Comcast Corp. agreed to pay $950,000 and cancel debts for 20,000 Xfinity customers in Massachusetts to settle a civil investigation by the state attorney general into deceptive advertising over "lock-in" prices that actually escalated over contract periods because of broadcast television and regional sports fees, court documents show.
According to philly.com, consumer activists say hidden fees in cable bills can boost monthly TV bills by 25 percent. A California class action lawsuit claimed that Comcast earns $2 billion a year from them nationally.
When thousands of Comcast customers in Massachusetts learned of the higher cable bills because of the fees, they dropped their TV service but also incurred termination fees of $240 to cancel long-term contracts, according to the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office.
As part of the settlement reached last week, Comcast will issue refunds to Massachusetts consumers who paid early termination fees after downgrading their service or being involuntarily disconnected by Comcast between January 2015 and March 2016. Comcast cooperated with the investigation.
Comcast denied wrongdoing, saying that it was avoiding protracted and costly litigation with the settlement. The Philadelphia company also said it had "enhanced disclosures" in its advertising.
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