[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 29 (Friday, February 11, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7850-7851]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-3169]
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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
Agency Information Collection Activities; Request for OMB Review;
Comment Request
AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission).
ACTION: Notice and request for comment.
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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995,
44 U.S.C. 3501-3521, the FTC is seeking public comments on its proposal
to extend through February 28, 2014, the current PRA clearance for
information collection requirements contained in its Informal Dispute
Settlement Procedures Rule. That clearance expires on February 28,
2011. The FTC will submit the collection of information abstracted
below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 14, 2011.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties may submit written comments by following
the instructions in the Request for Comments part of the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section below. Comments in electronic form should be
submitted by using this Web link: https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/idsrpra2. Comments in paper form should be mailed or delivered to
the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the
Secretary, Room H-113 (Annex J), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC 20580.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for copies of the collection
of information and supporting documentation should be addressed to
Svetlana S. Gans, Attorney, Division of Marketing Practices, Bureau of
Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, Room H-286, 600
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20580, (202) 326-3708.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Informal Dispute Settlement Procedures Rule, 16 CFR part
703.
OMB Control Number: 3084-0113.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Abstract: The Informal Dispute Settlement Procedures Rule (the
Dispute Settlement Rule or the Rule) specifies the minimum standards
which must be met by any informal dispute settlement mechanism (IDSM)
that is incorporated into a written consumer product warranty and which
the consumer must use before pursuing legal remedies under the Act in
court. These minimum standards for IDSMs include requirements
concerning the mechanism's structure (e.g., funding, staffing, and
neutrality), the qualifications of staff or decision makers, the
mechanism's procedures for resolving disputes (e.g., notification,
investigation, time limits for decisions, and follow-up),
recordkeeping, and annual audits. The Rule requires that IDSMs
establish written operating procedures and provide copies of those
procedures upon request. The Rule applies only to those firms that
choose to be bound by it by requiring consumers to use an IDSM. A
warrantor is free to set up an IDSM that does not comply with the Rule
as long as the warranty does not contain a prior resort requirement.
On November 24, 2010, the Commission sought comment on the
information collection requirements associated with the Dispute
Settlement Rule. 75 FR 71704. No comments were received. Pursuant to
the OMB regulations, 5 CFR part 1320, that implement the PRA, the FTC
is providing this second opportunity for public comment while seeking
OMB approval to renew the pre-existing clearance for the Rule.
Estimated Annual Burden: 13,000 hours rounded to nearest thousand
(9,114 hours for recordkeeping + 3,038 hours for reporting + 1,114 for
disclosures).
Likely Respondents, Estimated Number of Respondents, Estimated
Average Burden per Respondent:
(a) Recordkeeping--IDSMs, 2, 30 minutes/case for 18,227 annual
consumer cases;
(b) Reporting--IDSMs, 2, 10 minutes/case for 18,227 annual consumer
cases; and
(c) Disclosures--Warrantors, 27, annual 30 hours; IDSMs, 2, 5
minutes/case for 3,645 consumer cases.
Frequency of Response: Periodic.
Total Annual Labor Cost: 265,000 rounded to nearest thousand.
Total Annual Capital or Other Non-Labor Cost: 322,000 rounded to
the nearest thousand.
Request for Comments
Interested parties are invited to submit written comments
electronically or in paper form. Comments should refer to ``Warranty
Rules: Paperwork Comment, FTC File No. P044403'' to facilitate the
organization of comments. Please note that your comment--including your
name and your State--will be placed on the public record of this
proceeding, including on the publicly accessible FTC Web site, at
http://www.ftc.gov/os/publiccomments.shtm.
Because your comments will be made public, you are solely
responsible for ensuring that it does not include any sensitive
personal information, such as any individual's Social Security number,
date of birth, driver's license number or other State identification
number or foreign country equivalent, passport number, financial
account number, or credit or debit card number. It is also your own
responsibility to ensure that your comment does not include any
sensitive health information, such as medical records or other
individually identifiable health information. Your comment should also
not include any ``[t]rade secret or any commercial or financial
information * * * which is privileged or confidential.'' See Section
6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR
4.10(a)(2). No comment, whether it contains such material or not, will
be given confidential treatment unless the comment has been filed with
the FTC Secretary; the comment is accompanied by a written
confidentiality request that complies fully with FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16
CFR 4.9(c); \6\ and the General Counsel, in his or her sole discretion,
has determined to grant the request in accordance with applicable law
and the public interest.
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\6\ In particular, the written request for confidential
treatment that accompanies the comment must include the factual and
legal basis for the request, and must identify the specific portions
of the comment to be withheld from the public record. See FTC Rule
4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).
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Please submit your comments in electronic form or send them by
courier or overnight service. To ensure that the Commission considers
an electronic comment, you must file it at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/idsrpra2, by following the instructions
on the Web-based form. If this Notice appears at http://www.regulations.gov, you may also file an electronic comment through
that Web site. The Commission will consider all comments that
regulations.gov forwards to it.
A comment filed in paper form should include the ``Warranty Rules:
Paperwork Comment, FTC File No. P044403'' reference both in the text
and on the envelope, and should be mailed or delivered to the following
address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Room H-113
(Annex J), 600
[[Page 7851]]
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20580. The FTC is requesting
that any comment filed in paper form be sent by courier or overnight
service, if possible, because U.S. postal mail in the Washington area
and at the Commission is subject to delay due to heightened security
precautions.
Comments should also be submitted via facsimile to OMB at (202)
395-5167 and addressed as follows: Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Attention: Desk Officer for
Federal Trade Commission. In case it is needed, the OMB mail address
is: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management
and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Docket Library, Room 10102,
725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503. The OMB requests that any
comment filed in paper form be sent by courier or overnight service.
The Commission will consider responsive public comments received on
or before March 14, 2011.
Willard K. Tom,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2011-3169 Filed 2-10-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P