"Comcast stuck too many Massachusetts customers with lengthy, expensive contracts that left many in debt and others with damaged credit," Healey said.
As a result, customers entered long-term contracts that they could not afford; the inadequately disclosed fees typically raised customers' bills by 40 percent over the advertised price, the AG said.
"These customers were required to pay early termination fees of up to $240 to cancel long-term contracts, even when they downgraded Comcast services to a more affordable monthly package," the announcement said.
Comcast agreed to provide refunds to all Massachusetts customers "who paid early termination fees after downgrading their service or being involuntarily disconnected by Comcast between January 2015 and March 2016," the AG's announcement said.
Comcast will also forgive outstanding debts for unpaid early termination fees and related late fees.
Finally, the settlement requires Comcast to improve the disclosures it makes to customers before they sign long-term contracts.
"Comcast must disclose the existence of additional fees in all advertisements, and train sales representatives to disclose true monthly service prices to customers before they enter long-term contracts," the AG's office said. »
