Comcast Corp slapped $2.3 million fine for wrongful billing of gear and services

US federal regulators have slapped a fine of $2.3 million on cable giant Comcast Corp for wrongfully charging customers for gear and services they never requested. According to federal officials this is the largest civil penalty imposed on a cable operator.

The Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday slapped the fine after investigating complaints that some customers had been charged for equipment such as set-top boxes, and services such as premium channels even after they had turned down offers from Comcast representatives.

The practice called "negative option billing," is illegal under US federal law.

The announcement of the fine came in a statement by Travis LeBlanc, chief of the enforcement bureau at the FCC.

"It is basic that a cable bill should include charges only for services and equipment ordered by the customer - nothing more and nothing less. We expect all cable and phone companies to take responsibility for the accuracy of their bills and to ensure their customers have authorizsed any charges," said LeBlanc.

Comcast has, however, agreed to make it easier for customers to know what equipment or services were charged to their account and to also simplify the process for disputing charges.

Comcast acknowledged 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."

The company has agreed to pay the civil penalty and to submit to a "compliance plan," which would allow regulators to monitor Comcast for the next five years and ensure it cleaned up its act.

"It is basic that a cable bill should include charges only for services and equipment ordered by the customer - nothing more and nothing less," Travis LeBlanc, chief of the FCC's Enforcement Bureau, said in a statement.

Under the five-year compliance plan, Comcast will start sending customers special notifications every time a new charge or service is added to their bill. The company will also need to devise a way for customers to easily "block the addition of new services or equipment to their accounts," an FCC press release said.