Washington State Files $100M Lawsuit Against Comcast

Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson on Monday filed a $100 million lawsuit against Comcast Corp., saying the cable and internet giant deceived customers into paying tens of millions of dollars in fees for a “near-worthless” service protection plan.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Ferguson, who filed the lawsuit in King County Superior Court, said at a news conference that in addition to its misleading service protection plan, Philadelphia-based Comcast committed more than 1.8 million violations of the state’s Consumer Protection Act by charging improper service call fees and using improper credit screening practices.

“This case is a classic example of a big corporation systematically deceiving Washington state consumers and putting profits above those consumers,” said Mr. Ferguson.

According to the lawsuit, Comcast misled 500,000 customers in Washington state by having them pay a $4.99 monthly fee to avoid being charged if a technician visited their home to fix an issue covered by the plan. But Mr. Ferguson said the company didn’t reveal that the plan didn’t cover repairs to wiring inside a wall. As part of the investigation, customers contacted Comcast numerous times. Mr. Ferguson said that 75 % of the time, Comcast representatives falsely told the customers that the plan covered all inside wiring.

More than $73 million of the amount that Mr. Ferguson is seeking is for restitution to customers who paid for the protection plan over the past five years.

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