Frontier’s integration of the California, Texas and Florida (CTF) properties may be completed, but customer pain related to erroneous charges for broadband and video services continues in parts of Florida.
Tampa Bay remains a problem spot. Businesses and consumers alike told ABC Action News about extended service outages and larger monthly bills.
Small business owners like Danielle Ferrari have seen the damaging effects of Frontier's billing issues firsthand. Ferrari, who owns a small clothing and consignment store, said the telco sent her bills for over $340, but the actual service bill should have been about $100. After making calls to Frontier, who said they would fix the issue, she continued to be overcharged for services.
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"The very first bill was wildly wrong," Ferrari told ABC News, adding that "the next one wasn't correct and the next one wasn't correct.”
Similarly, residential customer Christina Herrman said her bill jumped to $260 per month without any warning. The bill increase included a charge for a second set-top box, which she did not have. When Frontier’s customer service department did not resolve the problem for her, she simply started to pay the charges.
"Ever since Frontier took over, our bill has gotten exceedingly more each month, now up to $260," she posted on a Facebook thread. "Even charging us for a 2nd cable box/DVR for the past year that we never had."
Following her failed attempts to get her billing issues with Frontier resolved, Ferrari filed a complaint with the state of Florida and received a response from the state within a few days, an action that seemed to pay off. Frontier gave her a credit on her account, but the telco company will not release her from her contract.
For its part, Frontier told ABC News that it does want to help customers resolve billing disputes.
“Each concern is handled individually and our customer service team will work with them on an individual basis to help resolve the situation,” said Andy Malinoski, communications manager for Frontier Communications, in an e-mail to ABC News. “Frontier is taking a look at three separate cases ABC Action News has brought to them and is working to get them resolved.”