Comcast negative option billing

Comcast has repeatedly charged customers for cable services and equipment they never affirmatively requested, a practice federal law calls negative option billing. The Federal Communications Commission fined the company US $2.3 million in October 2016 to resolve complaints about the practice, and the attorneys general of Washington and Minnesota brought their own cases over related billing between 2016 and 2021.

Federal ban on negative option billing

The 1992 Cable Act prohibits a cable operator from charging a subscriber for any service or equipment the subscriber did not affirmatively request. The prohibition is codified at 47 CFR 76.981, which states that "a cable operator shall not charge a subscriber for any service or equipment that the subscriber has not affirmatively requested by name." The rule adds that "a subscriber's failure to refuse a cable operator's proposal to provide such service or equipment is not an affirmative request for service or equipment." The rule was established pursuant to Section 3 of the 1992 Cable Act, 47 U.S.C. 543.

The FCC describes negative option billing as similar to "cramming", the unauthorized placement of charges on telephone bills, and notes that it "burdens customers with the responsibility of contacting a cable company to dispute the charges and obtain refunds."

Service protection plan charges

One recurring form of the practice involved the Service Protection Plan, an optional $4.99-per-month plan covering inside wiring and certain repairs. Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson alleged in 2016 that the plan was sold to roughly 500,000 consumers who paid at least $73 million in fees over five years. A King County judge later found that Comcast had signed customers up for the plan without their consent, treating the unauthorized sign-ups as violations of the state Consumer Protection Act.

Digital adapter fees

A second recurring charge is the fee for a digital transport adapter, the small box that lets an older analog television receive Comcast's digital channels. In 2012 the FCC amended its rules to let cable operators encrypt the basic service tier on all-digital systems if they met certain consumer-protection conditions, which meant older sets needed an adapter to keep receiving channels the customer already paid for.

In January 2013, Comcast began charging $1.99 per month for the adapters it had previously offered subscribers up to two of for free, and the company projected more than $550 million in new revenue nationwide from the change. By 2017 the fee had risen to $5.99 per month, a $2.00 increase, and the Citizens Utility Board noted that customers could not buy their own adapter to avoid the rental charge.

The Citizens Utility Board's 2017 explanation of Comcast's digital adapter fee, then $5.99 per month, noting that customers cannot buy their own adapter to avoid it.

Unrequested channels, boxes, and DVRs

The FCC received complaints alleging charges for products customers had never ordered, including digital video recorders and premium channels. Some subscribers said they had no knowledge of the charges until they received unordered equipment in the mail, and others found out only when they reviewed their bills or received email notifications.

FCC 2016 consent decree

Main article: Comcast negative option billing lawsuit

On October 11, 2016, the FCC fined Comcast US $2.3 million and described the penalty as the largest civil penalty it had assessed against a cable operator. The settlement required a five-year compliance plan under which Comcast agreed to obtain affirmative informed consent before charging for new services or equipment and to send a separate order confirmation describing new products and charges. Comcast acknowledged past billing and customer service problems in a statement to Ars Technica:

We acknowledge that, in the past, our customer service should have been better and our bills clearer, and that customers have at times been unnecessarily frustrated or confused. That's why we had already put in place many improvements to do better for our customers even before the FCC's Enforcement Bureau started this investigation almost two years ago. The changes the Bureau asked us to make were in most cases changes we had already committed to make, and many were already well underway or in our work plan to implement in the near future.

The FCC's October 11, 2016 news release announcing a $2.3 million fine against Comcast, which the agency called the largest civil penalty it had assessed from a cable operator, and a five-year compliance plan requiring affirmative informed consent before charging for new services or equipment.

Washington attorney general lawsuit

On August 1, 2016, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson sued Comcast, alleging more than 1.8 million violations of the state Consumer Protection Act and seeking more than $100 million. On June 6, 2019, King County Superior Court Judge Timothy Bradshaw found Comcast had violated the Consumer Protection Act nearly half a million times, combining 240,588 instances of signing customers up without consent and 205,260 instances of failing to disclose or misrepresenting recurring costs, and ordered a penalty of about $9.1 million. Ferguson said in a statement:

Comcast refused to accept responsibility for its egregious conduct that resulted in Washingtonians losing money every month for a product they did not want or request.

The Washington Attorney General's 2019 statement that a King County judge found Comcast violated the state Consumer Protection Act nearly half a million times and ordered nearly $9.1 million in penalties for signing customers up for the Service Protection Plan without their consent.

In March 2021, the Washington Court of Appeals affirmed in part and reversed in part, reversing the trial court's penalty calculation and remanding it for recalculation.

Modem and returned-equipment charges

A related pattern is charging customers for modems and other equipment they had returned or never owned. In its 2018 complaint, the Minnesota Attorney General's Office alleged that Comcast charged some customers for equipment they did not order or had declined, including modems added to accounts without authorization:

Comcast/Xfinity charged some people for services or equipment they did not order or declined to purchase, such as adding services, home security, service protection plans, or modems or other equipment to customers' bills without authorization.

The Minnesota Attorney General's 2018 allegation that Comcast charged some customers for services or equipment they did not order or declined to purchase, including modems added to their bills without authorization.

Minnesota attorney general settlement

Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson sued Comcast on December 21, 2018. Attorney General Keith Ellison settled the case on January 15, 2020. The settlement provided $1.14 million in refunds to 15,600 Minnesotans, plus $160,000 to the attorney general's office, and early-termination-fee debt relief for about 16,000 former customers.

The Minnesota Attorney General's 2020 settlement terms requiring Comcast to pay $1.14 million in refunds and $160,000 to the Attorney General's Office.

Federal negative-option rule

Negative option billing sits within a broader federal effort to regulate subscriptions that renew or bill unless a customer intervenes. On October 16, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission announced a final "Click-to-Cancel" rule that would require sellers to "obtain a consumer's express informed consent to the negative option feature before charging the consumer." On July 8, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit vacated the rule in its entirety on procedural grounds. The law firm Ropes & Gray reported that the court found the FTC had failed to issue a required preliminary regulatory analysis under 15 U.S.C. § 57b-3(b)(1).

Recent reports

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As of 2026, consumers have continued to report on Reddit and Comcast's own support forums that they were billed a recurring monthly "limited basic converter" fee, roughly $8.85 to $11.85, for equipment they say they never ordered or had already returned.