SEATTLE, Aug. 1 (UPI) — The state of Washington is expected to file a $100 million consumer lawsuit on Monday against Comcast over a “pattern of deceptive practices” affecting 500,000 customers.
Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson will file the lawsuit, which alleges Comcast carried out more than 1.8 million individual violations of the Washington Consumer Protection Act.
Though the details of the lawsuit have not been revealed, a statement by Comcast suggests it is related to repair costs to costumers, The Seattle Times reported.
“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. We worked with the attorney general’s office to address every issue they raised, and we made several improvements based on their input,” Beth Hester, Comcast vice president of external affairs in Washington state, said in a statement.
“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.”
Washington state often uses the Consumer Protection Act to sue businesses when it feels residents have been misled. The state in May filed suit against Johnson & Johnson over a vaginal mesh implant product, and in December it filed suit against the iYogi tech company, alleging the company would make users believe their computer had a virus while asking for money to fix it.
I suspect that if Comcast loses, every customer will get $1.23. What a colossal waste of time for every one… except I’m sure the gov’ment will get a sizeable chunk and of course, the lawyers will get the elephant’s share. I know… “WHO SAID LIFE IS FAIR?”