Windstream, IPC In Legal Battle
by February 21, 2011 12:00 am 170 views
IPC Communications LLC of Bentonville and Windstream Communications Inc. of Little Rock are enmeshed in a legal fight over what IPC alleges are the telecom’s “deceptive, unfair, unreasonable, unconscionable, predatory and otherwise improper” billing practices.
IPC provides telecom, Internet, equipment and telephone services to businesses. In 2006, IPC and Windstream made an agreement in which IPC acquired a company called BTC Communications Inc. and assumed its customer service accounts and debt obligations to Windstream.
Windstream had provided services to BTC and did so for IPC after the acquisition. According to IPC’s suit, the problems arose with the monthly invoices, which rolled debt payments and payments for services into one bill.
IPC accused Windstream of overcharging, double-billing and charging for services that were never agreed to or provided. It alleged that Windstream has “concealed and hidden the nature and extent of its improper services in the form of voluminous, unintelligible and otherwise deceptive billing formats comprised of hundreds of pages each month” and that “when confronted, Windstream has failed and refused to provide data and information it possesses and which is necessary to confirm the validity and propriety of Windstream’s charges.”
Last June, IPC made the final debt payment to Windstream and elected to continue doing business with the Little Rock telecom, but also sought detailed records from Windstream in order to get to the bottom of the alleged overcharges.
The complaint alleges that Windstream repeatedly failed to provide these details, and that IPC is aware of other customers that Windstream has treated similarly. IPC is seeking punitive damages and attorney’s fees.
Windstream denied the charges and filed a countersuit seeking $191,457 and stating that IPC did not properly dispute the charges in writing within 30 days.
Windstream declined to comment. IPC issued a statement through Chris Beaty, its director of operations.
“We think our complaint speaks for itself,” Beaty said. “It is important to note that IPC’s customers throughout the U.S. will not be affected by this dispute and business will continue as usual.”