Comcast Class Action Alleges Deceptive Wiring Repair Service Plans

Communications giant Comcast is facing a class action lawsuit that claims the company sold deceptive service plans that promised to cover repairs to interior wiring connected to internet or television equipment.

Plaintiff Kristi Landers brings the class action lawsuit against Comcast over alleged deceptive practices involving customer service plans.

Landers says that Comcast subscribers’ are billed monthly for service plan costs that covers all technician service calls, including repairs to or replacement of inside wiring.

According to the lawsuit, customers are billed a surcharge purported to pay costs associated with these services to repair wiring issues, but in actuality, cover next to nothing in practice.

“In selling its services to named plaintiff and class plaintiffs, Comcast engaged in deception in that Comcast charged named plaintiff and class plaintiffs a fee for a service plan to cover repairs on wiring inside the home of the customer that did not, in fact, cover repairs for all wiring inside the home of the customer,” the class action states.

Landers seeks to represent a state-wide Class of Missouri Comcast consumers who purchased the service plan for in-home repairs after August 2011. The proposed class action lawsuit requests compensation and punitive damages.

The Philadelphia-based cable company is also facing a similar lawsuit in the state of Washington.

Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a $100 million lawsuit against Comcast in August, saying the cable and internet company deceived customers into paying tens of millions of dollars in fees for a “near-worthless” service protection plan.

AG Ferguson said at a news conference that in addition to its misleading service protection plan, Comcast committed more than 1.8 million violations of the state’s Consumer Protection Act by charging improper service call fees and using improper credit screening practices.

“This case is a classic example of a big corporation systematically deceiving Washington state consumers and putting profits above those consumers,” said Ferguson.

The Washington State lawsuit contends that Comcast misled 500,000 customers by having them pay a $4.99 monthly fee to avoid being charged if a technician visited their home to fix an issue covered by the plan.

But Ferguson said the company didn’t reveal that the plan didn’t cover repairs to wiring inside a wall.

As part of the investigation, customers contacted Comcast numerous times. Ferguson said that 75 percent of the time, Comcast representatives falsely told the customers that the plan covered all inside wiring.

More than $73 million of the amount that Ferguson is seeking is for restitution to customers who paid for the protection plan over the past five years.

Landers is represented by Kenneth B. McClain, Jonathan M. Soper and Kevin D. Stanley of Humphrey Farrington & McClain PC.

The Comcast Wiring Service Plan Class Action Lawsuit is Kristi M. Landers, et al. v. Comcast of Missouri, Case No. 4:16-cv-01010, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.