[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 159 (Tuesday, August 18, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44262-44263]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-22155]
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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request
AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501
et seq.), the FTC has forwarded the Information Collection Request
(ICR) abstracted below, involving a survey of rent-to-own customers, to
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The
ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its expected
cost and burden.
The FTC published a Federal Register notice soliciting comments
from the public concerning the information collection requirements of
the survey and providing the information required by 5 CFR
1320.5(a)(1)(iv). See 63 FR
[[Page 44263]]
25044 (May 6, 1998). Three organizations submitted comments that
address concerns about the need for and the methodology of conducting
the proposed survey. The Supporting Statement submitted to OMB
discusses these comments in detail. The Supporting Statement and other
documentation, including copies of the survey questionnaire, are
available from the Bureau of Economics at the address provided below.
This is another opportunity for the public to submit comments.
DATES: Comments on the proposed study must be submitted on or before
September 17, 1998.
ADDRESSES: Send comments regarding the burden estimate, or any other
aspect of the information collection, including suggestions for
reducing the burden, to the following addresses: Edward Clarke, Senior
Economist, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of
Management and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Room 3228,
Washington, DC 20503. Further information, comments, and requests for
the proposed collection of information (supporting statement and
questionnaire) should be directed to James M. Lacko, Deputy Assistant
Director, Division of Consumer Protection, Bureau of Economics, Federal
Trade Commission, 6th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington,
DC 20580. Telephone: (202) 326-3387. E-mail: [email protected]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FTC proposes to survey rent-to-own
customers in order to evaluate their experiences with rent-to-own
transactions. The FTC will use this information to gain an
understanding of the rent-to-own industry and consumer experiences with
the industry, to assess potential consumer protection problems in the
industry, and to inform possible future FTC policy. The FTC will
collect this information on a voluntary basis and the identities of
respondents will remain confidential.
The FTC proposes to contract with a survey firm to identify 300 to
500 rent-to-own consumers and to obtain briefly information about their
experience with the rent-to-own industry. A screening process will
identify rent-to-own survey respondents from a preexisting random digit
dialing survey. Given the low (roughly 2%) incidence rate of rent-to-
own customers within the general population, the FTC estimates that
approximately 20,000 people will be screened in order to obtain a
sample of 300 to 500 customers.
The FTC will pretest the survey questionnaire on no more than 50
respondents to ensure that all questions are easily understood. The
pretest will take approximately 10 minutes for each respondent, for a
total of 8 hours. The final survey will involve 300-500 respondents,
again for approximately 10 minutes each, for a total of 83 hours.
Because a response from an individual will take no more than 10 minutes
and will be voluntary, the cost burden per respondent will be
negligible.
Pre-test questionnaire: Approximately 10 minutes x 50 people = 8
hours.
Screening: One initial question within a random survey of 20,000
people (other topics are also submitted from third party entities).
Approximately 30 seconds x 20,000 people = 167 hours.
Questionnaire response: Approximately 300-500 consumers x 10
minutes = 83 hours.
Total burden hours: Approximately 260.
Cost to Respondents: Negligible.
Debra A. Valentine,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 98-22155 Filed 8-17-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-M
