Other LanguagesMore than 300,000 Washington state customers affected
SEATTLE—Today in King County Superior Court, the Washington State Attorney General’s Office (AGO) filed a lawsuit against DISH Network for alleged violations of the Consumer Protection Act that cost as many as 300,000 Washington customers more than a dollar a month for eight months.
DISH’s actions also violate the terms of a 2009 agreement between the company and 46 states, including Washington, settling allegations of deceptive advertising.
The AGO alleges DISH began charging customers an unlawful monthly line-item surcharge in May of 2012, collecting more than $2 million in surcharges from Washington consumers.
“DISH cost hard-working Washingtonians millions of dollars, one buck at a time,” said Attorney General Bob Ferguson. “The per-customer charge may look small—but taken as a whole the company made millions through its deceptive billing.”
DISH sells and distributes digital entertainment programming via satellite to residential and commercial subscribers across the state. From May through December of 2012, DISH charged consumers a ‘WA State Surcharge’ or ‘WA Surcharge’ ranging from $1.00 to $1.09—stopping only after the Attorney General’s Office began its investigation.
DISH implemented the surcharge as a line-item on consumers’ bills, separate from the line-item for DISH’s monthly programming service fee, to recoup its increased business and occupation (B&O) tax liability. Unlike the sales tax, the B&O tax is considered a cost of doing business in Washington state and businesses cannot tack it on as a line-item charge in addition to the sales price.
The AGO alleges that DISH misrepresented the nature of the surcharge to consumers, creating the impression it was a government-imposed fee. This gave Washington consumers the false impression that DISH’s prices were lower than they really were, making it hard for consumers to shop for the best price.
For example, DISH deceptively advertised their monthly services for $24.99, but charged consumers $25.99 with the ‘Washington surcharge.’ This gave them an unfair advantage over their competitors who lawfully advertised their monthly service prices.
This is not the first time the AGO has investigated DISH for deceptive practices. In 2009, DISH settled allegations by Washington and 45 other states, including allegations that DISH failed to adequately disclose to consumers conditions of its service agreements. The 2009 settlement included a commitment by DISH to not engage in any unfair or deceptive practices, a commitment the AGO alleges DISH has broken.
The AGO is seeking a permanent injunction against future deceptive acts, consumer restitution of all surcharges collected by DISH, up to $2,000 in penalties per violation and attorneys’ fees.
– 30 –
The Office of the Attorney General is the chief legal office for the state of Washington with attorneys and staff in 27 divisions across the state providing legal services to roughly 200 state agencies, boards and commissions. Attorney General Bob Ferguson is working hard to protect consumers and seniors against fraud, keep our communities safe, protect our environment and stand up for our veterans. Visit www.atg.wa.gov to learn more.
Contacts: Janelle Guthrie, Director of Communications, (360) 586-0725
Alison Dempsey-Hall, Dep. Communications Director, (206) 641-1335