Senators blast Comcast, other cable firms for “unfair billing practices”

Six Democratic Senators criticized Comcast and other TV and broadband providers for charging erroneous fees, such as cable modem rental fees billed to customers who bought their own modems. The Sens have written a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler asking the commission to "stop unfair billing practices."

In 2015, more than 30 percent of complaints to the FCC about Internet service and 38 percent of complaints about TV service were about billing, wrote Sens Ron Wyden (D-OR), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Al Franken (D-MN), Ed Markey (D-MA), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). The senators described Comcast, the nation's largest cable and broadband company, as a repeat offender. "We are troubled upon hearing complaints of consumers being charged the modem rental fee after they have returned the rented equipment to Comcast or being charged the rental fee having never rented a modem in the first place," the Sens wrote. "Not only are the majority of customers using automatic payment systems and may not personally authorize every erroneous charge, many consumers report having to call and remedy this problem throughout several billing cycles. In fact, customer help boards found online at Comcast’s Help and Support Forum contain complaints about this exact problem." Comcast increased its monthly modem rental fee from $8 to $10 (in late 2014) "and makes an estimated $275 to $300 million a quarter from these fees," the letter said. The problem is made worse by lack of competition, the Sens wrote.