You might soon be asked to pay hundreds of dollars just to be heard by your own government — here’s what you need to know about the FCC’s new rules.
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The FCC is changing the way it reviews complaints — and it might eventually lead to you paying $225 just to be heard by your own government.
The Federal Communications Commission approved new changes to its complaint system that makes it easier for the agency to review consumer feedback regarding issues with data plans, internet service providers, and other types of telecommunications. So, essentially, the agency whose job it is to make sure you aren’t being overcharged by Comcast or AT&T now wants you to pay them to do that job.
They currently have two types of complaint systems: informal and formal. Informal complaints aren’t serious and don’t carry that much weight since they don’t get resolved individually by the agency. But formal complaints make more of an impact since they work similarly to the court proceeding. But those will cost you $225 just to file.
They’ve also changed the wording in the informal complaint procedures, so commissioners can just forward complaints to the targeted company without even reviewing them. Then, they can request that consumers file the expensive formal complaint form if they’re not satisfied.
There’s no evidence that the FCC will start ignoring complaints tomorrow, but the language change does signal to consumers that they either need to pay to be heard or risk having their complaints lost in the void.
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