Rep. Fiola testifies on her bill to improve the clarity of direct mailings

BILL SEEKS DISCLOSURES ON TRAVEL VOUCHER ADS
By Andy Metzger
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE
STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, JAN. 25, 2016….After a constituent approached her about a mailing he received, a Fall River representative wants state laws updated to require disclosures in air travel offers sent through the mail.

Rep. Carole Fiola recently testified in favor of a bill that would require offers of air travel deals sent through the mail to include in at least 10-point font specific restrictions that apply to the offer. The bill (H 3214) also requires the mailer to include the name of the company the recipient may contact and “the specific purpose of the mailing.”

Fiola said a constituent approached her with a mailer he received that she said was designed to look like a pay-stub with U.S. Airlines branding on the letter similar to the major carrier U.S. Airways, a number to call, and a travel voucher in the amount of $1,375.

“If you read it carefully you would believe that this airline is going to give them travel voucher in the amount of $1,375. There is no such thing as U.S. Airlines. It doesn’t exist,” Fiola said, calling the practice “deceptive.”

The Fall River Democrat, who testified before the Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure on Jan. 19, said her constituent was confused, and the number listed on the mailer led to an invitation to a seminar in Mansfield. Fiola said she did not know what the advertisement was selling.

“He was completely confused. He thought he was given an award, a check,” Fiola told the News Service. She said, “The seniors, they like getting mail; they like getting phone calls. They get these calls and people try to fool them every day, and they fall for it.”
Fiola said her bill would leave it to the attorney general, who enforces consumer protection statutes, to determine what action to take.