Comcast Offering up to $10,000 Payouts in Settlement: 4 Things to Know

Not every Comcast customer is eligible as part of the $117.5 million settlement.

A person walks past a signage of Comcast and NBC Universal in the lobby of the corporate headquarters of Comcast in Philadelphia, Pa., on Nov. 20, 2024. Bastiaan Slabbers/Reuters

A person walks past a signage of Comcast and NBC Universal in the lobby of the corporate headquarters of Comcast in Philadelphia, Pa., on Nov. 20, 2024. Bastiaan Slabbers/Reuters

Multiple deadlines are approaching in a $117.5 million Comcast settlement stemming from a cybersecurity breach several years ago that exposed the personal information of millions of Xfinity customers.

Some current and former Comcast customers who are eligible have a July 1 deadline to submit objections or to opt out of the agreement. A final hearing on the settlement will be held on Aug. 5.

Not Everyone Is Eligible

Only some Comcast customers are automatically eligible to file a claim to receive money.

The settlement website says that the payout is only for people whose personal information was accessed in a 2023 data breach. Customers who were informed about the breach are part of the settlement class-action, it said.

According to the settlement website’s question-and-answer area, it “consists of all persons residing in the United States and its territories who were sent individual notification of the Data Breach, which occurred in October 2023, and was publicly disclosed by Comcast in December 2023.”

Claims Go up to $10,000

The submitted settlement stated that Comcast had agreed to pay up to $10,000 to settlement class members who “submit valid claims during the claims period for out-of-pocket losses and lost time.”

“Settlement class members will be subject to an aggregate claims cap of ten thousand United States dollars ($10,000) paid directly from the net settlement fund regardless of the number of claims submitted by the settlement class member,” the class-action settlement said.

According to the settlement administrators, the costs associated with litigation, identity services, and other administrative activity “will be used to pay all approved claims for Out-of-Pocket Losses, Lost Time, and Alternative Cash Payments,” and that “payment amounts may be adjusted based on the amount remaining” in the settlement fund on a proportional basis.

Separately, the settlement documents state that, as an alternative, settlement class members can “request an alternative cash payment of $50.” It means those customers do not have to provide information on out-of-pocket losses or lost time, although the $50 amount may change depending on the number of claimants.

What the Lawsuit Entailed

A class-action lawsuit filed in the case said Comcast had “failed to properly protect personal information” and lacked proper data security at the time of the breach. The telecommunications giant has denied any wrongdoing or violation of the law.

The plaintiffs, meanwhile, alleged Comcast “was unjustly enriched by the use of personal data of the impacted individuals, violated the federal Cable Act ... violated certain state consumer statutes and other laws, and improperly or inadequately notified potentially impacted individuals.”

Comcast announced in December 2023 that it had been the victim of a cyber breach that occurred two months earlier, in October of that year.

Deadlines Approaching

According to the settlement website, the settlement claims period is open.

The settlement claims period is now open for people to submit forms. Current or former Comcast customers who received a breach notification from Comcast in December 2023 may be eligible for a payment, it said.

Consumers potentially impacted can submit their claim for a share of the settlement fund by sending a claim form online by Sept. 14 or mailing a paper version with a postmark date no later than Sept. 14, according to the website.