Thursday, July 12, 2018

New FCC Rules Do Not Force Consumers to Pay $225 to File a Formal Complaint

Today, the FCC voted to streamline rules for its formal complaint process. Specifically, the rules create a uniform deadline of 30 days for a defendant to file an answer to a formal complaint and they set a 270-day shot clock for resolution of formal complaints.
Earlier this week, some false reports circulated through the media suggesting the new rules “would essentially force” consumers to pay $225 to file a formal complaint. But the new rules do not eliminate or change the informal complaint process, which is available to all consumers at the very low price of $0. The new rules simply set guidelines for the formal complaint process. Jimmy Kimmel spread this false information with a less than hilarious joke on his late night talk show. Realizing he was incorrect, Jimmy Kimmel deleted the segment from his Twitter account.