Comcast Moves for Customer Credit Check Lawsuit Dismissal

A plaintiff in a putative class-action complaint saying Comcast violates the false pretenses provision of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) hasn't shown what false pretense Comcast supposedly gave to get his credit information, the company said in a motion (in Pacer) to dismiss filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Chicago. Plaintiff Mounang Patel sued in April, claiming Comcast's unauthorized credit check when he signed up for broadband service affected his mortgage loan (see 1704050022). Comcast said a false pretense report under FCRA would have to be about what the company said to the consumer reporting agency, not what it said to the consumer. It said Patel's breach of contract claim under Illinois state law ignores the written Comcast service agreement that authorized the company to get his consumer credit report. In a separate motion (in Pacer) Monday to partially strike Patel's class allegations, Comcast said his proposed class includes groups of subscribers who couldn't pursue their claims in court, such as those who agreed to individually arbitrate disputes. Counsel for Patel didn't comment Tuesday.