BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Think twice before paying and shredding that recent Comcast bill.

Officials in Montgomery and Howard counties warned subscribers about an upcoming change to the terms of their agreement with the cable television provider. The change limits customers’ rights to sue the company if they don’t make the effort to opt out of the new policy.

“We are concerned that subscribers will unknowingly give up some of their consumer rights by failing to opt out in time,” Jane Lawton, Montgomery County’s cable administrator, said in a statement. “Comcast customers need to know that they do not have to accept this unilateral change in terms of their service.”

The cable television giant included with bills sent to subscribers in July a “Comcast Arbitration Notice.” The notice informs customers that an upcoming agreement change denies the right to take the company to court, bars class-action suits and requires disputes to go to arbitration.

Customers may, however, opt out of the arbitration policy by visiting Comcast’s Web site or by writing a letter to the company within 30 days of receiving the notice.

“On the surface, arbitration sounds like a good thing, but Comcast’s proposed change is one-sided,” Lawton said.

Howard County officials urge county Comcast subscribers to “carefully review” the arbitration notice.

“We want the customers to make a decision rather than accept the terms of the contract that Comcast wants,” said Stephen Hannan, administrator of the Howard County Office of Consumer Affairs.

Comcast prefers to quickly resolve customer concerns without the need for litigation or arbitration, said Aimee Metrick, a Comcast spokeswoman. Arbitration has been a part of the company’s terms of service for several years throughout various service areas.

“Arbitration is generally a faster, less formal and less expensive process to resolve disputes than litigation,” Metrick said. “Comcast’s policy is customer-friendly and clearly specifies the choices customers have for resolving disputes.”

The speed and cost of today’s judicial system has made arbitration an appealing alternative for businesses, said Byron Warnken, a professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law. Arbitration “better serves the little guy” when disputing a large firm like Comcast.

“This is really a wave, really a trend in which more and more businesses are electing to move disputes through arbitration,” Warnken said.

Comcast services more than 24 million cable television customers nationwide, including more than 150,000 in Montgomery and more than 70,000 in Howard.

Comcast released second-quarter 2007 results last week. Profits increased 28 percent to $588 million in the second quarter, compared with $460 million in the same period last year.

acannarsa@baltimoreexaminer.com