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No, the FCC is Not Forcing Consumers To Pay $225 To File Complaints (washingtonpost.com)
Having your voice heard at the Federal Communications Commission could soon cost you hundreds of dollars, according to congressional Democrats Tuesday who oppose a looming rule change by the nation's top telecom and cable regulator. But that may not be the case after all, a review of the FCC proposal shows. From a report: At issue is a proposal that the FCC is expected to vote on Thursday that looks at the agency's process for handling "informal" complaints -- the kind you might file if you've received an unwanted robocall or if you've heard something indecent on the radio. Under the proposal, the FCC could soon pass the informal complaints it receives directly to the companies that consumers are complaining about, the lawmakers said in a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. That might result in FCC staff no longer reviewing those submissions, they said. And customers who receive no relief from the companies would then be forced to lodge a "formal" complaint at the FCC, an existing procedure that costs $225.
"To advise consumers that they file a $225 formal complaint if not satisfied ignores the core mission of the FCC -- working in the public interest," wrote Reps. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) and Mike Doyle (D-Pa.). The controversy was first reported by the Verge. Staffers for the House Energy and Commerce Committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The FCC said in a statement that the lawmakers had misunderstood the proposal. "The item would not change the Commission's handling of informal complaints," the agency said.
"To advise consumers that they file a $225 formal complaint if not satisfied ignores the core mission of the FCC -- working in the public interest," wrote Reps. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) and Mike Doyle (D-Pa.). The controversy was first reported by the Verge. Staffers for the House Energy and Commerce Committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The FCC said in a statement that the lawmakers had misunderstood the proposal. "The item would not change the Commission's handling of informal complaints," the agency said.
A decent chunk of people couldn't throw $200+ toward a complaint even if it would definitely result in action.
Yeah... it shouldn't cost a net $200 to complain.... Or if it does cost $200; the FCC should pay a BOUNTY to citizens raising a complaint unless it is investigated and found to not have merit. For example: Pay $200 to complain, and if investigation shows the complaint is valid, then the company should be fined or required to pay a settlement plus the investigative, administrative and FCC legal costs, and the complainer(s) that resulted in that investigation receive a payment of 2% of the resulting fine or settlement, but no less than $1000 for a founded complaint.
Another troubling sign of the decay of slashdot are the people with tons of karma points to support their right-wing shilling.
fafalone does a great job of explaining the situation and rebuts the contention of the GP with facts, logic and no insults.
This great post is instantly labeled as Troll, even though it is the furthest thing from it..
I want to know how much it costs to buy an existing account on slashdot and get free karma points on it, since that seems to be what the astroturfers are doing