FTC Declines to Act on Towing Fees

Despite pressure from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to include towing fees in its Junk Fees Rule, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) failed to include such fees in the rule.

In the lead-up to the FTC’s final rule being published, DOT had hoped that excessive towing charges would be covered in the new rule as a measure to reduce the growth of predatory towing practices and related fees in trucking. The final rule, however, is more specifically directed at live-event tickets and short-term lodging charges.

“People deserve to know up-front what they’re being asked to pay -- without worrying that they’ll later be saddled with mysterious fees that they haven’t budgeted for and can’t avoid,” said FTC Chair Lina M. Khan. “The FTC’s rule will put an end to junk fees around live event tickets, hotels, and vacation rentals, saving Americans billions of dollars and millions of hours in wasted time.”

Even though FTC’s rule doesn’t include towing fees, Khan urged “enforcers to continue cracking down on these unlawful fees and encourage state and federal policymakers to build on this success with legislation that bans unfair and deceptive junk fees across the economy.”

FTC also noted that statutes already prohibit “industries beyond live-event ticketing and short-term lodging … from deceiving consumers about fees and pricing. The FTC will use its law enforcement authority to continue to rigorously pursue bait-and-switch pricing tactics, such as drip pricing and misleading fees, in other industries through case-by-case enforcement.”