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Advertising The Almighty Buck The Courts

Comcast Forced To Refund $700,000 To Customers Over Misleading Fees (vice.com) 87

Posted by BeauHD from the slap-on-the-wrist dept.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Motherboard: Comcast has been forced to shell out $700,000 in refunds and cancel the debt of more than 20,000 Massachusetts customers after a state attorney general investigation found the company routinely jacks up consumer bills via a bevy of misleading fees. An investigation by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healy found that Comcast routinely advertises one rate, then charges customers up to 40 percent more when the bill for service actually arrives. When shocked customers then tried to cancel or downgrade to cheaper broadband and TV plans, Healy's office found they were socked with a $240 fee for violating long-term contracts. Many users were promised a locked-in rate of $99, but hidden fees and surcharges quickly left many with service plans they couldn't afford, the AG said. Under the new settlement with Massachusetts, Comcast must forgive all outstanding debts for unpaid early termination fees and related late fees, clearly disclose all fees in future advertisements, and train the company's service reps to more clearly outline billing caveats. "Comcast stuck too many Massachusetts customers with lengthy, expensive contracts that left many in debt and others with damaged credit," Healy said in a statement. "Customers have a right to clear information about the products and services they buy. This settlement should encourage the entire cable and telecommunications industry to take a close look at their advertisements and make sure customers are getting a fair offer."
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Comcast Forced To Refund $700,000 To Customers Over Misleading Fees More

Comcast Forced To Refund $700,000 To Customers Over Misleading Fees

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  • That will show the bastards! (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 14, 2018 @05:04PM (#57645360)
    1 minute of profit, poof.

    • So no punishment then (Score:5, Insightful)

      by ranton ( 36917 ) on Wednesday November 14, 2018 @05:15PM (#57645434)

      I missed the part of the story where Comcast was punished at all. Lengthy costly lawsuits and in the end they only have to give the money back with no punitive penalties? That's a real sweet deal there.

      • Normally I’d say something about damage to their brand but this is Comcast we’re talking about here.

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

        What happens if your credit rating was damaged? You might be paying more for a mortgage, or not have got one at all.

        In the UK you could get restitution, i.e. they would pay off part of your mortgage or whatever other losses you suffered, as well as the amount they over-charged. Does it not work that way in the US?

        • In the UK corporations do not control the government like they do in the US.
          I am not claiming there is no corruption, but it is not part of the system.

  • It is outright fraud. (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Fly Swatter ( 30498 ) on Wednesday November 14, 2018 @05:10PM (#57645396) Homepage
    The reason they can get away with it is because the 'taxes' part of the additional fees varies by region and government. Since it varies it can't be a flat advertised price. The 'and fees' part though, should be outright illegal if you advertise a 'price for a service'. This is supposed to be what regulated monopolies and utilities is supposed to not allow happen...

    • The reason they can get away with it is because ...

      Did you miss the part where they didn't get away with it and had to refund $700k?

      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by Anonymous Coward

        "The lawsuit stated that Comcast nets roughly $1 billion in additional revenue from such fees annually."

        So they were required to refund $700,000 for hidden fees not disclosed when customers signed contracts and these hidden fees have made Comcast around $1 billion.

        For the judgment to actually have teeth, they would have had to refund the whole $1 billion, plus a fine of at least another $1 billion. This judgment was just a slap on the wrist that is typical of current government enforcement on large companie

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by NicknameUnavailable ( 4134147 )

        Did you miss the part where they didn't get away with it and had to refund $700k?

        You mean $35 per defrauded customer, or 0.07% of what they stole? Yeah, that'll show em, I'm sure they'll update their next act of mass fraud to ensure they make up that 0.07% such that they can pocket a cool billion.

        • So how much did the lawyers get?
          • Generally: everything left over due to people who thought it was a scam when they were notified or otherwise didn't want to go through the hassle of filling out a form and waiting a month for a check to be snail mailed for $35 - so probably about 90% of it.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Uberbah ( 647458 )

            So how much did the lawyers get?

            So why do people always ask this asinine question? Lawyers in a class action pay all of the costs and take all of the risks. Don't like it - hire you own damn lawyer. Secondly, if the choice is between letting the money that was ripped off from you stay in the hands of the thieves that stole it, or giving it to some party that didn't harm you - or hell burn it in a pile in the street - what are you going to chose?

            • We ask this question because lawyers write the laws that govern the outcome, sit on the bench to adjudicate and are required to seek effective redress. If lawyers created a system where they profit, but the injured party is never made whole that matters. i.e. if lawyers make sure they get theirs when the victim doesn't that matters; when the injustice would make a nice sound-bite for a news story lawyers make the rule looser pays legal fees of winner so they don't come out of the award that should be making

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      And the "punishment" here is to pay back to clients what was taken, and nothing more.

      No punitive damages? No compensatory payments to those whose lives where harmed by this debt? No jail time for the assholes responsible?

      Not even a few hours of community service?

      I'd say the bastards got away with it.

    • "The reason they can get away with it is because the 'taxes' part of the additional fees varies by region and government. Since it varies it can't be a flat advertised price."

      There is no obligation to make the customer pay taxes and fees individually on top of the prices as opposed to including them in the price. As an example, my T-Mobile $60 per month wireless plan results in me being billed exactly $60 per month. Any taxes and fees are paid out of that $60 dollars.

  • The twist (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    They are refunding them in bitcoin.

  • Competition (Score:5, Insightful)

    by DaMattster ( 977781 ) on Wednesday November 14, 2018 @05:13PM (#57645420)
    It's news like this that proves competition is good. In areas where there are only one or two options for internet and TV, shit like this can happen almost unchecked. Unregulated monopolies are only good for one party, the corporation. Without competition, you get slow and shitty service.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by rojash ( 2567409 )
      Thats one area where this nation befuddles me. Competition everywhere else except in the stupid utilities. SO what if they built the infra ?? Just have us pay extra to the others who come in. Ridiculous ancients still run this darn economy like the Monopoly guy and no one seems to mind. But anything about the fucking Kardashians or football or voyeuristic TV and they are all over it.
  • And vote in your mid terms and even your primaries. This [youtube.com] is why it's so important to vote. People don't realize how much power elected government officials wield. But I guarantee you Corporations do [youtube.com]

  • Don't try that in Europe (Score:4, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 14, 2018 @05:16PM (#57645438)

    If you try that in Europe there's a very good chance you will end up in a criminal court and you are probably then going to jail.

    I've never understood why you Americans take so much abuse just because it's dished out by a private company.

    • We Americans have no choice. None of us know where the private company stops, and government begins. ...or if there's a difference at all.
      • We have the best politicians that money can buy, and corporations have a lot of money... er, I mean speech!

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by silverkniveshotmail. ( 713965 )

      I've never understood why you Americans take so much abuse just because it's dished out by a private company.

      My favorite thing we like to do is blame the consumer for everything.

      Did Comcast screw you over for years? you're stupid!

      Did Apple lie to you about your warranty rights? Moron!

  • It's too bad I'm in a Republican state. (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    This would never happen here.

  • Nobody ever regretted buying their way out of their contract. $240 is a lot, but it's not a lot-lot, and it's better than being stuck upside down in a contract you can't afford.

  • The part I like: (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Where it said "Comcast stuck too many Massachusetts customers." So if they had only screwed fewer customers they would have been happy to overlook that little problem with billing.

  • Better idea (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Disincorporate Comcast in the entirety and execute the stockholders.

    Their behavior is cruel and exploitative, though not unusual at all. So we need to stop it.

    Once and for all.

    • Disincorporate Comcast in the entirety and execute the stockholders.

      For that you'll have to wait until January, when the new Congress gets seated. But for now it's amazing that a state government actually sided with consumers against a such a House Major of Harkonnen nobility as Comcast. Can the rabble already dream of generic epinephrine injectors now?

      • Disincorporate Comcast in the entirety and execute the stockholders.

        For that you'll have to wait until January, when the new Congress gets seated.

        It's refreshing to see someone admit that the Democrats are willing to kill people just because they're retirement plan includes tech stocks.

  • That'll show them. Any company that is caught scamming that many people deserves to be shut down, no if's and's or but's.
  • I had a one-year contract, moved a couple blocks, they insisted on canceling the contract, creating a new account, and jacking my rate up $40/month... after telling me when I got the contract that moving it to another address was no problem.

  • So, how is that capitalism working out for you?

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