The CenturyLink class action lawsuits center on allegations that the company (now Lumen Technologies) overbilled customers, added services they never ordered, hid fees behind advertised prices, and broke “price lock” promises. The litigation produced a $15.5 million nationwide consumer settlement, a $55 million securities settlement for investors, and separate multimillion-dollar settlements with state attorneys general in Minnesota, Colorado, Washington, and Wisconsin. A separate credit-reporting class action went to trial in 2024 and is on appeal, and newer Price for Life lawsuits filed in Oregon remain open.
What CenturyLink Was Accused Of
The core allegation was “cramming”: CenturyLink sales agents added phone lines, services, or features to customer accounts without permission, generating unauthorized charges. Regulators and plaintiffs said the company’s incentive structure rewarded agents for bundling services whether or not customers agreed.1Courthouse News Service. Three Class Actions Accuse CenturyLink Billing Fraud
The problem became public in June 2017 when a former employee, Heidi Heiser, filed a whistleblower lawsuit alleging she had been fired after asking the CEO about unauthorized charges on customer accounts.2CaseMine. CenturyLink Whistleblower Case Consumer class actions followed within days, and on July 12, 2017, Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson sued the company, citing “evidence of repeated and systemic billing fraud” after a year-long investigation.3Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP. In Re CenturyLink Sales Practices and Securities Litigation
State investigations later added a second theme: hidden fees. Colorado, Washington, and Wisconsin regulators found that CenturyLink advertised “price lock” or “fixed price” plans and then tacked on separate line items such as an “Internet Cost Recovery Fee,” a broadcasting fee, and a sports fee, raising the true monthly cost above the quoted price.
CenturyLink’s own Special Committee of outside directors concluded in December 2017 that cramming was “neither widespread nor condoned” by management, though the company acknowledged its consumer sales monitoring “was not sufficiently effective in proactively detecting and quantifying potential cramming.”4PR Newswire. CenturyLink Announces Conclusion of Special Committee Investigation The Minnesota Attorney General’s office rejected that characterization, and the class actions and state enforcement cases moved forward anyway.
The Nationwide Consumer Settlement
Consumer lawsuits from across the country were consolidated in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota as In re CenturyLink Sales Practices and Securities Litigation (MDL No. 17-2795), before Judge Michael J. Davis.
The settlement class included anyone who held a CenturyLink account for phone, internet, or television service between January 1, 2014, and January 14, 2020. CenturyLink agreed to pay $15.5 million to resolve the consumer claims, with an additional $3 million for notice and administration.5Top Class Actions. CenturyLink Sales Practices Class Action Settlement
Eligible class members could choose a flat $30 payment or, with documentation such as billing statements, up to 40 percent of their claimed unreimbursed losses. Final approval came on December 14, 2020, and payments went out by mid-March 2021. CenturyLink did not admit wrongdoing. The claims window is closed.
The Securities Fraud Settlement
A separate track of the same MDL covered investors. The lead plaintiffs — the State of Oregon (through the Oregon State Treasurer and the Oregon Public Employee Retirement Board) and Fernando Alberto Vildosola as trustee for the AUFV Trust — alleged that CenturyLink and its executives made false statements about the company’s business practices between March 1, 2013, and July 12, 2017, inflating its stock price.6Stoll Berne. In Re CenturyLink Sales Practices and Securities Litigation
The parties reached a $55 million cash settlement in November 2020. Judge Davis granted final approval on July 21, 2021.7Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP. In Re CenturyLink Sales Practices and Securities Litigation The claims administrator, Epiq, began distributing funds in September 2022, with additional distributions in May 2024, June 2025, and December 2025, and further rolling distributions as funds become available.8CenturyLink Securities Litigation. CenturyLink Securities Litigation Settlement
State Attorney General Settlements
Several state attorneys general reached their own settlements, most of which included direct refunds to customers on top of the nationwide class settlement.
Minnesota
The Minnesota Attorney General’s lawsuit was resolved by a consent judgment on January 8, 2020. CenturyLink agreed to pay roughly $9 million: about $845,000 in direct refunds to more than 12,000 customers and about $8 million in additional consumer restitution. The consent judgment also required the company to disclose the true price of services at the time of sale, send order confirmations within three business days, honor promised discounts, and stop charging what the state called “sham internet fees.” Compliance audits were required for three years, and the injunctive terms remain in effect for ten years.9Minnesota Attorney General. CenturyLink Settlement10MPR News. CenturyLink to Pay Nearly $9M in Minnesota Overcharge Case
Colorado
On December 19, 2019, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced an $8.476 million settlement. The state’s investigation found CenturyLink had charged a hidden “Internet Cost Recovery Fee” that rose from $0.99 to $3.99 over three years, falsely advertised “price lock” contracts while raising costs, and failed to refund customers for returned equipment unless they complained. About $1.7 million went to direct customer refunds and $6.775 million to the state.11Colorado Attorney General. AG Weiser Announces CenturyLink Settlement CenturyLink denied wrongdoing.12Denver Post. CenturyLink Settlement Consumer Protection Phil Weiser
Washington
Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced a $6.1 million settlement on December 10, 2019. The state alleged three undisclosed fees on customer bills: a $2.49 monthly broadcasting fee, a $2.49 monthly sports fee, and an internet cost recovery fee ranging from $0.99 to $1.99. The broadcasting and sports fees affected about 60,000 customers, and the internet fee affected roughly 650,000. About $900,000 went to direct refunds for about 16,000 customers who never received promised discounts. The remaining $5.2 million was held pending the outcome of the nationwide Minnesota class action.13Washington Attorney General. AG Ferguson: CenturyLink Will Pay $6.1 Million
Wisconsin
In June 2025, the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection reached a $450,000 settlement over allegations that CenturyLink misrepresented “price lock” internet subscriptions to Wisconsin consumers between April 2015 and December 2017 by adding broadband cost recovery fees. The state noted that 315,635 eligible Wisconsin consumers had also received payments through the earlier nationwide class settlement. CenturyLink did not admit any violation.14Wisconsin DATCP. DATCP Announces Settlement With CenturyLink for Misrepresentation
The Credit Report Class Action
A separate class action, Bultemeyer v. CenturyLink Inc. (Case No. 2:14-cv-02530-SPL), filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, took a different angle. Plaintiff Lydia Bultemeyer alleged that CenturyLink pulled consumer credit reports without a “permissible purpose” under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, because the company’s website automatically obtained a credit report after step four of its online ordering process, before the customer actually submitted an order at step five.15CenturyLink Class Action. Bultemeyer v. CenturyLink Class Action
The court certified a nationwide class covering every person whose credit report was pulled through CenturyLink’s online ordering system between November 14, 2012, and November 14, 2014, excluding those who signed arbitration agreements. On September 16, 2024, a jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff and awarded $500 in statutory damages and $2,000 in punitive damages per class member.16U.S. Courts (GovInfo). Bultemeyer v. CenturyLink Post-Trial Order
Judge Steven P. Logan denied CenturyLink’s motion for judgment as a matter of law on January 30, 2025. CenturyLink filed a notice of appeal to the Ninth Circuit, and the appeal is stayed pending resolution of post-trial motions. The court denied class counsel’s fee motion without prejudice in March 2025, ordering the parties to refile after the appeal concludes.17CaseMine. Bultemeyer v. CenturyLink Inc. No payments have been distributed yet.
Price for Life Lawsuits Still Pending
Newer lawsuits target CenturyLink’s “Price for Life” promotion, which promised customers a fixed internet price as long as they stayed in good standing. In November 2023, Christopher Rosing, Jarrett Civelli, and Jeffrey Haagenson filed a class action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon alleging breach of contract, violations of Oregon’s Unlawful Trade Practices Act, and unjust enrichment, claiming CenturyLink raised their rates despite the lifetime guarantee.18Tycko & Zavareei LLP. Rosing v. Lumen Technologies Class Action Complaint
A separate Price for Life suit was filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court in July 2024 by Albany, Oregon, resident Jeff McCulloch. The Oregon Department of Justice also has an open investigation.19OregonLive. CenturyLink Sued for Allegedly Breaking Internet Price for Life Guarantee Current status of these cases is not reflected in available court records.
How to Check If You Are Owed Money
If you had a CenturyLink account between January 1, 2014, and January 14, 2020, the nationwide consumer claims window has already closed and payments went out in early 2021. If you were a CenturyLink shareholder during the class period from March 1, 2013, through July 12, 2017, distributions from the $55 million securities settlement are still going out on a rolling basis through Epiq, the claims administrator. If you used CenturyLink’s online ordering system between November 14, 2012, and November 14, 2014, you may be a member of the Bultemeyer credit-report class, but no funds will be paid until CenturyLink’s appeal is resolved. Customers in Minnesota, Colorado, Washington, and Wisconsin who received direct refunds through their state attorneys general would have been contacted through those programs.