SEATTLE -- Washington state is suing Comcast for $100 million, saying the cable and Internet provider misled consumers about the scope of its service protection plan, charged fees for services that were supposed to be free, and conducted improper credit checks.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson says it's the first case of its kind in the U.S. Ferguson alleges there were more than 1.8 million individual violations of the Washington state Consumer Protection Act.
“This case is a classic example of a big corporation deceiving its customers for financial gain,” Ferguson said. “I won’t allow Comcast to continue to put profits above customers and the law.”
The biggest alleged violation concerns Comcast's Service Protection Plan, which cost $4.99 per month. Ferguson said this allegedly misleading plan cost 500,000 Comcast customers at least $73 million in fees over the past five years.
Ferguson said Comcast promised customers taking part in the plan they would not be charged for service calls involving internal wiring. But Ferguson said Comcast did not specify that the plan did not including wiring inside the walls.
The AG's Office added that customer service scripts obtained in the investigation directed Comcast representatives to say the plan covers service calls “related to inside wiring” or “wiring inside your home" -- something the AG says is not true in regards to the majority of wiring.
The AG's office also says the plan misleads customers regarding what is covered under service calls for consumer-owned equipment.
Comcast claims the restrictions are part of the plans terms and conditions, according to the AGs Office, but Ferguson says a customer had to search Comcast's website to find it. He says Comcast did not provide the information to customers and did not require them to approve the terms.
Ferguson also accused Comcast of charging for other services that should have been free. Comcast allegedly promised customers it would not charge them for a service visit resulting from a problem that was Comcast's fault. But Ferguson said thousands of customers were charged anyway.
Ferguson says Comcast even provided its technicians with a service call code to add a charge for a service that should have been free.
Finally, the AG's Office says Comcast conducted thousands of improper credit checks of customers, thereby dinging their credit score. Ferguson said Comcast required an equipment deposit which can be waived if a customer had a high credit score. But 6,000 Washington customers allegedly had to pay the deposit despite credit checks showing a high score, or they paid the deposit, but Comcast ran their credit anyway.
The AG's Office is seeking:
- $73 million for the Service Protection Plan
- $1 million for the service calls that should have been free
- Removal of improper credit checks from over 6,000 customers
- Up to $2,000 per violation of the Consumer Protection Act
- Correct the issues that led to the allegations
Ferguson said his office informed Comcast of the violations over a year ago, but the company didn't begin making changes until recently.
It's not clear how much individual customers could receive in refunds if the state wins or settles the lawsuit.
Comcast released this statement Monday:
“The Service Protection Plan has given those Washington consumers who chose to purchase it great value by completely covering over 99% of their repair calls. We worked with the Attorney General’s office to address every issue they raised, and we made several improvements based on their input. Given that we were committed to continue working collaboratively with the Attorney General’s office, we’re surprised and disappointed that they have instead chosen litigation. We stand behind our products and services and will vigorously defend ourselves.”
