Legal Question in Consumer Law in California

Wrongful Internet Service Plan Termination

I've been a customer of Sprint's pay as you go internet service plan for over 10 years (which is operated by Earthlink). Just recently my email account was unexpectedly terminated without prior notification. When contacting Earthlink online technical support, I was told that my account was terminated due to inactivity related to Katrina. Although I live in CA, no where do I recall a clause in the contract plan that says accounts will be terminated for inactivity. They would not reinstate my existing plan and tried to sell me their new dial-up service plan. I refused and requested reinstatement of my existing plan. They said the plan is too old and kept selling me their dial-up plan. I feel they are not honoring their part of my contract which I've had for over 10 years. In addition, I was never notified of service termination by Earthlink. Now I cannot retrieve my email messages or notify friends and family of a change in email address. I feel Earthlink has violated my consumer rights by illegally terminating me without notification or just cause. Can they do this? What are my legal rights? How can I get back my email messages? Should I file a complaint with the FCC? What about punitive damages?


Asked on 3/08/06, 3:07 am

3 Answers from Attorneys
Michael Stone Law Offices of Michael B. Stone Toll Free 1-855-USE-MIKE

Re: Wrongful Internet Service Plan Termination

1. Letter on lawyer letterhead followed by

2. Lawsuit

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Answered on 3/08/06, 4:20 am
Carl Starrett Law Offices of Carl H. Starrett II

Re: Wrongful Internet Service Plan Termination

You haven't posted enough information for attorneys to really provide you with a meaningful opinion on your situation. You are asking for interpretation of a contract the you are not familiar with and that the attorneys who post here have never seen. The proper thing to do with actually get a copy of the terms from that agreement and then post your question.

Internet providers are not like utility companies or landlords. There is no specific law that says that must give you warning prior to termination of services. And chances are that the DO have a clause allowing them to terminate for inactivity, even if you "do not recall" such a clause. There are probably many terms that you don't recall and those terms probably have changed over the years.

You haven't described anything to me that sounds like a breach of contract or anything that is worhty of a lawsuit or punitive damages. Even if you could convince an attorney of the merits of your case, I suspect that just a couple of hours of attorney time to review documents and send a letter might cost more than a year of internet access. I suggest you find a new ISP and forget about this whole affair.

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Answered on 3/08/06, 9:07 am
Richard Gee

Re: Wrongful Internet Service Plan Termination

Although I tend to agree with attorney Starett on this one, if you feel this is an eggregious case, you may want to file a complaint with the California Department of Consumer Affairs as well as the Better Business Bureau. Both agencies investigate complaints such as these from consumers.

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Answered on 3/08/06, 9:16 pm


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