Comcast Pays Montgomery County's Consumer Protection Office $25,000

Montgomery County’s Office of Consumer Protection (OCP), in collaboration with the County’s Office of Cable and Broadband Services, reached an agreement with Comcast regarding the charging of “truck trip fees” when an in-house service call is made by a Comcast technician to resolve a television, internet or telephone service problem.

Between March 2007 and September 2011 the Office of Cable and Broadband Services received, and resolved, 85 complaints in which subscribers alleged that Comcast imposed a “truck trip fee” in the amount of $19.95, $29.95 or $39.95 without prior disclosure or when such fee was not appropriate due to the nature of the repair.

The 85 people who complained received a full refund, said Eric Freidman, director for the Office of Consumer Protection.

Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Comcast will provide two forms of disclosure to subscribers. The disclosure will notify consumers that a service call fee will be charged if the service problem is caused by the equipment owned by the subscriber or by the subscriber’s failure to use the equipment properly.

• A live operator will notify customers when subscribers call Comcast to schedule a service call.

• Customers will be made in a recorded telephone call to subscribers in advance of the service appointment. 

Comcast has also agreed to pay $25,000 to OCP for consumer education. This agreement is not an admission that Comcast has violated any consumer protection laws.

“The number of ‘truck trip fee’ complaints has been decreasing as the County has been working with Comcast to resolve this issue,” said Mitsuko Herrera, Montgomery County Cable and Broadband Communications Administrator. “We believe that better consumer disclosure will further reduce the number of complaints.”

Subscribers may file complaints against any of the cable franchisees by calling 240-773-8111, or by sending an email to the Office of Cable and Broadband Services at CATV.complaints@montgomerycountymd.gov.