Digital Delivery Fees Legal Investigation: D.C. Textbook Fees Illegally Disclosed?

Attorneys working with ClassAction.org have reason to believe that two popular college textbook suppliers—Barnes & Noble Education and Follett Higher Education Group—may have violated a Washington, D.C.-specific law by failing to disclose digital delivery fees in the advertised cost of course materials.

Specifically, the attorneys believe that when students purchase or rent digital textbooks or other content from their school’s designated on-campus or online bookstore—e.g., bncollege.com or bkstr.com, which is operated by Follett—any fees related to digital delivery are not conveyed prior to checkout. It’s possible that this suspected “drip pricing” practice, i.e., advertising only part of a product’s price while leaving out mandatory fees until later in the purchase process, may run afoul of the District of Columbia Consumer Protection Procedures Act, which prohibits deceptive advertising practices.  

FTC Considering Banning Certain Fee Practices

In November 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published a proposed rule to address unfair and deceptive fees for goods and services. Specifically, the agency is considering banning certain fee practices that it has found to be prevalent and harmful, including misrepresenting the total cost of goods and services by leaving out mandatory fees from advertised prices and misrepresenting the nature and purpose of the fees.

The FTC noted that consumers had expressed concern that sellers frequently do not advertise the total cost a buyer will have to pay and instead add on fees “only after consumers are well into purchasing transactions.” According to the agency, many consumers also complained that sellers often misrepresent fees or fail to explain their purpose, leaving buyers wondering what the fees are for and feeling that they’re essentially paying for nothing.

The FTC found that the thousands of public comments it received after initially announcing its intention to address junk fees and other potentially deceptive pricing practices “strongly support” the need for a rule to address harm to consumers and businesses.

Several class action lawsuits have also been filed alleging that drip pricing and junk fees violate consumer protection laws. In one example, a hotel operator was accused of violating the District of Columbia Consumer Protection Procedures Act by adding various fees onto the total price customers pay for a hotel room once they are already several steps into the booking process, which significantly raises the initially advertised price. According to the suit, this so-called drip pricing or partitioned pricing is considered an unlawful trade practice under the D.C. law.

Is This a Lawsuit? What Am I Signing Up For, Exactly?

You are not signing up for a lawsuit, but rather a process known as mass arbitration. This is a relatively new legal technique that, like a class action lawsuit, allows a large group of people to take action and seek compensation from a company over an alleged wrongdoing. Here is a quick explanation of mass arbitration from our blog:

“[M]ass arbitration occurs when hundreds or thousands of consumers file individual arbitration claims against the same company over the same issue at the same time. The aim of a mass arbitration proceeding is to grant relief on a large scale (similar to a class action lawsuit) for those who sign up.”

The terms of use for bkstr.com and bncollege.com contain an arbitration clause requiring users to resolve most disputes via arbitration, a form of alternative dispute resolution that takes place outside of court before a neutral arbitrator, as opposed to a judge or jury. It’s for this reason that attorneys working with ClassAction.org have decided to handle these matters as mass arbitrations rather than class action lawsuits.

How Much Does This Cost?

It costs nothing to sign up, and you’ll only need to pay if the attorneys win money on your behalf. Their payment will come as a percentage of your award.

If they don’t win your claim, you don’t pay.

How Much Money Could I Get?

There are no guarantees as to how much money you could get or whether your claim will be successful. However, the District of Columbia Consumer Protection Procedures Act provides that consumers whose rights are violated may be owed up to $1,500 per violation.

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