Early termination of ISP contract

[itguy555]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Virginia

My small business signed a contract for a fiber optic internet connection in July of last year. At the time of signing, the fiber carrier made two statements that proved to be un-true:
1. Delivery of the new connection would take 3 months - instead it took 6.
2. The physical fiber circuit was leased by them and they would be directly supporting the equipment. In actuality, there is another company involved which owns and deploys the physical fiber.

The delivery of the fiber optic circuit took far too long, and the customer service was abysmal. After dozens of delays, missed appointments and technician no-call-no-shows, I gave them a final deadline on which to deliver the service or take a hike. Then a tech showed up after this deadline had passed, when only a handful of staff who knew nothing about the matter were in the office, and installed the circuit. After learning this I called them and reiterated my earlier deadline, told them to collect their equipment. I got a bill with an early termination fee of $7500.

It seems ludicrous to me that a business would conduct themselves so poorly and then send an early termination fee. I've expressed the disbelief to them, but they've told me that it's fair per the contract. I double-checked it, and there is no mention of either statement 1 or 2 listed earlier. The sales rep didn't put it in the contract, only in his emails and phone conversations with me. The only alternative they gave me over the phone was to re-engage with them on the fiber service at twice the original monthly price. I'm starting to wonder if it wasn't a bait-and-switch con from the beginning.

My question is, am I screwed for the $7500? Can I just ignore it and not pay? If the matter were under $5000 I would go to small claims court with it. Since it's not, I'm afraid I'll end up spending way more on lawyers to fight it. The company has a bad reputation for doing similar things to other customers. I wish I'd never talked with them in the first place. Thanks for any advice.

 

[justalayman]

Do you have documentation regarding the; by this date or forget it statement? If not you will likely lose. Even your employees were not aware of the demand which would support the isp argument you never gave that ultimatum.
Ya lost me on #2 there. They said the the actual fiber line was leased by them. That means somebody else does own it. Even if they said they would be leasing it to you it still does not mean they own the fiber

The equipment is something else entirely. Companies that own the actual fiber are not necessarily the same company that handles the customer equipment. They are two distinct parts of the system.

 

[itguy555]

Do you have documentation regarding the; by this date or forget it statement? If not you will likely lose. Even your employees were not aware of the demand which would support the isp argument you never gave that ultimatum.
Ya lost me on #2 there. They said the the actual fiber line was leased by them. That means somebody else does own it. Even if they said they would be leasing it to you it still does not mean they own the fiber

The equipment is something else entirely. Companies that own the actual fiber are not necessarily the same company that handles the customer equipment. They are two distinct parts of the system.

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I have documentation of the "by this date or else" in the form of emails. Do you think that helps me?

In regards to #2, yes they did say upfront that they leased the fiber but their sales guy also said that they would be supporting maintaining the physical fiber directly. In reality it's the other company which is doing that. This matters because the third party was largely responsible for the major delays.

 

[Zigner]

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I have documentation of the "by this date or else" in the form of emails. Do you think that helps me?

Only if your contract allows for cancellation in that situation