Watchdog Blog

Comcast Getting Push Back

Last month, when we warned that consumer rights were being threatened by a little pamphlet quietly slipped into cable bills by Comcast, there was an outcry from Comcast customers. Now elected officials in Maryland are taking notice.

Today, the Washington Post reports that the Montgomery County Executive and at least one member of the state legislature are taking extraordinary steps to alert residents about the anti-consumer practice of binding mandatory arbitration:

"Comcast's unilateral action to change the subscriber agreement, with an artificial 30-day deadline, is simply anti-consumer," council member Duchy Trachtenberg (D-At Large), who chairs a management and fiscal policy committee, said in the release.

Jane E. Lawton (D), a state delegate who also serves as county cable administrator, called the policy change "one-sided."

County Executive Isiah Leggett said: "Vendors should not change the terms of service without first receiving the consent of the consumer, and the fact that Comcast has not done this is disturbing."

Comcast isn’t telling where else they are forcing consumers with disputes into binding arbitration without any recourse in the civil justice system.  We have heard reports of the notice being found in cable bills in Florida, D.C., Virginia, Delaware, and Massachusetts. However, Comcast operates in 39 states and the District of Columbia, so chances are other states are affected.      

What can you do? We have opt-out instructions and other ideas on our former blog post.  But you also might contact your county and state representatives and complain loudly about Comcast’s bad business practices.

Protect Your Rights – Opt Out of the "Comcastic" Fine Print

This month, Comcast consumers in Maryland had a little pamphlet called "Arbitration Notice" quietly slipped into their cable bill.

All the legalese can be boiled down to one sentence: "You have 30 days to opt-out of being automatically enrolled in our arbitration clause, thereby forfeiting your right to settle disputes with Comcast in a court of law in a trial by judge or jury."

This unfair and stealthy move by Comcast strips consumers of their rights. Access to justice in the courts is a longstanding cornerstone of corporate accountability.  Arbitration, on the other hand, is a private system stacked in favor of corporations – and an arbitrator’s decision, even if it’s wrong or absurd, cannot be appealed on the merits. 

Comcast is not just bullying consumers in Maryland, whose deadline to opt-out is July 15, 2007.  They are forcing consumers elsewhere into giving up their rights.  The mandatory binding arbitration is now a fixture in the Comcast “Terms of Use”.

Here’s how to stand up to Comcast and its corporate bullying:

• Opt Out: Go to Comcast's online opt-out form and preserve your rights (Don't forget to check the opt-out box!).  This will NOT affect your service.
• Make Noise: Call up Comcast – 1-800-COMCAST (1-800-266-2278) – and complain that they are automatically enrolling customers into their arbitration clause.  Demand to be allowed to opt-out of the binding mandatory arbitration clause!
• Tell a friend: email this post to friends and family.

You also can support the newly introduced legislation to ban the most egregious uses of binding mandatory arbitration clauses.  Be sure to tell us about your experiences with Comcast in the comments section below.