You’ve planned the perfect vacation and painstakingly searched for the best on-line deal for a hotel room. After making your reservations you head out, confident that you’ve got a handle on your planned expenses, but once you arrive at your destination, you are confronted with a long list of “hotel fees” that weren’t disclosed on the website when you did your search.
U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., says that’s a form of fraud. “To me that is deceptive, to me that is inappropriate and I believe that we need to take a look at this practice.”
Speaking with reporters in a conference call Wednesday morning, McCaskill said that she wants to hear from Missourians who have been the victim of those hidden hotel fees. She’s asking individuals to share their stories with her via her Senate website, www.McCaskill.senate.gov and then to click on the “Submit your Scam” button to the right side of the page.
McCaskill also wants the Federal Trade Commission to look into the practice. “The government doesn’t need to be telling anybody what they can charge, but we should be insisting that people are transparent about what they charge so, consumers can make an educated choice about where they would like to spend their money.”
McCaskill has previously solicited comments from her constituents when other issues of consumer abuse have come to her attention. She has also used those comments and complaints to compel officials from various companies and industries to testify before congressional committees.
