b'What Does the FTC Really Want You To Know? clearly up to each The FTC wants businesses to be truthful and non-deceptive.individual business, and FTCs point of view is that of a reasonable consumer. If youif one decides to collect a went to have your two-piece suit drycleaned and the advertisedfee, it should be done in price on the display poster is $8, then $8 plus any state taxaccordance with all should be the price the consumer pays for the drycleaned suit. applicable laws. Owners However, if when picking up the suit the customer nds outshould get specic the price is not $8 but $8 plus the cost of an environmental fee,information from their which really makes the price $8.25, the drycleaner has moststate and local authorities likely violated federal and state laws regarding deceptive andfor additional guidance, unfair practices. That is to say a reasonable consumer wouldas well as legal advice and should have expected to pay the advertised price of $8.from a qualied attorney. Had the drycleaner communicated these additionalThe points mentioned in unbundled costs upfront and communicated to the customerthis article are based on that the price of the suit was $8.25, there would not be aninformation currently issue. available. It should be The same pricing philosophy would also apply if you werenoted that many of advertising your prices. (Federal and state laws do nottodays existing laws specically tell you how to communicate the total price of aeither do not address or product or service to the consumer so long as the consumerare absent of specic clearly understands what that price is!) language regarding an environmental surcharge or fee. As a result, Some Key Points To Remember businesses will likely seeAn environmental surcharge/fee is different from a tax, soincreased scrutiny an dont call it one! unequal interpretation ofDisclose an explain your fee on the invoice and use a callexisting laws. Again, this ofce sign or poster to do the same. information is notDisclose your environmental fee to the consumerdesigned to provide accurately and be up front. drycleaners with legal advice, but instead is meant to serve asThe payment receipt should include the cleaning pricean informative tool for cleaners who are presently using or are plus the fee for the environmental surcharge. considering the possibility of adding an environmentalYour environmental fee should closely match what yousurcharge or fee on drycleaning services.are paying for those services for which the fee has been designed. Check to see if the surcharge is applied before or after a general sales tax for states that apply it to drycleaning services. Check to see what items the surcharge can be applied to. It probably is not prudent to charge an environmental fee on laundered items if they do not have an associated environmental expense. However, it may be prudent to include laundry and/or alterations if your state has a drycleaner cleanup fund and all of your services are being taxed under the fund.DLI does not make any endorsements regarding the use of an environmental surcharge or fee. Collecting an environmental fee or surcharge is Midwest Drycleaning & Laundry Institutewww.MWDLI.org / 765-969-5745 10\x00'