Pa. Attorney General Urges Comcast Customers to Come Forward Following $100 Million Lawsuit

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Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane is reviewing Washington state’s recently-filed $100 million lawsuit against Philly-based cable giant Comcast and urging the state’s customers to come forward if they think they were misled by the company.

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced the lawsuit Monday, claiming that Comcast illegally deceived customers into paying the company tens of millions of dollars by misrepresenting its Service Protection Plan and charging customers unnecessary fees for credit screening practices and service calls.

The suit alleges that Comcast deceived more than 500,000 subscribers of its Service Protection Plan, which Ferguson deemed  “near worthless” and “significantly” limited. Customers paid at least $73 million in subscription fees for the program throughout the last five years, according to a statement released by Ferguson.

Comcast’s Service Protection Plan is a nationwide program — meaning Pennsylvania’s Attorney General could potentially file a similar lawsuit. Comcast faces accusations of more than 1.8 million violations of Washington state’s Consumer Protections Act.

The suit alleges that the company’s “Comcast Guarantee” misled nearly all of the state’s roughly 1.2 million customers. Comcast issued changes to its programs as Washington state threatened the suit, according to the press release.

Kane’s spokesman told CBS that Pennsylvania customers who believe they were misled by what Ferguson referred to as “a pattern of deceptive practices” should speak up. Customers can file complaints online at attorneygeneral.gov or by calling 800-441-2555.

Comcast released the following statement regarding the lawsuit, per CBS:

“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.”

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