Cherry Hill residents who dropped Optimum cable television service and kept getting charged may have $37 coming back to them.
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities announced Friday, Sept. 11, that it reached a settlement with Optimum Communications, formerly Altice USA, over the company's failure to prorate final bills for customers who canceled service. The deal ends eight years of litigation.
Under the settlement, every Optimum customer affected between Dec. 18, 2018, and May 5, 2023, is eligible for a $37 refund. An independent audit could not determine exactly how many customers were affected or how much each was overcharged, NJBIZ reported.
How to claim a refund
An Optimum spokesperson told NJBIZ the company plans a claims process and outreach campaign to notify eligible customers, but no portal or deadline has been published. Residents with questions can call the NJBPU's Division of Customer Assistance at 1-800-624-0241.
NJBPU rules require cable companies to prorate bills when a customer starts or cancels service, so no one pays for days they did not receive it.
The trouble started in 2018, when more than 100 customers reported Optimum kept billing them after they canceled. The Board issued a Cease-and-Desist Order in 2019, and Optimum fought it in court. In 2023, both the New Jersey Supreme Court and the Appellate Division upheld the Board's authority and directed Optimum to comply.
"This settlement holds Optimum accountable and delivers restitution to customers who were improperly charged," NJBPU President Ben Hertz-Shargel said in the agency's announcement.
Broadband expansion included
The settlement also requires Optimum to open its $15-per-month Optimum Advantage Internet program to every New Jersey customer for at least four years, regardless of income and with no income verification. Customers already enrolled in Optimum's low-income broadband tier will receive six months of free service spread over two years. Optimum must invest $2.5 million in outreach and extend the program through 2030.
The NJBPU also secured heightened reporting requirements to monitor Optimum's compliance going forward.
