Proposed bill would create more contract transparency for small business owners
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Proposed bill would create more contract transparency for small business owners

Date: January 22, 2014
By: Shannon O'Brien
State Capitol Bureau

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Intro: 
Proposed bill would protect small businesses instead of consumers against outrageous hidden cancellation fees.
RunTime:  0:39
OutCue:  SOC

Wrap: The bill would require the companies that process a business's credit card transactions to disclose their monthly and cancellation fees.

Pineville Republican Representative Bill Lant and bill sponsor says the cancellation fees can reach up to five hundred dollars.

The companies would also be required to eliminate the fine print in contracts to make them more transparent to business owners.

Actuality:  LANT.WAV
Run Time:  00:10
Description: "There's hidden hidden print or small print that spells out there's going a to be a really high disconnect fee."
 
The bill died in committee last year because larger institutions weren't fully protected by the bill and therefore refused to be included. 

Reporting from the state Capitol, I'm Shannon O'Brien.

Intro: 
If one Missouri lawmaker has his way small businesses in Missouri can stop spending so much money on credit card fees.
RunTime:  0:40
OutCue:  SOC

Wrap: A proposed bill would require the companies that process a business's credit card transactions to make their contracts more clear for the owners.

Executive Director for the Missouri Petroleum Marketers and Convenient Store Association Ron Leone supports this bill and says credit card expenses are among the biggest costs his business faces.

Actuality:  LEONE.WAV
Run Time:  00:13
Description: "While this bill doesn't solve all the problems, this is a very big problem as you can imagine. We think that anything that injects some disclosure, anything that injects some transparency, hopefully will impact the competitive forces across the board."

The bill requires the credit card companies to eliminate the fine print in their contracts and share the cancellation fees with business owners.

Reporting from the state Capitol, I'm Shannon O'Brien.