Comcast HSI Abuse

I would like to form a group of users that have received these calls and possibly file a class action lawsuit against Comcast for this.

November 2006
I received the same phone call that these other users received. The man on the phone seemed to want to intimidate me. He said that I was using 900x more bandwith than normal users and I needed to immediately reduce my usage if I did not want my services discontinued. I fired back at him saying that internet usage is not specificed within the terms of services and he had no right to threaten action against my account. He was not willing to talk things out with me. It was as if a Mafia crony was calling to simply relay a message. He was not willing to divulge his name, employee number, or help me to better understand the terms of service that I was allegedly violating.

The call seemed phony and I proceeded to call Comcast support and report what happened. Comcast technical services thought it was very strange and told me that there is no limitation of my usage. He continued to say it would be near impossible to monitor per user usage and attempt to monitor said usage. He assured me that I had nothing to worry about.

April 2007
I came home from work and my internet no longer worked. After calling support and having a difficult time uncovering the source, I found that my account had been suspended for HSI Abuse. I knew exactly why this was. I was given the phone number of the security team. Guess who picked up my call? The same mafia crony as before. He was extremely tight lipped and would not divulge any information. I demanded his employee number and he refused to give it to me. He said it was too late and I should have listened to them previously..

I made multiple calls to the Security team and Comcast Support team and received conflicting information everytime. The only thing everyone agreed on is that I was not suspended from Comcast for 12 months for HSI Abuse. After 4 calls to the Security team I was able to get a knowledgeable employee who, after exchanging some remarks between us, was able to understand where I was coming from. I was not asking them to remove the ban. I wanted them to explain to me, what exactly happened and why I was unaware of it.

I was told that the Terms of Usage states that “any excessive bandwidth usage may be subject for suspension”. If you understand networking, that statement is EXTREMELY vague and I cannot understand how something like this can even exist in a legal document. I asked the Security Team “how do you determine what you “deem” as excessive bandwidth usage” and I was told that whatever they felt was excessive, was excessive. Am I to understand that this bylaw was made legal and this department was given godlike permissions over millions over user accounts? From a legal standpoint, this sounds like a loophole that has been overlooked and was not reported. And it is because of this very loophole that Comcast is able to use false advertisement and constantly lie to their millions of clients, and to their thousands of employees are their “terms”.

The employee explained that I violated internet usage law within the “Terms of Usage” agreement, which by the way, I never signed and was never shown. This document is never given to you and can only (perhaps) be obtain online..somewhere. Comcast Support, is not even aware of its existence.

I asked the Security employee why Support was unaware of this document and he laughed and insinuated that they did not know much.

This was puzzling to me. Why would the entire Support team by entirely unaware of Internet usage laws and regulations? Millions of users (may) be calling in with questions regarding specific internet usage. These users would ONLY receive their information from Comcast Support.

Does this sound familiar? This happened with AOL and customers filed a class action lawsuit against them and AOL lost.

Why is Comcast doing this? Two reasons.

1) Certain activities are legal, although shunned by Comcast. Since Comcast cannot legally terminate services of a user for these actions they can use this bylaw to get away with many things. For example, downloading pornographic material is legal within the terms of services and terms of usage from Comcast (I could be wrong about that). If this is true, there would be tens of thousands of users with spiked usage, which may cause disruptions within the Comcast networks. The only way to punish these users is with bylaws.

2) Other countries are able to impose bandwidth limitations within their Internet Agreements and users are allocated a certain amount of bandwidth usage per month. Any bandwidth usage over the alloted amount results in overage charges. Sort of how a cell phone works. This system has been in place for many years in Australia and has kept the bandwidth usage of the country very low in comparison to other developed (non limited) countries. US ISP’s would obviously love to impose this upon their customers. They would be able to triple their net profit by limiting bandwith usage. This would allow them to offer services to more areas without having to expand their networks exponentially, thus lowering their overall capital expenses for each corporate fiscal year. I can assure you that dirty laundry is being passed around upstairs and some people are reaping the financial benefit of this loophole.

This is unjust and needs to be brought to the attention of the Department of Justice. I alone have no intent of personally making any sole attempt to expose Comcast for fraud, defacement, and false advertising. It would take a group to make a change. This is what happened with AOL. And AOL lost hands down.

I have Computer Engineering and MBA degrees, which only means that within this specific area I hold expertise. And experts know when they are being scammed.

dysfirkin, you should be very cautious regarding your bandwidth usage from now on and take the Security team call very seriously.

I can be contacted at wodz_3k@hotmail.com. Anyone who has had related experience is urged to email me.

Regards,

Wodz

Got one today..!! Haven’t called the number yet.. too busy trying to figure out WHY.. last month I downloaded fewer files than normal.. but get flagged??

Got the message today that I have been using to much bandwidth. I called them spoke to someone right away they said I used 385GB and I needed to significantly reduce it. His name was Erik he had no idea what the average use was or how much I actually could use. This is annoying and shady because for all I know I might have already passed my “limit” and I have no way of knowing. I guess I may have to switch to Qwest DSL and that’s even worse service here in Denver. Ill keep everyone informed as to what happens. I am all for reducing my use but I wish they would at least give you an idea of what is acceptable. I have heard from 100 to 200Gb is the limit, and that is quite a bit but as more and more places make streaming whole DVD’s, music, etc. That actually seems a bit low. I guess Comcast just wants people to check their e-mail and their crappy front page. I better not watch to much TV either or they might shut that off. Just venting.

After speaking with Comcast Customer Service for a while I finally found the Terms of Use.

http://www.comcast.net/terms

Comcast High-Speed Internet Acceptable Use Policy

Note: Comcast reserves the right to immediately terminate the Service and the Subscriber Agreement if you engage in any of the prohibited activities listed in this AUP or if you use the Comcast Equipment or Service in a way which is contrary to any Comcast policies or any of Comcast’s suppliers’ policies. You must strictly adhere to any policy set forth by another service provider accessed through the Service.

Network, Bandwidth, Data Storage and Other Limitations

Comcast may provide versions of the Service with different speeds and bandwidth usage limitations, among other characteristics, subject to applicable Service plans. You shall ensure that your use of the Service does not restrict, inhibit, interfere with, or degrade any other user’s use of the Service, nor represent (in the sole judgment of Comcast) an overly large burden on the network. In addition, you shall ensure that your use of the Service does not restrict, inhibit, interfere with, disrupt, degrade, or impede Comcast’s ability to deliver and provide the Service and monitor the Service, backbone, network nodes, and/or other network services.

You further agree to comply with all Comcast network, bandwidth, and data storage and usage limitations. You shall ensure that your bandwidth consumption using the Service does not exceed the limitations that are now in effect or may be established in the future. If your use of the Service results in the consumption of bandwidth in excess of the applicable limitations, that is a violation of this Policy. In such cases, Comcast may, in its sole discretion, terminate or suspend your Service account or request that you subscribe to a version of the Service with higher bandwidth usage limitations if you wish to continue to use the Service at higher bandwidth consumption levels.

In addition, you may only access and use the Service with a dynamic Internet Protocol (“IP”) address that adheres to the dynamic host configuration protocol (“DHCP”). You may not configure the Service or any related equipment to access or use a static IP address or use any protocol other than DHCP unless you are subject to a Service plan that expressly permits otherwise.

::: This basically states that whatever they deem as more than normal is subject to immediate suspension. The user is not allowed to rebuke the decision and the decision is final. This is an extremely lose bylaw and AOL had something very similar to this.

G. Lipscomb and C. Padgett
Comcast Cable Communications, LLC
650 Centerton Road
Moorestown, NJ 08057 U.S.A.
Phone: (856) 317-7272
Fax: (856) 317-7319
E-mail: dmca@comcast.net

Violation of Acceptable Use Policy

Comcast does not routinely monitor the activity of Service accounts for violation of this AUP. However, in our efforts to promote good citizenship within the Internet community, we will respond appropriately if we become aware of inappropriate use of our Service. Although Comcast has no obligation to monitor the Service and/or the network, Comcast and its suppliers reserve the right at any time to monitor bandwidth, usage, transmissions, and content from time to time to operate the Service; to identify violations of this Policy; and/or to protect the network, the Service and Comcast users.

Comcast prefers to advise customers of inappropriate behavior and any necessary corrective action. However, if the Service is used in a way that Comcast or its suppliers, in their sole discretion, believe violate this AUP, Comcast or its suppliers may take any responsive actions they deem appropriate. These actions include, but are not limited to, temporary or permanent removal of content, cancellation of newsgroup posts, filtering of Internet transmissions, and the immediate suspension or termination of all or any portion of the Service. Neither Comcast nor its affiliates, suppliers, or agents will have any liability for any these responsive actions. These actions are not Comcast’s exclusive remedies and Comcast may take any other legal or technical action it deems appropriate.

Comcast reserves the right to investigate suspected violations of this AUP, including the gathering of information from the user or users involved and the complaining party, if any, and examination of material on Comcast’s servers and network. During an investigation, Comcast may suspend the account or accounts involved and/or remove or block material that potentially violates this Policy. You expressly authorize Comcast and its suppliers to cooperate with (i) law enforcement authorities in the investigation of suspected legal violations, and (ii) and system administrators at other Internet service providers or other network or computing facilities in order to enforce this Policy. This cooperation may include Comcast providing available personally identifiable information about you to law enforcement or system administrators, including, but not limited to, username, subscriber name, and other account information. Upon termination of your account, Comcast is authorized to delete any files, programs, data and e-mail messages associated with your account.

The failure of Comcast or its suppliers to enforce this AUP, for whatever reason, shall not be construed as a waiver of any right to do so at any time. You agree that if any portion of this Policy is held invalid or unenforceable, that portion will be construed consistent with applicable law as nearly as possible, and the remaining portions will remain in full force and effect.

You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless Comcast and its affiliates, suppliers, and agents against all claims and expenses (including reasonable attorney fees) resulting from you engaging in any of the prohibited activities listed in this AUP or resulting from your violation of the AUP or of any other posted Comcast policy related to the Service. Your indemnification will survive any termination of the Subscriber Agreement.

COMCAST ABUSE POLICY – The Comcast IP Network Abuse Department is responsible for supporting and enforcing the policies set forth in the Comcast Acceptable Use Policy (“AUP”) and Comcast High-Speed Internet (“HSI”) Service Customer Agreement (“Customer Agreement”).

# Bandwidth, Data Storage and Other limitations Use of the Comcast network infrastructure in a manner that (i) exceeds the then current bandwidth, data storage or other limitations on the Comcast High-Speed Internet service or (ii) puts an excessive burden on the limitations of the network. Examples include: Using the Comcast network to run a Web-hosting server or any other commercial enterprise.

I would slaughter this copyright in a court of law.

The terms of use were changed without any notification to any users.

Revised and effective: January 2006

Do you understand what that is saying? It’s like saying that we made an agreement on paper and you signed it in 2005 and on January 2006 I decided to make active changes to that document and demanded you to adhear to them without your knowledge and or consent. Do you know how f’in illegal that is? I want to see the document from 2004.

Comcast is a joke. I would email DMCA but they already don’t return my calls or emails. Ooo, if only I REALLY cared about this. I would petition and build a case against them and file charges with the BBB and DoJ.

Wodz

Did you guys hear? Verizon just got busted for doing this same thing!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now all of the customers they tossed for HSI Abuse are going to get ppppaaaaiiiiddd!

We wont even have to put in a class action suit. They will get caught and the courts will hire a company to find users who were terminated for HSI Abuse and contact them. That way the prosecution cleans their clock

Only a matter of time until Comcast gets pwnd as well! Then I will clean their clocks, SOB’s!

Hi,
the exact same thing just happened to my in-laws’s Comcast internet service yesterday. The internet connection just stopped working and after about an hour on the phone with Customer Support, we found out that the account had been terminated for HSI abuse. I was unable to get the person from the abuse department to explain anything: he refused to say how much bandwidth use was being considered excessive, refused to send a bandwidth log for this account documenting the abuse and said he had no obligations to do so; and overall he totally FIFA the descriptions made in the posts above.
I find it *extremely* hard to believe that my in-laws used an excessive amount of bandwidth. They barely know how to use the Internet, and the main bandwidth use most likely comes from a little software that allows them to monitor remotely four video cameras in their store. I have to check on the actual bandwidth draw but given the picture quality and refresh rate, I highly doubt that it goes above a couple of hundreds kb/s.
The only thing I suspect is that somebody could have been using their connection (i found out their wireless access point was not secured) but I don’t think Comcast is going to want to listen to that or help us confirm it. I will call them back today.

I’ll give more details later, I have to write this from a cell phone since the acount was suspended for 12 months with no appeal.
I also wanted to agree that their “acceptable use policy” document is a legal joke. It says that you are prohibited to use the Internet in a way that degrades other users’s ability to connect. Cable Internet service works as a shared pipe for a whole neighborhood, so by definition there is a fixed pie for a group of people. If one user starts to use the Internet, it automatically degrades the other people’s use since it takes some amount away from the total available bandwidth. This is a typical example of how their legalese makes no sense.
I also cannot believe that they are not under an obligation to prove you abused the bandwidth, with a written, recorded statements and bandwidth logs.
Is there a class action suit already under way?

I’m an IT professional and just received one of Comcast’s threatening calls. The number came from 1-856-317-7272. The person on the phone told me that last month I used 480GB of bandwidth (EXTREMELY hard to believe as I was on vacation for 1.5 weeks and my computer was disconnected for service all month). I attempted to squeeze all the information out of the person on the phone as possible. They would not provide an employee number, the ability to speak to a manager, their full name, their location (beyond NJ), the actual amount of bandwidth I’m not allowed to go over, weather or not they are legally affiliated with Comcast or anything of use to me AS THEIR CUSTOMER. The only thing they said was refer to the terms of use document (which, as we all know, provides no actual limitation or specifics). On top of it all, I pay for the highest tier of bandwidth possible (8Mb/sec). Assuming I use the full allocated 8Mb for every second, it would only take me 5 and a half days to reach the 480GB which they consider reason to cut my service off. The calls are threats. They are disrespectful, uncalled for and completely out of line. As a customer, I refuse to be treated like this. I will be bringing legal action against Comcast if there is no existing class action lawsuit out there. I urge you all to stand up for your rights as consumers and do not let them threaten you.

One more thought, I have not been disconnected, but they did threaten it if I didn’t slow things down. Many years ago I was having trouble with US West now (Qwest) and was able to go to the public service commission and they act as an advocate when dealing with the “big boys” including comcast. I plan to contact the public service commission regarding this issue.

Benjamin

I was cut off and called back and informed that the next time I’d be shut off for 12 months. I immediately called Verizon to order the fiber optic FIOS line with no bandwidth limitations. I’m canceling everything with Comcast, including cable. I am also convincing ALL of my neighbors and co-workers to do the same. I hope this really ends up hurting their bottom line and reputation. I will NEVER deal with this company ever again.

I received one of these phone calls last night. I called Comcast customer service, who agreed the phone number and message ARE legit. I called the phone number, and was put on hold for about a half hour. I finally got to talk to someone, and he was surprisingly polite. He told me the internet usage is not unlimited, it is 250 GB/month. Evidently I had somehow used over 1,100 GB last month. Basically, he said if I do not reduce it below the 250 GB/month limit I would have my service disconnected for 12 months. He then told me the best way to find out how much I have currently used is to go to the comcast (dot) net website and go to Customer Central. I log on there with my Comcast Email and password (that I then had to call regular customer service to find out), and there’s an option at the top called “Users & Settings”. Click that and it will show the current usage, and if you click “Show Details” underneath it will give more information. Evidently, I’ve used 86 GB in 4 days. I asked how this was possible, and his response was basically a “I can’t say for sure, but most likely you’re using a peer-to-peer program, and it comes on automatically when you turn your computer on. If that’s so, you need to turn it off or at least slow it down” followed by a “we’ll check on you again” type statement. I offered other possibilites: Lots of gaming, web sites that stream video, 5-8 hour long video chat sessions with my girlfriend who’s currently half the country away. He said none of those would use that much bandwidth in that short of a time period.

(Short version): Phone number is legitimate. They are telling me to slow down my internet usage and/or stop using peer-to-peer stuff (i.e. Limewire, uTorrent, et al), or risk being disconnected for a year.