do not need to attend this hearing in order to receive a slice of the settlement pie).
*Settlement Class Members who wish to speak at the hearing should check www.LPCSettlement.com to confirm that the date or time of the Hearing has not been changed.
Contact Information
- Mail: Gastelum v. Frontier California Inc., Kurtzman Carson Consultants, Settlement Administrator, P.O. Box 404041, Louisville, KY 40233-4041
- Phone: 925-300-4455 (Class Counsel)
Class Counsel
- Alan R. Plutzik of Bramson Plutzik Mahler & Birkhaeuser LLP
- L. Timothy Fisher and Thomas Reyda of Bursor & Fisher PA
- Marc G. Reich of Reich Radcliffe & Hoover LLP
Settlement Website