Paul Tassin  |  April 19, 2017

Category: Consumer News

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Lafayette - Circa December 2016: Comcast Service Center. Comcast is a multinational mass media company IXA California cable subscriber accuses Comcast of tacking on bogus fees after making false promises of fixed monthly rates for cable service.

Plaintiff Joseph Loomis claims Comcast has been running a “massive bait-and-switch scheme” exploiting more than 2 million California customers.

He says Comcast advertises service packages at a lower price, then tacks fees onto subscribers’ bills that were never disclosed in the original subscription agreements.

Loomis is challenging fees that appear on subscribers’ bills as a Broadcast TV fee and a Regional Sports fee. Comcast allegedly describes these fees as mandatory charges required by federal law, he says.

But Loomis says these fees are “discretionary disguised double-charges for the channels that Comcast has promised are already included in the lower advertised package price,” according to this Comcast class action lawsuit.

Comcast allegedly uses these fees as part of a scheme to lure customers into one- and two-year contracts at supposedly guaranteed rates, Loomis says. Once the subscriber agrees to the contract, Loomis claims, Comcast starts adding undisclosed fees. The company allegedly reserves the right to add more and more fees and to increase them at will, according to this Comcast class action lawsuit.

Loomis reports having a Comcast customer service experience so bad it could make anyone want to sue.

His troubles allegedly began in June 2016, when a salesperson at a Verizon store offered him a Comcast upgrade package for $65 per month plus taxes and fees. Later that day, he says, he received a confirmation email showing that the new plan he had signed up for was significantly more expensive than what the salesperson had promised.

In attempting to get his service plan sorted out, Loomis says he then went through a slew of contacts and negotiations with Comcast online chat agents. Different agents offered him different solutions, some of which ran contrary to what he had been told by other Comcast agents, Loomis claims.

Loomis says he finally settled on a service plan he could accept. But the next month, he says he got a Comcast bill that included a Broadcast TV fee and a Regional Sports fee, bumping his monthly bill to $8 more than what he had been promised.

Calls to Comcast and a complaint to the Federal Communications Commission failed to get these disputed fees off his bill, he says. He claims Comcast agents “falsely” told him these fees are mandatory “taxes” that are required by federal law.

Loomis proposes to represent a plaintiff Class that would include all persons in California who within the applicable statutory limitations period were charged a Broadcast TV fee or a Regional Sports fee by Comcast.

He seeks a court order barring Comcast from charging fees to customers who are currently under minimum term agreements that resulted from the alleged misconduct described here. He is also seeking an award of damages, restitution and disgorgement, and reimbursement of court costs and attorneys’ fees.

Loomis is represented by attorneys Daniel M. Hattis of Hattis Law, Jason Skaggs of Skaggs Faucette LLP and Tony J. Tanke of the Law Offices of Tony J. Tanke.

The Comcast Improper Fees Class Action Lawsuit is Joseph Loomis v. Comcast Corp. and Comcast Cable Communications LLC, Case No. 3:17-cv-02110, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

UPDATE: The Comcast ‘Bait-and-Switch’ Cable Rates Class Action Lawsuit was voluntarily dismissed on August 17, 2017. Top Class Actions will let our viewers know if a new class action lawsuit is filed.

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287 thoughts onComcast Class Action Alleges ‘Bait-and-Switch’ Cable Rates

  1. Ian McKenzie says:

    Dear Federal Trade Commission,

    I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing to bring to your attention a distressing situation I have encountered with Xfinity, a telecommunications provider. I believe I have fallen victim to a deceptive promotion and subsequent unjust charges.

    Allow me to provide a detailed overview of the circumstances. When I initially signed up for Xfinity, I transferred my phone from a previous carrier to their service. Subsequently, I contacted their customer support to explore the possibility of modifying my Xfinity internet plan due to financial constraints and the absence of a specific channel, CNN. During this interaction, an agent offered me a promotion featuring two complimentary phones, promising that I would observe a credit on my bill to offset the cost of these devices. Additionally, they assured me that accepting the offer would also lead to a reduction in my internet bill, which was my primary concern at the time.

    However, contrary to the agent’s assurance, I observed that I have been charged for both phones since February 2023, substantially increasing my monthly bill by over 300%. When I raised this issue with Xfinity, their response was disheartening. They claimed that I was ineligible for the promotion from the outset and pointed to my phone activations as proof of my acceptance of the offer.

    In my attempt to resolve this matter, I spent more than two hours on the phone with their customer service representatives, emphasizing that I was explicitly instructed to activate the phones as part of the promotion’s fulfillment. Nonetheless, they have remained resolute in their refusal to take back the phones, refund the incurred charges, or honor the promotion they offered.

    As an individual living alone and working and studying from home, my reliance on Wi-Fi allowed me to maintain a modest monthly bill of $17 prior to the promotion. Now, I am burdened with both allegedly “free” phones, which are essentially ornamental, as they serve no essential purpose beyond connecting to my home Wi-Fi network.

    I firmly believe that I was manipulated into accepting an unsolicited promotion that I neither requested nor inquired about, only to find myself facing unexpected financial consequences. Despite presenting my case and urging Xfinity to review the recorded conversation and transcript, which would substantiate the promised promotion and its terms, my pleas have been dismissed.

    Given the gravity of this situation, I am seeking your assistance in investigating this matter and mediating a resolution with Xfinity. I feel victimized by their deceptive tactics and the consequent financial strain I am experiencing. My goal is to have the unjust charges reversed, the promotion honored, or the option to return the phones without any penalties.

    Thank you for your attention to this matter, and I trust that the Federal Trade Commission will take appropriate actions to ensure fair and just consumer practices.

    Sincerely,

    1. Charles Owens says:

      Add me to this comcast scam

  2. Christine Marie Goudin says:

    add me to this Illegal Comcast Scam on us Customers

    1. Neshell Carter says:

      Please add me

    2. Shant Temirian says:

      Please add me. I work as an IT Professional and have been for the last 15+ years. I have 3 certifications in Computers. I’ve been an online gamer for 28 years. I’ve used every internet connection there is to use. Unlike most people, I can professionally testify and call out Comcast for the lies they spew even to the FCC.

      In my area, they are falsely advertising speeds they cannot provide, committing Consumer Fraud, and Deceptive Practices in regards to Billing.

      Their response to the FCC as quoted:

      Due to factors outside of Comcast’s control, however, Comcast cannot guarantee that a customer will
      achieve those speeds at all times, and it makes that clear in its advertising and pricing information
      disclosures.

      Comcast 50-100% of the speed is agreeable, NOT below 33%. You have no leg to stand on with that argument.

      Another response to the FCC as quoted:

      There are a number of factors that could be affecting Mr. Temirian’s “actual” Internet
      speeds, including the speed at which the edge provider sending the content transmits,

      Comcast’s response above is BS. I was speed testing their own servers and getting less than 33% of advertised speeds and I have spreadsheets to prove it. I’ve been tracking data for months regarding my speed issues, and they have never been able to fix the issue but expect me to pay full price? I don’t think so.

      1. Shant Temirian says:

        I also have current standing FTC, Michigan Attorney General’s Office complaints in processing.

  3. Sophos Giatros says:

    I would like to be added to any lawsuit. I have had repeated difficulties with the self-serving misstatements of their reps, the fine print that is itself impossible to decipher, outright lies, “no records” of prior phone calls or statements made by service people, linesmen, and billing “reps.”

    I can be reached at Sophos.giatros@gmail.com

  4. William rider says:

    Hi my name is duane and I live in martinsburg ….wva… I am a renter of a house for the past three years.comcast has the market cornered here ,there are no options.comcast did not do the the rite thing with their cables when the comcast tech hooked their cables to my network……..comcast techs did not do what your standard installation calls for in any given situation…….comcast techs did not clasp the the cables to the underside of the floor joists .instead comcast techs allowed their cables to lay down on a muddy crawlspace floor…oh yes my splitter too!!!!

  5. Kelly Arbor says:

    I would like to be added to this lawsuit. I live in California, and also have the “Broadcast TV fee” I am disputing. I do not even have Cable service – I have Xfinity Instant TV, which I was told was a Beta add-on to my high speed Internet. I have a contradictory chat conversation saved, in which the supervisor tried to say I have cable service, which clearly I don’t. I will be contacting Daniel M. Hattis.

    Also, those broadcast fees are not mandated fees, and they are different from market to market. Comcast needs to come clean with its customers.

  6. Lesa Demps says:

    My name is Lesa and I live in Chicago Heights,Illinois.Since August 2015 I have had the worst experiences with Comcast.I have been constantly lied to about service plans and fees,my phone service is interrupted on a daily basis,my internet run incredibly slow and the list goes on.When speaking to the customer service agents,they try to fast talk and treat me like I’m an idiot.If after an hour or more on the call I am offered any type of credit,the following month, that same credit I was promised,will appear as a “BALANCE FORWARD”. This cycle has been repeating itself for almost three years, and I’m fed up!It is time to put an end to this corporate theft and bullying

  7. Jessica W. says:

    My issue is Comcast had stated on 2 separate occasions prior to my self install that they will waive the $60 fee for sending someone out to my house because the internet was not working. After the guy arrived it turned out that the Comcast rep from the store gave me the wrong Modem. I was given the correct modem and installed it myself. Comcast is now stating that their “notes” only state someone was sent to my location, they do not have the authority to waive the complete installation fee. I have requested on 4 separate calls to have the phone calls pulled as they are recorded and monitored for quality assurance and i am just told it will take up to 2 months for this to be completed, but they will give a partial fee refund. This is a constant issue with this company. They promise the world to get you to sign up, and once you have service they charge you for whatever they want because they only type the notes that will benefit them, not the customer. I will never use this service again.

  8. ragina says:

    HOW DO I GET ADDED? THANKS

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