Guy Sues Comcast for 'Getting Him Fired'

Conal O'Rourke says controller called his employer after complaint
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 17, 2014 9:21 AM CDT
Guy Sues Comcast for 'Getting Him Fired'
This Feb. 11, 2011, file photo shows the Comcast logo on one of the company's vehicles in Pittsburgh.   (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Conal O'Rourke says he lost his job at PriceWaterhouseCoopers because he complained about poor service from Comcast—a PwC client—and now he's suing the cable company. After O'Rourke brought his story to the media, Comcast apologized publicly for the many billing issues and other service problems he experienced, but insisted "nobody at Comcast asked for him to be fired." O'Rourke, however, says Comcast's controller did call PwC (Comcast does not deny that a call was made), and he's suing over the alleged violation of a federal law that bars cable companies from sharing personal information without a customer's consent, Consumerist reports.

The big issue is what happened when O'Rourke, fed up after months of poor service, contacted Controller Lawrence Salva's office (but didn't actually speak with Salva). Comcast says that during this call, he attempted to use his job at PwC as "leverage to get better service," Consumerist notes; O'Rourke says he believes the controller simply did an online search of his name following the call and learned he worked at PwC. (O'Rourke has asked for a recording of the call in which he supposedly mentioned his employer, and Comcast has yet to release one.) O'Rourke says that after he called the controller's office, the controller contacted PwC. He's seeking more than $1 million in damages and legal costs, as well as an injunction barring Comcast from doing a slew of things—among them, overbilling customers. Click for O'Rourke's full story. (More Comcast stories.)

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