Comcast Class Action Says Company Runs Credit Reports Without Consent

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Comcast Corporation and Comcast Cable Communications LLC d/b/a Xfinity face a class action lawsuit alleging the companies run credit reports of consumers without their approval even though they may have paid a deposit in lieu of running a credit check.

Plaintiff Mounang Patel, a resident of Illinois, files this class action lawsuit on behalf of himself and all those similarly situated. The lawsuit indicates that the defendants run “credit reports of consumers seeking to subscribe to Xfinity’s internet and cable television services without such customers’ knowledge or consent.”

Such an action is alarming, the lawsuit states, because Xfinity offers customers the choice of paying a deposit instead of running a credit check when signing up for cable or internet services. The option exists because many customers have concerns about the impact that credit checks may have on their credit scores.

On March 19, 2017, Patel says he contacted Comcast to ask about new internet services. Since he was about to close on the purchase of a new home and having realized that running a credit check could negatively affect his score, the Comcast Cable agent allegedly suggested that Patel pay a $100 deposit in lieu of running a credit check.

However, what resulted was the plaintiff being notified that Comcast Cable had still run the credit check. The complaint alleges that, on March 21, 2017, Patel “was alerted by a credit monitoring service he subscribes to that Comcast Cable had indeed ran a credit check on March 19, 2017, despite its promise not to do so and plaintiff’s payment of the $100 security deposit,” the class action contends.

Consequently, the credit check lowered the plaintiff’s credit score and, “had an adverse effect on his ability to close on his mortgage loan, among other consequences,” the lawsuit argues.

According to the lawsuit, Comcast uses Social Security numbers to run these credit checks, which impacts a customer’s credit score. The credit check is what determines whether a deposit is necessary. If a deposit is paid, consumers may decide to bypass the credit check.

The Comcast class action lawsuit asserts that, “despite promising customers they can avoid a credit check- and the potential adverse effects on their credit rating- Comcast Cable routinely obtains their credit reports from one or all of the three major credit reporting bureaus and collects the security deposit from the customer paid to obviate the need for such checks.”

The class action alleges that the defendant is in violation of the following: 1) the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 2) Breach of Contract, 3) Promissory Estoppel, and 4) Unjust Enrichment.

The plaintiff demands a trial by jury and seeks damages, “between $100 and $1,000 per person affected by the alleged wrongdoing, punitive damages and attorneys’ fees.”

Patel is represented by William M. Sweetnam of the Sweetnam LLC.

The Comcast Credit Check Class Action Lawsuit is Mounang Patel v. Comcast Corporation, et al., Case No. 1:17-cv-02570, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division.