Comcast Agrees to $2.6M in Refunds

[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Linda Haugsted]
A rate challenge by about 100 cities and regional regulatory authorities across the country has led to Comcast Corp. agreeing to refund about $2.6 million to consumers. Refunds averaging $2 per household will be made to about 1.3 million Comcast subscribers during the next two months. That represents approximately 2% of Comcast’s universe. The rest of the MSO’s regulators accepted its pricing representations on its federal filing. Communities in this challenge raised questions about Comcast’s national rate filings in 2004. The local franchising authorities hired an accountant, Florida-based Ashpaugh & Sculco LLC, and Front Range Consulting Inc. of Colorado to analyze the filing Comcast made to the Federal Communications Commission. They concluded that Comcast had overcharged for some service calls and equipment costs. Based on the report, client cities and regional cable authorities -- including the Metropolitan Area Communications Commission outside Portland, Ore. -- ordered rate rollbacks by Comcast. Other participants in the challenge included Arlington and Montgomery counties in Virginia, regulators from the Denver metro area and small, individual towns such as Murfreesboro, Tenn. The cities paid 10 cents per Comcast subscriber to fund the rate analysis.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6308146.html?display=Breaking+News
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