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NCL opposes harmful proposed rule that will expose more to hunger

September 23, 2019

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC—Today, the National Consumers League (NCL) submitted written comments opposing the USDA’s Proposed Rule: Revision of Categorical Eligibility in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), arguing that the proposed policy change would impact millions who qualify for the federal program that is the nation’s first line of defense against hunger.

“Our organization is deeply concerned that the proposed changes would deprive an estimated 3.1 million people of access to this vital program and cause 500,000 children to lose their automatic eligibility for free or subsidized school lunch. This proposed rule may potentially worsen hunger among low-income households, harm local economies, and increase SNAP administrative costs,” wrote NCL in the comments.

Low-income households receiving cash assistance from Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), or General Assistance have long been considered automatically (or “categorically) eligible for SNAP, which means they do not separately have to pass SNAP’s asset or gross income tests.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said the proposed rule change is intended to close a “loophole” that states have misused to “effectively bypass important eligibility guidelines.” However, that’s simply not the case. Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility (BBCE) allows states to cover the gap between income and need by considering cost of living, wages, and other local economic conditions when determining people’s eligibility for SNAP.

The National Consumers League strongly opposes the proposed rule that would expose even more people to the arbitrary food cutoff policy.

NCL’s written comments are available here (PDF).

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

Groups’ letter to Congress in support of Taxpayer Service Standards legislation

September 23, 2019

The Honorable Chuck Grassley
Chairman
Committee on Finance
United States Senate
219 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-6200

The Honorable Richard Neal
Chairman
Ways & Means Committee
United States House of Representatives
1102 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

The Honorable Ron Wyden
Ranking Member
Committee on Finance
United States Senate
219 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-6200

The Honorable Kevin Brady
Ranking Member
Ways & Means Committee
United States House of Representatives
1102 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Chairman Grassley, Ranking Member Wyden, Chairman Neal, and Ranking Member Brady:

We are writing to express our support for much-needed Taxpayer Service Standards legislation to protect Americans from tax return preparers who do not meet basic standards of competency, training or ethics. In 2014, the GAO found widespread and significant errors during a “secret shopper” test on paid preparers, with only about 10 percent of preparers calculating the correct refund amount. The Federal Trade Commission ranked tax preparer fraud in the top 30 most common types of fraud in 2017. And yet, the IRS has had little authority to prevent bad actors from becoming tax preparers or remove them once they’re in the system.

We urge Congress to take action to provide some basic protections that will ensure the well-being of American taxpayers and equip the IRS with the tools it needs to do so. 

For many Americans, a tax return is their most significant financial transaction all year. According to the IRS, nearly 60 percent of taxpayers seek help with their taxes from paid preparers. As important as a tax return is, there are actually no basic standards in place to protect taxpayers from incompetent, unethical or sloppy tax preparation services. Yet the consequences of a mistaken tax return can be devastating. For these reasons, we are supporting legislation before the Senate and the House to set taxpayer service standards, allow the IRS to spot and remove habitually bad tax preparers from the system, and protect taxpayers from fraudulent, dishonest and incompetent tax preparers. Specifically, we support –

  • H.R. 3466, introduced by Congressman Estes (R-KS) and Congresswoman Sewell (D-AL). This bill would give the IRS the authority to revoke PTINs from fraudulent, incompetent and unethical preparers.
  • S. 1192 and H.R. 3330, the Taxpayer Protection and Preparer Proficiency Act. These Senate and House companion bills, introduced by Senators Wyden and Cardin and Congressmen Panetta (D-CA) and Yoho (R-FL), respectively, would establish minimum standards for tax return preparers.

Currently, the only requirement to become a paid tax preparer is to obtain a Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) from the IRS. The agency identified nearly 20,000 registered preparers who were potentially non-compliant with their tax filing and payment obligations, with $375 million in taxes due from these preparers as of January 26, 2015.[1] As of May 2017, however, only about 1,700 of 1.3 million PTINs issued had been revoked – 0.001%. Even today, the IRS accepts returns from preparers with expired or invalid PTINs. What’s more, 58% of active PTIN holders have no professional credentials at all, unlike CPAs, attorneys and enrolled agents. This is unacceptable and exposes taxpayers to fraud, incompetence and fees and penalties through no fault of their own.

We thank you for your attention to this important issue and urge you and your colleagues to support S. 1192/H.R. 3330 and H.R. 3466 to protect American taxpayers who unknowingly may be using unqualified or dishonest tax preparers.

Sincerely,                                                                                                   

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Consumer Action
MANA – A National Latina Organization
Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition
National Consumers League
Prosperity Now
Virginia Citizens Consumer Council

[1] Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, August 27, 2015.

Consumer groups applaud congressional action to improve live event ticketing marketplace

September 20, 2019

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC—Today, the National Consumers League (NCL), along with seven other leading consumer and public interest groups, sent a letter to Congressmen Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) and Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) to applaud the lawmakers’ leadership in fixing the opaque live event industry by reintroducing the Better Oversight of Secondary Sales and Accountability in Concert Ticketing Act of 2019 (BOSS ACT). 

The following statement is attributable to Brian Young, public policy manager at the National Consumers League: 

Unchecked consolidation in the live event industry has led to an opaque ticket marketplace that is rigged against consumers. In addition to undisclosed holdbacks designed to create a false sense of ticket scarcityconsumers are forced to grapple with a litany of fake websites which pose as legitimate box offices, and ridiculous fees that increase the cost of a ticket by an average of 27-31 percent. These outrageous fees typically prevent comparison shopping as they are often not disclosed until near the end of the purchase process. Likewise, despite the passage of legislation in 2016 which banned the use of ticketbuying BOTS, consumers have witnessed an increase of illegal ticket-buying bot usage of nearly 17 percent.  Fortunately, Congressman Bill Pascrell, Congressman Frank Pallone, and Senator Richard Blumenthal are working to bring transparency and competition back into the live event ticket marketplace. Today’s letter from 8 leading consumer advocacy groups applauds their efforts.” 

To add transparency to the live event ticketing marketplace and empower consumers to make informed purchasing decisions, the BOSS ACT would: 

  • Prevent primary and secondary ticket marketplaces from slamming consumers with hidden fees during checkout process; 
  • Prohibit scalpers from impersonating venues’ and teams’ websites to charge higher prices for less-desirable seats; 
  • Require primary ticket sellers to be honest about the number of tickets they plan on selling; and
  • Require the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to identify ways to improve enforcement against illegal ticket-buying bots. 

To read the full letter, and learn more about the BOSS ACT, click here. 

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

LifeSmarts launches 2019-20 season with new scholarship, community service opportunities for teens

September 18, 2019

Millions of student leaders have gained real-world knowledge through the program 

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC–Today marks the official launch of the 2019-2020 season of LifeSmarts, with a new competition going live at LifeSmarts.org. LifeSmarts, a program of the National Consumers League (NCL), is a national scholarship competition and educational program for middle-school and high-school students that tests knowledge of real-life consumer issues and is helping to create a future generation of consumer-savvy adults.

“We are very excited to launch this season of LifeSmarts,” said national Program Director Lisa Hertzberg. “For more than 25 years, LifeSmarts has given students the skills they need to succeed as adults. We’ve seen more than 1.5 million students gain knowledge, confidence, leadership capabilities, and team-building skills. The competition is fun, and the impact of LifeSmarts is life-long.”

LifeSmarts focuses on five main content areas:

  • consumer rights and responsibilities
  • personal finance
  • technology
  • health and safety
  • and the environment

Students are quizzed on their knowledge of these subject areas during online competition. Top-performing teams then advance to statewide competitions, and state champion teams as well as several wildcard teams advance to the national championship held each year in a different American city. The 2020 National LifeSmarts Championship will take place in the Washington, DC area April 25-28, 2020. Winning team members receive scholarships and other prizes.

Last year, students answered more than 3.5 million consumer questions about credit reports, recycling, nutrition, social media, state lemon laws, and everything in between. In April, the LifeSmarts state champion team from Barrington, Rhode Island, took home top honors at the 25th anniversary event in Orlando, Florida.

In addition to online, state, and national competitions, LifeSmarts recognition and awards occur throughout the program year:

  • Teams of students vie for cash prizes in the online TeamSmarts quiz, which focuses on a specific LifeSmarts content area each month from September through February.
  • Classroom mentor programs: Five $1,000 scholarships are awarded each winter to winning LifeSmarts students who become Safety Smart Ambassadors, using LifeSmarts content and UL’s Safety Smart modules to present safety messages to younger children in their communities.
  • Partnering with FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America), 4-H, and FCCLA (Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America), LifeSmarts complements these organizations’ projects, judging events, competitive events, and activities. LifeSmarts offers special opportunities for members of these student leadership organizations.
  • A new quest is open for middle school participants focusing on lithium ion button cell batteries and the risks and hazards they pose to young children. This team-building and leadership opportunity will culminate in a PSA contest among middle school LifeSmarts This project is sponsored by UL’s XPLORLABS, which helps students and teachers solve problems through science and engineering to become part of the movement to make the world a safer place.
  • Thanks to a long-standing partnership with Western Union, high school LifeSmarts participants have the opportunity to educate older citizens to avoid fraud. These LifeSmarts Fraud Ambassadors will highlight common advance-fee and fake check scams, demonstrating that education is the best protection against fraud.
  • A LifeSmarts student will win a $2,000 scholarship by writing the winning privacy essay in a contest sponsored by ITRC and CyberScout.

LifeSmarts is active in all states and the District of Columbia, where NCL is headquartered.

“We are proud of the impact LifeSmarts has made in its 25+ years of educating teens, and we are excited to continue to grow the LifeSmarts program, to educate students about financial literacy, and to create a new generation of savvy, market-ready consumers and workers,” said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg. “Too often traditional high school curriculum fails to teach students vital information that will be crucial once students go to college, get their first job, or move out of their parents’ house.”

In addition to hosting the official LifeSmarts competition, LifeSmarts.org provides resources for educators to supplement existing lesson plans. These include daily quizzes, educational videos, social media competitions, focused study guides, and scholarship opportunities. LifeSmarts lessons closely align with courses taught in family and consumer sciences, business, technology, health, and vocational education. Math and English teachers have also had success with LifeSmarts, as have homeschool and community educators.

Major LifeSmarts contributors include: Underwriters Laboratories (UL), Western Union, AARP, Comcast NBCUniversal, Sears Consumer Protection and Education Fund, American Express, Intuit, WSECU, CBM Credit Education Foundation, and a number of state and local sponsors.

Visit LifeSmarts.org for more information.

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About LifeSmarts

LifeSmarts is a program of the National Consumers League. State coordinators run the programs on a volunteer basis. For more information, visit: LifeSmarts.org, email lifesmarts@nclnet.org, or call the National Consumers League’s communications department at 202-835-3323.

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

NCL statement in support of UAW Strike

September 17, 2019

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC—The National Consumers League (NCL) has announced its support for the 48,000 United Auto Workers who have gone on strike this week to demand their share of the $12 billion profits GM earned last year. The strike also comes in protest of GM’s announcement that it–the largest of American automakers–would shutter four different U.S. plants.

“We stand with UAW members who are asking for what is only fair–a reasonable share of the enormous profits GM has enjoyed in the past year alone. The UAW loyally took a hit a decade ago to keep GM profitable and viable. Without the workers, there would be no cars and no profits. Ten years later, with GM back earning billions in profits, auto workers are entitled to enjoy this success and the fruits of their labor: better pay, profit sharing, and an end to GM’s bringing in temporary workers that reduce pay and benefits. Workers also deserve improved health care benefits,” said Sally Greenberg, the League’s executive director.

More than a decade ago when GM was facing bankruptcy, UAW members bore a significant portion of the sacrifices to bring the automaker back to financial health. At the time, the union agreed to a plan whereby General Motors hired many new workers at roughly half the pay of unionized members and greatly reduced their retirement benefits. Then GM brought in temporary workers with even fewer wage-and-benefit packages and little job security.

“GM has reduced its U.S. payrolls, announced it is closing four plants in the United States, and moved a number of others to Mexico–all of which has helped to restore GM to its current health and ability to earn billions in profits, at the sacrifice of its workers,” said Greenberg.

“NCL supports the 48,000 workers who are demanding what is theirs: a fair share in more than 50 GM plants and other locations across the Midwest and South,” said Greenberg. “We support these hardworking women and men and call on GM to sit down with the union and arrive at a contract that shares the benefits of GM’s current profits with its dedicated, hardworking employees.”

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

NCL statement on White House “Protecting Americans from Online Censorship” proposal

August 12, 2019

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC—The National Consumers League, America’s pioneering consumer and worker advocacy organization, is urging the Trump Administration not to move forward on its reported proposal to require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to regulate speech on the Internet. As reported, the draft proposal would severely curtail the protections that website operators receive under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. These protections are crucial to website operators’ abilities to moderate content, including hate speech, violence, and other objectionable content.

The following statement is attributable to John Breyault, vice president of public policy, telecommunications and fraud at the National Consumers League:

An open and well-moderated Internet is crucial to consumers’ ability to get the information they need to make informed marketplace decisions and to hold industry and government officials accountable. Nonetheless, the Trump White House seems determined to pursue a fairness doctrine for the Internet in order to placate a small, but vocal portion of the President’s base. In the name of protecting against largely fictitious ‘conservative bias,’ the Administration’s proposal would direct the independent FCC and FTC to exercise authority they don’t legally have and which their leaders have said they don’t want. If reports about the draft executive order are true, the results could be disastrous for consumers and free speech online. This proposal is deeply misguided. We urge the Administration to consign it to the dustbin of history.

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

Consumer group calling on Congress to pass Hot Cars Act on Heat Stroke Prevention Day, July 31

July 31, 2019

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC—Washington, DC—Just days after the tragic deaths of one-year-old twins who were accidentally left behind by a parent in a car in the Bronx over the weekend, advocates pointing to today’s observance of Heat Stroke Prevention Day to call attention to a bill in Congress that would mandate new cars come with technology to prevent such tragedies.

The Hot Car Act would require that all new cars come equipped with an alarm system that reminds drivers to check the car after exiting. The bill calls for “a distinct auditory and visual alert to notify individuals inside and outside of the vehicle of the presence of an occupant.” This alarm will only occur when the vehicle senses a physical presence in the back seat.

Heatstroke is the leading cause of deaths in vehicles (excluding crashes) for children 14 years old and younger, according to Consumer Reports. Although some may believe that hot car tragedies could never happen to them, more than 900 children have died in hot cars since 1990, and 17 fatalities have been recorded in 2019 alone, according to safety advocacy group KidsAndCars.org.

“This lifesaving technology is already available, so why wouldn’t we expedite its implementation and allow children and their families to benefit from it?” said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg. “Just as we have overcome other dangers in cars–kids dying in trunks, backover accidents, deadly electric car windows–the auto industry now has the technology available to prevent these tragedies. Kids shouldn’t pay with their lives when we can readily fix the problem. The auto industry can do something about this and should.”

The Hot Cars Act alert system follows in the tradition of other essential vehicle alarm systems that have become commonplace for consumers, such as chimes that remind drivers to use a seat belt, indicate that headlights have been left on, or doors have been left ajar.

The alarm system also has relevance beyond the summer months. Sensors and alarms in new cars will also prevent children from being left unattended in dangerously cold temperatures. The proposed technology would also alert pet-owners if their furry friend is about to be left behind.

These hot car deaths have happened for many years to many doting, devoted, and loving parents. Human beings make mistakes, but we now have the technology that can prevent these mistakes and help protect children, so let’s use it,” said Greenberg.

The Senate introduced its version of the bill in May, which was sponsored by Senators Roger Wicker (R-MS), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Maria Cantwell (D-WA). 

The National Consumers League once again commends Representatives Tim Ryan (D-OH), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Peter King(R-NY) for their continued leadership on this issue and urge members of Congress to support this important children’s protection legislation.

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

Consumer group: Capital One breach highlights need for Congressional action on data security legislation

July 30, 2019

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242, or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC—Just one week after consumers received relief from the massive Equifax breach, yet another massive breach—this time at Capital One bank—is placing consumers at risk, yet again, of identity theft.

In one of the largest financial breaches in history, more than 100 million Capital One accounts and 140,000 Social Security numbers were reportedly compromised. As was the case in previous breaches, the Capital One breach appears to have stemmed from a third-party cloud hosting vendor that stored Capital One’s data.

The National Consumers League (NCL), the nation’s pioneering consumer and worker advocacy organization, is calling on Congress to immediately pass comprehensive privacy legislation and protect highly personal data.

“Consumers are sitting ducks if big banks like Capital One, giant hotel chains like Marriott, and credit scoring companies like Equifax don’t take the necessary steps to protect our data,” said John Breyault, NCL’s vice president of public policy, telecommunications, and fraud. “When companies like Capital One are sloppy in protecting consumers’ data, it allows hackers steal consumer information which ultimately fuels identity theft and other frauds against us.”

“More than five years after hackers compromised the personal information of nearly 110 million Target customers, criminals are still breaking through supposedly strong firewalls and stealing consumers’ personal data from companies. Any data security legislation must require that consumer data be protected with strong fines and criminal penalties for failing to do so,” said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg.

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

NCL applauds brave New York State legislators who stood up to anti-vaxxers by eliminating religious exemptions for vaccines

June 14, 2019

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC—The National Consumers League (NCL) strongly supports the New York legislature’s vote yesterday to end religious exemptions for vaccinations. New York has been the epicenter of the nation’s measles outbreak. 

“We applaud the fortitude of legislators in standing up to opposition from religious groups and vaccine skeptics who claim that vaccination laws infringe on religious and constitutional rights,” said Sally Greenberg, the League’s executive director. As the outbreak of measles in 2019 hits record highs for an illness that is totally preventable through vaccination, New York joins the states of Arizona, California, Mississippi, Maine, and West Virginia in banning religious exemptions.

The current measles outbreak has spread to 28 states, with more than 1,000 cases in total, the highest number since 1992, when more than 2,000 cases were recorded. Highly contagious, measles can lead to serious complications, including pneumonia and encephalitis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The New York legislators withstood opposition from angry opponents—many with young children and infants—who invoked the will of God and their rights as parents. The measure in the New York State Assembly passed, 77 to 53 and State Senate approved the bill, 36-26. Governor Andrew Cuomo bravely signed the legislation moments after it passed the Senate, saying that vaccines “are safe, effective and the best way to keep our children safe.” 

“Measles is a highly contagious and dangerous illness, especially for children who are too young to be vaccinated or those who cannot, for health reasons or compromised immune systems, be vaccinated,” said Nissa Shaffi, health policy associate for NCL.

“The measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine is an extremely safe and effective public health measure that protects the entire community, especially children who are too young to receive vaccinations and rely on the general population for protection against debilitating diseases,” said Shaffi.

Religious reasons or personal preferences cannot be an excuse for exposing whole communities to totally preventable illnesses–and even death–when vaccines provide extremely safe and effective protections for all citizens. The New York Legislature made the absolute right decision in standing up to ignorance and misinformation spread by anti-vaccination forces,” said Greenberg.

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

The BOSS ACT is the fix a broken ticket market needs

June 13, 2019

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC—The National Consumers League, the nation’s pioneering consumer advocacy organization, applauds Congressman Bill Pascrell (D-NJ), Congressman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) for reintroducing the Better Oversight of Secondary Sales and Accountability in Concert Ticketing Act of 2019 (“BOSS ACT”). The bill will create much-needed transparency in a live event ticketing marketplace that is too often rigged against consumers. 

“Today’s ticketing marketplace is rigged against the consumer,” said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg. “Unfair and deceptive practices such as sky-high fees, undisclosed ticket holdbacks, deceptive speculative ticketing, and anti-consumer ticket terms are rampant. Fans are fed up with the artificially-engineered ticket scarcity, deceptive advertisements, ticket-buying bots, and cornucopia of hidden fees that too often prevent them from seeing their favorite artist or sports team at an affordable price.” 

The BOSS ACT will change that. The bill takes a comprehensive approach to putting fans back in the driver’s seat by:  

  • Requiring all-in pricing on the primary and secondary ticket markets, ending the practice of slamming consumers with hidden fees during high-pressure checkout processes; 
  • Requiring primary ticket sellers to be honest about how many seats they plan on making available; 
  • Eliminating resale price floors which artificially inflate prices and saddle ticket holders with seats they cannot use or sell; 
  • Allowing fans to resell their tickets in the manner they choose; 
  • Prohibiting unethical scalpers from impersonating venues’ and teams’ websites to charge higher prices for less-desirable seats; 
  • Requiring the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to identify ways to improve their enforcement against illegal ticket buying bots.  

At an FTC workshop on live event ticketing this week, representatives of the leading primary and secondary ticket marketplaces came together and expressed their support for federal legislation that would require all-in pricing for event tickets. “In an unprecedented show of industry consensus, businesses from across the live event industry pledged to do the right thing by consumers and support all-in pricing of tickets,” said John Breyault, NCL vice president of public policy, telecommunications and fraud. “The BOSS ACT is the industry’s opportunity to show whether it is serious about tackling the rampant abuses of consumers in the ticket marketplace.” 

The National Consumers League applauds Congressmen Pascrell and Pallone and Senator Blumenthal for their continued leadership on this issue and urge members of Congress to stand up and support this important consumer protection legislation. 

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.