Shining Light on Hidden Fees
What's at stake: CR has scored a hard-fought victory in the long-running battle over hidden fees.
The latest skirmish centers on cable TV companies, which are notorious for advertising low prices and then, after consumers sign up, adding a long list of confusing fees to monthly bills. In fact, a recent CR analysis of nearly 800 pay-TV bills sent to us by consumers around the country found that the typical cable customer pays $450 a year in company-imposed fees—in effect, a 24 percent surcharge—on top of advertised prices.
How CR has your back: We shared our findings with members of Congress this past October, and CR senior policy counsel Jonathan Schwantes testified at a Senate hearing a few weeks later, calling for a crackdown on hidden fees and for more transparent pricing.
After the hearing, Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Penn., introduced a CR-endorsed bill that would require pay-TV companies to tell you the total price—including all charges, fees, and taxes—before you sign up for service. And in December the bill passed Congress with bipartisan support and the President signed it into law.
The measure—which also gives consumers the right to cancel without penalty within 24 hours of getting notice of the total price, and prohibits providers from charging for equipment that isn't used—will take effect this summer. Verizon already announced new prices for its FIOS TV service with no hidden fees.
What you can do: Join our fight to end hidden fees.
Ending Product Safety Secrecy
What's at stake: Shocking but true: The Consumer Product Safety Commission, the federal agency that oversees the safety of consumer goods, must, in most cases, ask manufacturers for permission to release information about their products—even to warn the public about life-threatening dangers. The manufacturer can even go to court to fight the release of information.
That's because of a 1981 law meant to ensure the accuracy of safety warnings and protect company reputations from undue damage. But this law, known as Section 6(b) of the Consumer Product Safety Act, ends up creating delays that often put consumers at risk.
Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., has now introduced the SHARE Information Act, which would make it harder for companies to muzzle the CPSC and help the agency alert the public to safety issues in a timely way.
How CR has your back: The bill was partly inspired by CR investigations, especially a 2019 series of articles about the Fisher-Price Rock 'n Play and other inclined sleepers that has so far led to the recall of some 5.6 million dangerous sleeper products.
In January, CR began asking consumers to urge their representatives to support the bill. By mid-February more than 16,000 had sent a message through CR's campaign. And our D.C. advocates continue to build support in Congress.
What you can do: Tell your representative to support the bill.
Improving Aircraft Safety
What's at stake: When it comes to air travel, there's no substitute for rigorous and consistent safety standards. And the recent fatal crashes of two Boeing 737 MAX jets have made it especially clear how critical it is that any gaps in those standards be eliminated immediately.
But U.S. airlines are increasingly outsourcing aircraft maintenance to remote corners of the world where many repair shops get far less oversight than U.S. airlines' own domestic repair facilities and rely on uncertified, poorly trained, and inadequately screened technicians. With passenger safety on the line, Congress must act to strengthen the Federal Aviation Administration's oversight of aircraft maintenance and repairs at foreign facilities—and the newly introduced Safe Aircraft Maintenance Standards Act would do that.
How CR has your back: More than a decade ago, CR highlighted the trend of airlines outsourcing maintenance to foreign repair shops. We called the practice "an accident waiting to happen" at the time, and that's still the case today. That's why we're continuing to highlight the inconsistent safety standards and have endorsed the Safe Aircraft Maintenance Standards Act, which would require that the FAA provide greater oversight to ensure aircraft and passenger safety.
What you can do: Contact your representatives and encourage them to support the Safe Aircraft Maintenance Standards Act, HR 5119.
Editor's Note: This article also appeared in the May 2020 issue of Consumer Reports magazine.
