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Rushing to file your public comment about the FTC’s proposed Junk Fees Rule by the impending deadline? Relax. The FTC has extended the comment period to February 7, 2024.

In October 2023, the FTC proposed a rule that would prohibit junk fees – hidden charges and bogus fees that cost consumers tens of billions of dollars each year and undercut honest businesses. The FTC wants your feedback on its proposed Trade Regulation Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees and has extended the deadline to February 7th.

It’s a simple process. Read the FTC’s proposal, give some thought to the questions we’ve asked, and let us know what’s on your mind by filing a comment through Regulations.gov. Start the process by clicking the SUBMIT A FORMAL COMMENT button, but don’t let the word “formal” throw you. Yes, we’re interested in research or studies about unexpected charges, but we welcome your practical perspectives about how junk fees impact consumers and businesses, including small businesses.

File your comment by February 7, 2024.
 

It is your choice whether to submit a comment. If you do, you must create a user name, or we will not post your comment. The Federal Trade Commission Act authorizes this information collection for purposes of managing online comments. Comments and user names are part of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) public records system, and user names also are part of the FTC’s computer user records system. We may routinely use these records as described in the FTC’s Privacy Act system notices. For more information on how the FTC handles information that we collect, please read our privacy policy.

The purpose of this blog and its comments section is to inform readers about Federal Trade Commission activity, and share information to help them avoid, report, and recover from fraud, scams, and bad business practices. Your thoughts, ideas, and concerns are welcome, and we encourage comments. But keep in mind, this is a moderated blog. We review all comments before they are posted, and we won’t post comments that don’t comply with our commenting policy. We expect commenters to treat each other and the blog writers with respect.

  • We won’t post off-topic comments, repeated identical comments, or comments that include sales pitches or promotions.
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  • We won’t post threats, defamatory statements, or suggestions or encouragement of illegal activity.
  • We won’t post comments that include personal information, like Social Security numbers, account numbers, home addresses, and email addresses. To file a detailed report about a scam, go to ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

We don't edit comments to remove objectionable content, so please ensure that your comment contains none of the above. The comments posted on this blog become part of the public domain. To protect your privacy and the privacy of other people, please do not include personal information. Opinions in comments that appear in this blog belong to the individuals who expressed them. They do not belong to or represent views of the Federal Trade Commission.

Pankaj Gupta
January 02, 2024

Looking forward to this law as I frown when I see so many junk fees added to numerous services by business to inflate the final bill by advertising low prices.

Kehinde Anthon…
January 02, 2024

The Junk Fee should not only be applicable to Car Sales but also Telephone Services and Telephone Product Sales. the experi2nce with Telephone Services and Sales directly through phone companies like AT&T or their Third party organizations like SaraPlus/BJs this year has been quite horrendous. Please ask the public their respective experiences with these organizations to have a feel of pains being imposed on the public.
Thank you for positive work being done to alleviate the Sherlock-like activities of these organizations!

john jacobs
January 02, 2024

Anything to penalize for,,,these extra FEES and unethical business praying on unsuspecting persons would be great...Businesses and individuals scamming would be great. There is not enough space to write just my issues , but in short,,,If you purchase a package of any beverage and throw the can's or bottles out along side the road,,,if caught you are liabel for up to 250.00 fine per container,,, dishonest business can steal almost any amount from you and it's hard to get your money back,,,Supposed companies AAA and Trans Union Credit Bureau us methods unethical and you never can get your money back.

Jeffery
January 02, 2024

Why are businesses allowed to charge more because I use a Debt Card. There seems to be a lot of "Junk Fees" with words "Just Because We Can" attached to them.
For example, I purchase gas, I can get it for $3.24 with cash but pay $3.32 with Debt Card. I've also noticed that other places are following along as well.

Junk Fees are unfair and cost me more than necessary.

You wanted people to "Go Green," and now "They are paying more."

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