Japanese restaurants in Yonkers and West Nyack that signed up for internet service for $160 a month claim that Verizon Wireless suddenly charged $4,568 a month without explanation.
Now New Path Yonkers Inc. is accusing Verizon of fraud and demanding $40,596 in alleged overcharges, in an April 4 complaint filed in Westchester Supreme Court.
New Path operates a Sarku Japan Teriyaki & Sushi Express franchise at Cross County Center in Yonkers and Oyishi Japan restaurant at Palisades Center in West Nyack.
Around 2015 or 2016, New Path signed up for a 10 gigabyte internet service at $80 a month for the Yonkers restaurant, according to the complaint. In January 2021, it added the same level of service at the same price for the West Nyack restaurant.
The company agreed to let Verizon automatically deduct the monthly charge from its bank account.
But Verizon allegedly debited $4,568 from New Path’s bank account last May, $7,167 in June and $6,713 in July.
New Path claims it was unaware of the charges until July when vendors complained that payment checks were bouncing and the bank said its account was overdrawn.
New Path says Verizon never notified it of a price increase or gave reasons for the increase.
A New Path representative asked for a refund, the complaint states, and got nowhere.
Last October, Verizon disconnected the internet service and said it was owed $18,489, according to the complaint.
“The letter,” New Path says, “did not give any specific description regarding such balance.”
New Path rejected the charges, according to the complaint, and in January Verizon billed the business for $22,147.
New Path is accusing Verizon of breach of contract for charging “way above the agreed amount,” unjust enrichment for allegedly taking $40,596 from the company’s bank account without justification, and fraud for misrepresenting the terms of the contract.
Verizon did not respond to an email asking for its side of the story.
New Path is represented by Queens attorney Yangting Guo.
