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FTC bans hidden junk fees in hotel, event ticket prices

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Re: FTC bans hidden junk fees in hotel, event ticket prices

#301

Post by acaloiar »

AnthonyMouse wrote: post #285
onlyrealcuzzo wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course it's controversial. They do this to increase profits. A certain portion of the population is pro-profit at virtually any cost. It might seem like Dish employees wake up every day and say, "What can we do today to screw our customers even more?" But usually they're just trying to find ways to make more money.

[flagged]

Click to cancel does not mean exactly what the name implies. It means cancellation must be as easy as signup [1]. In your example, signup is not a click away, so the cancellation process need not be. It’s a very reasonable position.

[1] https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/10/...

Re: FTC bans hidden junk fees in hotel, event ticket prices

#303

Post by hiatus »

paulryanrogers wrote: post #291
jeffwass wrote: post #252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dish is evil. Years ago when signed up with them I opted to pay the extra service for local tv channels, which required an andditional antenna to install. For some reason the installer couldn’t fit it securely on our house, and said to call Dish to remove the service since we cannot receive it. Dish refused to remove the local service! They said since we signed a contract we were stuck paying for it even though they…

Isn't this what small claims court is for?

So now likely hundreds (or more) of individuals have to not only wait on hold forever, but have to learn the process of and actually go through with filing a small claim? That there is recourse is beside the point when it is mired in bureaucracy (not to mention taking days off to show up to court, etc).

Re: FTC bans hidden junk fees in hotel, event ticket prices

#304

Post by meiraleal »

sdwr wrote: post #159
nickff wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you describe “free market” as being ideological, and “pro-market” without those terms? Both seem equally ideological (or not).

Idealist: "the free market is perfect!" Realist: "the free market has flaws, which can be addressed by..." Replace "free market" with anything you like

The realist might be an idealist that is seeing inexistent flaws tho

Re: FTC bans hidden junk fees in hotel, event ticket prices

#305

Post by mulmen »

tokioyoyo wrote: post #278
mulmen wrote: post #257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Huh, I find that very surprising. Are the estimates gamed at all? Is there any rule around how accurate they have to be?

You just put your postal code and it shows all prices according to your municipality, it will be as exact as you can get. Just go to amazon.jp, it should have a text input somewhere for your postal code to calculate the tax. In terms of gaming, hmm… I guess, you could add wrong municipality’s taxes when you show the original price, and switch over at the checkout. But my assumption is that would be deemed illegal, as…

Ok well obviously if you have the address the correct calculation can be made. That’s consistent with the behavior in the US.

What is displayed for price before you put in postal code? What price do generic banner or TV ads display?

Re: FTC bans hidden junk fees in hotel, event ticket prices

#306

Post by Freedom2 »

dotancohen wrote: post #300
breadwinner wrote: post #140

This shouldn't be controversial. FTC isn't banning these fees, it is only requiring merchants to disclose the fees. Why would anyone be against that? Another good rule is click-to-cancel. Just a couple of days ago I logged into my Dish Network account to cancel it (after they hiked prices). There is no way to cancel online. There is no way to cancel via chat. You have to call. As soon as you call you're told the wait…

Why is a law needed to address this? Isn't the market supposed to adjust for companies like this?

Precisely. The overarching HN view, although it's not a monolith (so the viewpoint isn't shared by all), is that the free market solves for all things and regulation by the government is largely a waste of taxpayer money that could be going to other things worthwhile (roads, military, police).

Re: FTC bans hidden junk fees in hotel, event ticket prices

#307

Post by BurningFrog »

TheGamerUncle wrote: post #273
BurningFrog wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a free market fan, Khan seems to have been pretty terrible. But this looks genuinely good! It's basically banning fraud. ---[EDIT], since everyone is asking for reasons here are two libertarian/conservative critiques: • https://reason.com/2024/11/07/good-riddance-lina-khan/ • https://archive.ph/IjNmZ

I well mm used to like reason a while ago but this is laughable. The article does not show how or explain why or in which manner she affects consumers. It says that she has been bad for them but there is no proof of this. Instead it makes quite a comical attempt at trying to vaguely point at the sky and say she is evil or overreaching, but she is not and anyone whoa actually wants a free market can tell you that. I h…

The article is pretty clear to me.

The main complaint is that the Khan FTC by default is against all mergers and acquisitions.

This is different from the previous standard that only mergers that harm consumers are bad. So now even mergers that benefit consumers are blocked.

Re: FTC bans hidden junk fees in hotel, event ticket prices

#308

Post by [deleted] »

Gigachad wrote: post #158
kylecazar wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally, I think she's for the free market. She is progressive, which is controversial, but I don't really see why non-billionaires run to the defense of big tech when their monopolistic status is scrutinized. I totally understand why billionaires do, on the other hand. Worth watching Reid Hoffman embarrass himself on Jake Tapper on the subject of Khan recently for those interested

HN is full of people who think they will one day be the billionaires scamming people.

[deleted]

Re: FTC bans hidden junk fees in hotel, event ticket prices

#309

Post by hiatus »

spiderice wrote: post #272
danaris wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can probably avoid this—or, rather, cover your ass legally—by doing something like sending them a letter registered mail informing them that you are cancelling and will be blocking further payments. It's far from a good solution, but it should at least put you in a better position vis-a-vis the courts if it comes to that.

Suddenly waiting on the phone for 45 minutes doesn't sound so bad, unless proving a point is your main goal.

It certainly takes less that 45 minutes to send registered mail. There are even online services to which you can upload a PDF or document of your message. I have done this on numerous occasions.

Re: FTC bans hidden junk fees in hotel, event ticket prices

#310

Post by jagged-chisel »

onlyrealcuzzo wrote: post #182
breadwinner wrote: post #140

This shouldn't be controversial. FTC isn't banning these fees, it is only requiring merchants to disclose the fees. Why would anyone be against that? Another good rule is click-to-cancel. Just a couple of days ago I logged into my Dish Network account to cancel it (after they hiked prices). There is no way to cancel online. There is no way to cancel via chat. You have to call. As soon as you call you're told the wait…

Of course it's controversial. They do this to increase profits. A certain portion of the population is pro-profit at virtually any cost. It might seem like Dish employees wake up every day and say, "What can we do today to screw our customers even more?" But usually they're just trying to find ways to make more money.

> "What can we do today to screw our customers even more?" But usually they're just trying to find ways to make more money.

But you repeat yourself.

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