Time Warner Cable Asked To Pay $1.9 Mln Penalty For Violating Pricing Rule

(RTTNews) - Time Warner Cable, Inc. (TWC) has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that the company violated the Risk-Based Pricing Rule, which requires creditors to give notice to consumers who are provided less favorable credit terms based on information in their credit reports, the watchdog said.

The proposed settlement requires Time Warner Cable to pay a $1.9 million civil penalty and prohibits the company from violating the rule in the future.

The settlement marks the first enforcement case the agency has brought since finalizing its amended Risk-Based Pricing Rule in 2011.

Jessica Rich, Director of the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said, ''Consumers have the right to know if they are paying more for something because of information in their credit report. Getting this notice gives you a right to a free copy of your report, so you can make sure everything on it is correct. Some of Time Warner Cable's customers were missing out on this important right."

If the credit report contains negative information, Time Warner Cable may require the consumer to pay a deposit or pay the first month's bill in advance. Consumers with more favorable credit histories are not required to pay a deposit or the first month's bill.

The FTC's complaint alleges that Time Warner Cable failed to provide the required risk-based pricing notices to consumers beginning in January 2011 and continued until at least March 2013.

TWC settled down 0.6 percent on Thursday at $133.74.