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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

#341

Post by ChrisMarshallNY »

verall wrote: post #242
ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a feeling that's optional. It may even be regional. My experience was almost exclusively Tokyo. I traveled to Tokyo for over 20 years, and always paid what was on the sticker. I was told that the tax was included in the price. I remember one of my bigger purchases, was a ¥75,000 Oceanus watch, and that was exactly what I paid.

If you go to a donqi the price tags list without the tax besides small text that either lists the full price or says "+10% consumption tax" or along those lines. As a tourist you don't always have to pay the consumption tax though.

I have a feeling that you're right.

I remember the saleswoman asking to see my passport, when I was buying the watch (it was that big department store in Akihabara).

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

#342

Post by bdangubic »

nxm wrote: post #340
websap wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Khan has been absolutely spectacular for the free markets. Transparency in pricing (with this law), transparency in cancellation of subscriptions, blocking acquisitions where businesses should fail. The free market shouldn't allow monopolies, or duopolies to form. Bad businesses should fail, not absorb more capital and continue scaling.

Her policy changes have been countlessly shut down/overturned by courts since she's overstepped her authority.

that should tell you she is doing the absolute right things :)

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

#343

Post by [deleted] »

throw10920 wrote: post #255
jfengel wrote: post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a move afoot to eliminate all regulations unless they've been specifically passed by Congress. Which is basically incapable of passing anything. Ironically, that inherent dysfunction is the main reason to suspect that won't happen. But politically, every regulation as automatically partisan, even when it has overwhelming support.

> There is a move afoot Who is behind this move? What individuals, and what politicians? By what legal means is this happening? I've literally never heard of anything like this before - without further details, this is just political flame-baiting.

[deleted]

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

#344

Post by someothherguyy »

potato3732842 wrote: post #290
jfengel wrote: post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a move afoot to eliminate all regulations unless they've been specifically passed by Congress. Which is basically incapable of passing anything. Ironically, that inherent dysfunction is the main reason to suspect that won't happen. But politically, every regulation as automatically partisan, even when it has overwhelming support.

>There is a move afoot to eliminate all regulations unless they've been specifically passed by Congress. Which is basically incapable of passing anything. It's hard to argue with this in principal. The rules as law BS has been a band-aid over dysfunction. It needs to go. It'll hurt in the short term but should be more sustainable in the long term. That people will get more angry at congress for doing nothing is icing…

> It'll hurt in the short term

There are decades of rules in the federal register. How long do you imagine it will take the legislative branch to patch them?

Go skim some of them, and see if you feel the same way afterward:

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/search?conditions%...

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

#345

Post by xp84 »

ajmurmann wrote: post #330
potato3732842 wrote: post #290

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>There is a move afoot to eliminate all regulations unless they've been specifically passed by Congress. Which is basically incapable of passing anything. It's hard to argue with this in principal. The rules as law BS has been a band-aid over dysfunction. It needs to go. It'll hurt in the short term but should be more sustainable in the long term. That people will get more angry at congress for doing nothing is icing…

> That people will get more angry at congress for doing nothing is icing on the cake. I want to be optimistic about this. In practice it seems that the strategy created by McConnel to block any legislation at all has been doing/tricking the voter really well. As he predicted, credit for anything good goes to the current admin while anything bad also gets blamed on the current admin. I can see a likely scenario where…

I agree with you: frustrated by a Congress that can’t pass any legislation, the one thing it doesn’t seem like anyone is willing to try is to consider compromises. Everyone seems fully convinced that if only the 50% (or more) of the voters who disagree with them would just drop dead, we could fix everything. And as a result, voters punish lawmakers, who horse trade and negotiate. Even though that’s the only way things used to get done until everything broke 10 or 15 years ago.

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

#346

Post by ssl-3 »

xandrius wrote: post #327
ssl-3 wrote: post #260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Zip codes are for postal routing, not tax rates. Items I order at home are subject to a 7.25% sales tax rate. My neighbor across the street (our front doors are maybe 80 feet apart) pays 6.75%. We both live in the same zip code. We both live within the same city. We both live in the same school district. We each live in two different counties . (And up the road a bit, a third county is involved instead.)

Enter your county then? Dunno enter something to differentiate.

That seems simple, too.

But some cities have their own sales taxes in addition to (or instead of) county sales taxes, so county alone isn't good enough.

Besides, there's literally 30 different counties in the US named "Hancock".

(If this were an easy problem to solve it'd have been solved a long time ago.)

---

I think we're already back to where we started, wherein: In order to display an accurate sales tax, we need to know the address, city, and state of the buyer.

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

#347

Post by disambiguation »

currymj wrote: post #133
OptionOfT wrote: post #106

I'd be interested to see whether a movie theater is considered an event. Our local one charges a convenience fee when buying online because ... they can? I wish they banned all mandatory add-ons. If I don't have the choice it should be part of the base price. The touristic railroad near me advertises a price, and then slaps on a mandatory Fuel Surcharge and Historic Preservation Fee. Excuse me? How can I compare what…

when you buy a ticket online, you are actually buying an option on the ticket, because you can go in and refund it at any time before the movie starts. the “convenience fee” is the option premium. it would be fairer if this were opt-in. Some e commerce sites now allow you to pay a few extra dollars to have free returns, something similar would work for movies.

Maybe some places operate that way, but I worked on payment systems for a few years and since then I figure most convenience fees come from credit card processing rates being passed on to the customer - at least that's how ours worked.

https://www.creditdonkey.com/interchange-rates.html

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

#348

Post by ssl-3 »

turbojet1321 wrote: post #332
ssl-3 wrote: post #260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Zip codes are for postal routing, not tax rates. Items I order at home are subject to a 7.25% sales tax rate. My neighbor across the street (our front doors are maybe 80 feet apart) pays 6.75%. We both live in the same zip code. We both live within the same city. We both live in the same school district. We each live in two different counties . (And up the road a bit, a third county is involved instead.)

This seems less like a defense of pre-tax prices and more like an indictment of a thoroughly ridiculous tax system.

Not at all. I'm really not trying to defend anything here.

It is my considered opinion that it is all quite resoundingly fucked.

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

#349

Post by lazyasciiart »

carlosjobim wrote: post #256
lazyasciiart wrote: post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s because business isn’t an abstract activity that doesn’t affect anyone’s real life.

Okay, what about art? Should we punish and limit the most successful artists to give other people a chance?

No, because see above.

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

#350

Post by breadwinner »

eric-hu wrote: post #320
breadwinner wrote: post #296

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually there is another option. Make a complaint to your state's Attorney General's Office. They usually have a website for filing consumer complaints, and AGO will contact the business, and the business is usually responsive when contacted by AGO.

How does this work? Do you provide the AGO with your name, phone and address? Subscription details?

Yes. Here's the Texas AGO's web site, as an example: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/consumer-protection/fil...
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