PRICE GOUGING: Harder Goes After Online Retailers Upcharging Customers with Hidden Fees
Range of fees intentionally hidden from customers causing prices to skyrocket
Harder pushing FTC to crack down on price gouging
WASHINGTON – Today, Rep. Josh Harder (CA-09) called on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to crack down on online retailers charging hidden fees on everyday customers. The FTC currently bans these fees in live ticketing and short-term lodging, but still allows for companies like Grubhub, Doxo, Anthropologie, and more to charge service fees, return fees, and cost recovery charges. Harder sent a letter to FTC Commissioner Andrew Ferguson calling for an expanded rule that applies to more online retailers.
Hidden price-gouging couldn’t come at a worse time:
Prices are up across the board, including by nearly 3% over the past year.
Worse still, household incomes are struggling to keep up with rising costs, stretching families’ budgets even thinner.
This all comes as corporate profits hit record highs earlier this year.
“Why does a $15 food order end up costing $30? Why is returning a t-shirt almost as expensive as buying it in the first place? Hidden fees are out of control, and it’s past time that we curbed this unacceptable price gouging,” said Rep. Harder. “I’m calling on the Federal Trade Commission to close this loophole and prevent companies from nickel-and-diming Valley families with bogus service fees, return fees, and cost recovery charges.”
In his letter, Harder called on the FTC to:
- Close the loophole by expanding existing rulemaking to include more online retailers, rather than the current narrow scope of live ticketing and short-term lodging.
- Prioritize transparency by making it easier for consumers to know what they’re paying for.
- Protect consumers from greedy companies that are trying to take advantage of rising costs.
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