If you have thoughts about the Federal Trade Commission’s proposed junk fee ban, you’ve got some extra time to file a public comment.
The FTC said it’s extending the comment period to February 7, 2024. The deadline was originally January 8, 2024.
You can file a comment by visiting Federalregister.gov and clicking Submit a Formal Comment.
Earlier this month, the FTC voted to start proceedings on a rule that would ban hidden or bogus fees that are used to make a service more expensive than originally advertised. Unfortunately, this is a tactic often used by cable TV companies and results in your final bill being far cry from the price you thought you were paying.
This new rule could block cable TV from including many of their favorite fees, making them advertise the true cost of cable TV.
The FTC’s rule — first proposed in October — would make cable TV companies include those fees upfront instead of hiding them in the fine print.
“All too often, Americans are plagued with unexpected and unnecessary fees they can’t escape. These junk fees now cost Americans tens of billions of dollars per year—money that corporations are extracting from working families just because they can,” FTC Chair Lina M. Khan said at the time.
The proposal has seen pushback from cable companies who argue that it could lead to rate regulation.
Once the newly extended comment window closes, the FTC will take the next steps to finalize the proposal into a rule.