According to a press release issued by Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s office, Comcast customer service routinely misrepresented limitations that applied to the plan’s coverage for Washington residents, failing to properly disclose that customers would be charged for service calls related to consumer-owned equipment and the fix of cable jumpers, connectors and splitters.
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The attorney general for the state of Washington is suing Comcast for $100 million, accusing the big cable company of deceptive sales practices in violation of the state’s Consumer Protection Act, Fortune reports.
The state of Washington is suing Internet giant Comcast for $100 million, following a year-long investigation into alleged misrepresentation of its Service Protection Plan and charging customers with improper service call fees. Comcast claims that its Service Protection Plan has covered over 99% of customer fix bills, but Ferguson punched holes in that theory, as his team believes the 99% only applies to specific types of fix services.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson (D) said Comcast misrepresented its supplemental service plan to customers, causing them to mistakenly believe it covered repairs costs that it did not. Comcast said that it is surprised about the lawsuit, as it has already addressed the problems being raised by the attorney general. The company said “we stand behind our products and services and will vigorously defend ourselves”. It allegedly billed customers for $73 million worth of service calls that it had said users would not be billed for.
“In short, due to limitations in the Terms and Conditions, the SPP often ends up failing to cover any repairs at all“, the complaint said. “I won’t allow Comcast to continue to put profits above customers – and the law”. However, Ferguson said that on more than 6,000 occasions, deposits were paid by people who still had their credit checked, meaning that either Comcast wrongfully ran a credit check in spite of the customers paying the deposit or else the company still made the customers pay the deposit despite their high credit score. But although Comcast representatives often told customers that the plan covered inside wiring, the majority of inside wiring was not covered, the suit alleges.
For many of them, Comcast is an essential utility, providing phone and broadband service.
Comcast also charged customers for repairs involving Comcast-owned equipment, despite saying in contracts that it repairs all problems related to its own equipment, the lawsuit alleges. The lawsuit also seeks up to $2,000 per violation of the Consumer Protection Act.
He says his office bought the concerns to Comcast more than a year ago, but Comcast only made changes when faced with legal action. “Comcast markets”, the report adds.
Since January 2011, Washington state citizens have paid Comcast $73m for SPPs, according to the attorney general.
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In addition to selling service plans that didn’t deliver, Ferguson said Comcast charged customers for service visits that were supposed to be covered under its Customer Guarantee policy.
