It's bad enough that you often don't have a choice regarding your neighborhood's cable and internet provider. But what do you do when you have a dispute, and the company won't listen? You can sue Comcast Xfinity in small claims court (often for up to $10,000). This article will explain what you need to know before and during to increase your likelihood of success.

Read your Comcast Xfinity Contract

The first step is to read your Xfinity contract. Xfinity calls this contract their Customer Agreement (other companies call these contracts: "Terms of Service," "Terms of Use," or "Service Agreement").

As of March 10, 2020, the Customer Agreement for Residential Services contract on their website states Your Responsibilities Concerning Billing Questions - Subject to applicable law, if you intend to dispute a charge or request a billing credit, you must contact us within 120 days of the date on the bill or you waive any such disputes or credits.

ACTION: Contact Comcast Xfinity within 120 of the date of the bill.

The contract states you must contact Comcast Xfinity within 120 days of the bill you are disputing.

Here are ways to contact Comcast Xfinity:

  1. Xfinity Phone number: 1 (800) 934-6489
  2. Xfinity Customer Support Website:https://www.xfinity.com/support/contact-us
  3. Customer Support Twitter: @comcastcares

You want to ensure you take notes and try to get Xfinity to provide what they intend to do in writing.

But what do you do if you have contacted them and they have not resolved your issue?

Send a Demand Letter

A demand letter is a letter that outlines a set of requests. For example, you could request a refund and explain why you are requesting a refund. You should make your demand in writing so that you can later reference it in court.

Remember to include in the demand letter:

  • How much money you are owed
  • Why you are owed money
  • Your contact information
  • Where to send payment
  • Give them a few days to respond (usually about 7 to 14 days)
  • State that if they don't respond, you intend to sue

Where to send the letter:

You want to send the letter to Comcast Xfinity's registered agent. Here is that information:

Comcast Legal Response Center

650 Centerton Road, Moorestown, New Jersey 08057

Sue Comcast Xfinity in Small Claims

If Comcast Xfinity ignored your demand letter, you can sue Xfinity in a small claims court. As of March 10, 2020, their Customer Agreement for Residential Services contract on their website states:

  • f.) Right to Sue in Small Claims Court: Notwithstanding anything in this Arbitration Provision to the contrary, either you or we may elect to have an action heard in a small claims court in the area where you receive(d) Service(s) from us if the claim is not aggregated with the claim of any other person and if the amount in controversy is properly within the jurisdiction of the small claims court.

How Much it Costs

So how much will you spend by suing Comcast Xfinity in small claims court?

  • Court Filing Fees: The amount you will pay to file a small claims lawsuit depends on how much you are suing for and where you are suing. You can expect to pay between $30 to $400 to file the lawsuit. If you cannot afford to pay court fees, you can ask the court to waive the fees.  ‍
  • Serving Costs: Once the lawsuit is filed, you must notify Comcast Xfinity that you have sued them. This is called "serving." Serving Costs can range from $20-100 depending upon the local area.

‍Remember, if you win, you can request that Comcast Xfinity pay for your court fees and serving costs.‍

The Benefits of Small Claims Court

  1. Court filing fees are cheaper in small claims than in other courts.
  2. The process is faster in small claims than in other courts, as your hearing will usually be scheduled 30-70 days after you file the lawsuit.
  3. Lawyers are generally not allowed in small claims, which helps keep the costs of suing low.  

How to File a Small Claims Lawsuit Against Comcast Xfinity

  • Prepare and File the Court Paperwork - If you end up in 30-40% of cases where the demand letter doesn't work, you can prepare and file the court paperwork for small claims court next. The upside is that you can typically do this yourself and don't need to send much evidence with your filing. You just need to know the name of the party you're suing, the amount you're suing for, and answer some basic yes/no questions.

Again, you can do this yourself, or use Dispute's Small Claims Filing platform, which includes online paperwork prep, live online notarization, and online filing.

  • Serve the Defendant - After the court accepts your paperwork, you have to serve your court paperwork to the defendant to notify them they're being sued officially. This is also another point where people will often realize they should settle before going to court. This is the one step you aren't allowed to do yourself. To avoid bias, the court requires you to get someone else to serve your case and file a proof of service in court (a simple statement that they swear they served the defendant). The free way to do this is to get a friend or family member who isn't part of the case to help you. The hassle-free professional way to serve court papers is to hire a process server and let them take care of it.

Taking the First Step in Your Lawsuit

If all of this work seems complicated or daunting, rest assured that it's easier than it initially seems. 2.7 million small claims court cases are filed annually in the US, which is only growing as more people realize how easy it is to enforce their legal rights in court.

There's no rush. But when you're ready to sue Comcast Xfinity, you can get started with a simple demand letter online. Please get in touch with us if you have any additional questions.