Comcast is on the receiving end of the largest fine ever levied by the FCC against a cable company after customer complaints that it added services and products to customers’ bills that they never ordered and in some cases explicitly declined.
Comcast agreed to the $2.3 million civil penalty and will submit a “compliance plan” and be monitored for five years to see that it doesn’t repeat the actions that led to the fine. CNN Money reports that FCC Enforcement Bureau chief Travis LeBlanc said in a statement, “It is basic that a cable bill should include charges only for services and equipment ordered by the customer — nothing more and nothing less.”
The FCC received more than 1,000 complaints from Comcast customers that the service provider had charged them for cable boxes, DVRs, and premium channels as well as other products they never ordered. Customers also reported that they spent “significant time and energy to attempt to remove the unauthorized charges.”
The compliance plan requires Comcast to send special notices to customers every time a new service or charge is added to their bill. The cable operator must also create a way for customers to easily prevent new services and products from being added to their bills. Comcast is also restricted from cutting off service for nonpayment to customers with disputed items on their bills.
Comcast did not admit guilt as part of the settlement and in a statement to Ars Technica, related that the complaints did not indicate a systemic problem. “The changes the Bureau asked us to make were in most cases changes we had already committed to make, and many were already well underway or in our work plan to implement in the near future,” the statement read.