Comcast subscribers lose right to sue
If you are a Comcast cable subscriber and are living in Montgomery county, MD then you may be giving up some of your rights as a consumer to a giant telco. You might want to read your July bill just a little closer this time.
Jane Lawton, Montgomery County’s cable administrator says Comcast has changed your subscription agreement terms. You can opt out of the “Comcast Arbitration Notice” within 30 days but if you do not do so then you’ve pretty much relinquished all your legal rights to Comcast and the right to sue the company as well but don’t worry, Comcast still has the right to sue you, isn’t that nice?
Comcast is pretty confident about this move since it sent the notice out without county approval. According to WTOP radio:
“Comcast customers can “opt out” of the Arbitration Notice either online or by mail (include name, address, account number and a statement that you do not wish to resolve disputes with Comcast through arbitration):
Comcast
1500 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102
ATTN: Legal Department/Arbitration”
It’s not clear if subscribers outside of Montgomery county are affected as well.
Comcast declined an interview but released this statement, ”Comcast strives to resolve customer concerns quickly, without the need for arbitration or litigation. That said, arbitration has been a part of Comcast’s terms and conditions of service for several years. Comcast recently revised its existing arbitration policy to be worded in a more consumer-friendly fashion, to include a 30-day opt out provision and more clearly specify the choices customers have for resolving disputes with the company.”
Now, I’ve never had a problem with Comcast service or customer service, the Internet or cable never goes down (and when it becomes unresponsive, it seems most people don’t know to reset the modem and now… hopefully they do, if that doesn’t work then there is a service error but in my area they are fast and efficient, exactly the opposite of other areas).
It did go down once due to a hurricane but lots of things went down, that’s the one and only time Comcast went out for us.
Related Posts:
July 30th, 2007
Considering the horrible customer service I always encountered with Comcast, it’s hardly a surprise that this would be their next move. After all, no matter what goes wrong, it’s the customer’s fault and you’re just lucky that they’ll still take your money.
July 30th, 2007
It seems there are greatly varying degrees of Comcast service… like I said, in my area, it’s more positive…
September 2nd, 2008
The Washington State Supreme Court just this week ruled that such provisions are “unconscionable” under Washington’s consumer protection laws and thus the *entire* agreement is null and void and cannot be enforced. I’d like to see Maryland and other states adopt as robust consumer protection laws as Washington’s.
September 2nd, 2008
The Washington State Supreme Court just this week unanimously ruled that such provisions in an AT&T contract are “unconscionable” under Washington’s consumer protection laws and thus the *entire* agreement is null and void and cannot be enforced. The same will be true of Comcast’s agreement in that state.
I’d like to see Maryland and other states adopt as robust consumer protection laws as Washington’s.