Comcast has agreed to pay $23 million to Oregon consumers who said their late fees were excessive under that state’s law.
Under the terms of the settlement, affected consumers will receive $16 per illegal late fee, up to $32. Consumers who say they were charged more than two illegal late fees must present proof, such as a receipt or a cancelled check. Consumers can also collect more than $32 if they sign a notarized oath attesting to the numerous late fees. Comcast will also donate $75,000 to the Oregon Food Bank and the United Way.
Up to 75,000 Oregon consumers may be able to collect under the agreement.
Suit covers seven-year span
The suit, which was filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court, was certified as a class action last March, and proceeded on behalf of “all current and former Oregon residents who: 1) are or were Comcast cable television subscribers in Oregon after July 14, 2003 and 2) who, during the class period, paid a late fee responsive to a billing from Comcast that did not comply with [Oregon law].”
The settlement covers consumers who were charged excessive late fees between July 14, 2003 and November 22, 2010.
Economic Fairness Oregon, a consumer advocacy group based in Portland, predicted on its blog that “a large portion of this $23 million settlement will go unclaimed. Under current Oregon law, the remaining money will be returned to Comcast, despite the company’s alleged wrongdoing.”
“This case is a prime example of a company raking in huge amounts of money by unfairly charging tens of thousands of customers a relatively small amount,” the group continued. “Since many customers don’t have the time to challenge each $6 late fee, Comcast was able to overcharge millions of dollars in late fees from Oregonians over the span of the last seven years ... Thanks to class-action suits such as this, Comcast and other companies that choose not to play by the rules are held financially accountable for deceiving their customers.”
Liability denied
Comcast denied any liability in settling the suit, but “concluded that it is in the best interest of Plaintiffs and the Settlement Class ... to enter into [the] Settlement Agreement.” In a written statement, an Oregon representative of the company wrote that Comcast “denies liability and maintains that the late fees are legal.”
Claim forms can be found at the official settlement website.
Consumer complaints
ConsumerAffairs has heard from several Comcast customers complaining of late fees. As Marissa of Miami wrote:
"First off, I was already a Comcast customer but moved to a new location and they charged me another service of installation fee to have my service switched to the new address. Second, I set up automatic bill pay but for some reason it wasn't working. I was charged a $5 late fee for not having my payment in on time. When I spoke to Comcast they apologized and gave me a credit on my next bill. They assured me that automatic bill pay was set up properly but that sometimes it takes a couple of months to work.
"The next month the same thing happened. I had to go through the same process of calling them to credit my account. Again, they assured me it was set up properly and to just wait one more month. The same thing happened for a third time and I quit trying to use the automatic bill pay. They did credit my account but I had to spend time waiting on the phone and explaining the situation every time."
