Md. Officials Oppose New Legal Policy At Comcast

Montgomery County officials have taken the unusual step of warning Comcast cable subscribers about an imminent change to the terms of their agreement with the cable provider that would limit customers' rights to take legal action.

In bills sent in July, Comcast, which provides cable service to more than 150,000 homes in Montgomery County and 24 million nationwide, informed county subscribers of a policy change that county officials say denies customers the right to take the company to court and bars class-action suits. Instead, the change would require serious disputes to go to arbitration.

Customers in other counties, including Howard and Prince George's, are receiving the same notices, according to county cable television officials.

Montgomery and Howard counties have written news releases alerting residents to the change and saying they can opt out of it either by visiting Comcast's Web site or by writing a letter within 30 days of receiving the notice.

Montgomery's advisory, sent Thursday, is a departure from the usual public-service tone of government correspondence about utilities.

"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."

Lawyers for both Montgomery and Howard counties reviewed the arbitration notice from Comcast and concluded that it restricts customers to resolving disputes through arbitration rather than the courts.

The pamphlet itself, mostly in the language of a legal contract, states that either the customer or Comcast "may elect" to arbitrate a dispute rather than go to court. It also notes, in capital letters, that failure to opt out "may have a substantial impact" on resolving future disputes.

Comcast spokeswoman Jaye Linnen offered a brief statement on the policy change:

"Comcast strives to resolve customer concerns quickly, without the need for arbitration or litigation. That said, arbitration has been a part of Comcast's terms and conditions of service for several years throughout our various service areas. Arbitration is generally a faster, less formal and less expensive process to resolve disputes than litigation."

Linnen also noted that the arbitration policy "clearly specifies the choices customers have for resolving disputes with the company."

Comcast offered no further comment on how many customers, and in which states, would be affected.

County cable television administrators in Maryland and Northern Virginia have been following the policy change all summer, said Margie Williams, program manager for cable television in Montgomery County government. Comcast has 10 times the subscribers of the other cable providers that serve the county, Verizon and RCN.

"The county's doing this just basically to notify subscribers of their rights, of what's being put into their bills," she said.