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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe Federal Communications Commission is pushing to make the total cost of cable and satellite bills clearer amid the Biden administration’s ongoing war on surcharges.
The FCC on Tuesday officially proposed a rule that would require cable and satellite providers to show the full price of their services upfront, instead of sneaking them into bills under names such as “broadcast TV” fees.
A 2019 analysis from Consumer Reports concluded that fees add 24 percent to bills from cable TV providers.
“The advertised price for a service should be the price you pay when your bill arrives, rather than hide a bunch of junk fees that are separate from the top-line service price,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement.
“Drip pricing,” in which surcharges are added to the total price of a product or service throughout the purchasing process, can also be found in purchases for concert and airline tickets, as well as hotel reservations and other types of booking fees.
“There is . . . good empirical evidence that this type of drip pricing harms consumers,” Florian Ederer, an associate professor of economics at the Yale School of Management, told The Washington Post earlier this month when asked about a flurry of legislation that seeks to incorporate transparent, “all-in” pricing for concert tickets.
Last week, before a meeting with President Biden, live events ticketing companies announced that they will voluntarily incorporate all-in pricing for many of their concert tickets. All-in pricing does not mean fees will be eliminated, only that the fees are incorporated into prices upfront.
The FCC proposed rule come as the Biden administration has taken aim at fees charged by airlines and banks. In November, the FCC proposed a rule to require internet companies to post prices, data allowances and other key information on “easy-to-understand labels” for consumers as they compare services.
“My Administration’s top priority is lowering the cost of living for the middle class, and that includes cracking down on companies’ use of junk fees to hide true costs from families, who end up paying more as a result,” Biden said in a statement Tuesday.
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It’s time for an APR-like “all-inclusive cost” number for any subscription or recurring charges. Annualized total cost of any contract should be included in all marketing material, and any changes to existing costs to be communicated at least 60 days in advance in billing notices.