The city of Los Angeles, on behalf of Angeleno cable subscribers, is suing Time Warner Cable (TWC), accusing the MSO of breaking multiple laws and seeking to impose millions of dollars in fines against the company.

The suit accuses TWC of “unlawful, unfair and fraudulent business acts and practices and deceptive advertising,” mostly associated with an alleged failure by the company to make good on claims of improved service after taking over the Los Angeles-area system, which was formerly operated by Adelphia, the Associated Press reports.

The suit covers the period after the Adelphia acquisition, from August 2006 to the spring of 2007, during which subscribers complained about bad service and improper billing.

The suit complains TWC promised prices would not be increased, but it removed some channels from its basic subscription package, effectively forcing subscribers to pay more if they wanted to receive the same channels.

The company also billed subscribers for service "that was so intermittent and inferior in quality that it was not much better than no service at all," the suit claimed.

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