Back in 2016 Washington’s State Attorney General Bob Ferguson sued Comcast accusing them of tricking customers into buying a “near-worthless protection plan without disclosing its significant limitations.” This plan costs $5 a month and quickly added up to huge profits for Comcast.
It was even found that Comcast had enrolled customers into the service plans even when customers “explicitly rejected” the offer.
Now King County Superior Court Judge Timothy Bradshaw ruled that “Comcast violated the Consumer Protection Act more than 445,000 times when it charged tens of thousands of Washingtonians for its Service Protection Plan without their consent.”
The ruling went on to say that Comcast must refund 50,000 customers and pay a $9.1 million fine.
“The court found that Comcast added the SPP to the accounts of 30,946 Washingtonians without their knowledge, and did not tell an additional 18,660 Washingtonians the true cost of the plan. The court ordered Comcast to refund affected consumers, and pay 12 percent interest on the restitution. The amount of restitution is unknown at this time, but is expected to be significant. The court ordered Comcast to issue the refunds within 60 days and report to the state on the specific details and amounts.” Washington’s AG said in a statement.
Update: Comcast sent Cord Cutters News the following statement:
“We’re pleased that the Court ruled in our favor on several of the Attorney General’s key claims and awarded less than 5 percent of what he was seeking in damages. The Judge recognized that any issues he did find have since been fully addressed by Comcast through the significant investments we have made in improving the customer experience and consent process, and that throughout Comcast acted in good faith. We will continue to make significant investments in how we serve our customers because it is the right thing to do and are fully committed to our customers in Washington state.”
Source: ArsTechnica
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