Washington State to file $100 million suit against Comcast alleging 'deceptive practices'

Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced today that his office will file a $100 million lawsuit against Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) on behalf of the state's consumers. 

"The lawsuit accuses Comcast of engaging in a pattern of deceptive practices constituting more than 1.8 million individual violations of the Washington Consumer Protection Act," said a statement from the attorney general's office. "The company's conduct impacted approximately 500,000 Washington state consumers."

The attorney general's office will conduct a press conference at 10:30 a.m. PST today to disclose further details about the lawsuit. 

According to Comcast spokesperson Jenni Moyer, the suit revolves around Comcast's Service Protection Plan, which charges a monthly fee for maintenance of in-home wiring. 

"The Service Protection Plan has given those Washington consumers who chose to purchase it great value by completely covering over 99 percent of their repair calls," Comcast said.

"We worked with the attorney general's office to address every issue they raised, and we made several improvements based on their input," the MSO added. "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."

Last week, Comcast said it recorded its 29th consecutive month of customer growth, driven it claimed in large part due to improvements in customer service. 

The MSO recorded its lowest second-quarter video subscriber losses in a decade, losing only 4,000 pay-TV customers. 

For more:
- read this Seattle Times story

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