Washington state attorney general files suit against Comcast

(AP) — Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson on Monday filed a $100 million lawsuit against Comcast, saying the cable and internet giant deceived customers into paying tens of millions of dollars in fees for a "near-worthless" service protection plan.

Ferguson, who filed the lawsuit in King County Superior Court, said at a news conference that in addition to its misleading service protection plan, Philadelphia-based 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.

According to the lawsuit, Comcast misled 500,000 customers in Washington state 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.

The remainder of the amount he is seeking is for restitution for charging improper service call fees and for penalties related to violation of the state's consumer protection act.

[...] Ferguson said that on more than 6,000 occasions, deposits were paid by people who still had their credit checked, meaning that either Comcast wrongfully ran a credit check in spite of the customers paying the deposit or else the company still made the customers pay the deposit despite their high credit score.