Hallelujah! It seems like “junk fees” might finally be on their way out. If you’ve ever purchased concert tickets, booked a hotel room, rented a car, or ordered flowers online, you’ve probably experienced one of these unpleasant surprises.
You do your research, comparing different options and prices from various vendors. Eventually, you find the best choice that fits your preferences and budget. You go through the usual process of entering your payment details and addresses. But just as you’re about to click “confirm,” you’re hit with unexpected surcharges and fees.
A “convenience fee” for your flowers, a “resort fee” for your budget motel, a mysterious “cost of business” surcharge on your dinner bill, a “handling fee” for your mobile tickets that only you will handle. These fees are often required and bundled into the original purchase without being disclosed upfront.
If you’re anything like me, these fees leave you feeling annoyed or even angry. You’re frustrated by the deception, the inability to opt out of unnecessary charges (what exactly is an “impact fee”?), the substantial increase in costs (over a quarter of the ticket price for many live events), and the hindrance it causes when trying to compare prices responsibly.
Even if you anticipate these fees, the actual amount charged varies so much between vendors that it’s impossible to make an accurate comparison upfront. Sales taxes are also annoying, but at least they’re predictable and consistently applied within a product category.
In some markets, this type of hidden fee scheme has become unavoidable. Once a few hotels realize that obscuring their prices on popular travel websites makes their rooms appear cheaper, other hotels priced more transparently are at a competitive disadvantage. This gives rise to more deceptive practices.
Thankfully, policymakers are taking steps to break this cycle and level the playing field for consumers and honest businesses. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently proposed a new rule to ban these “junk fees.” The rule defines junk fees as hidden and bogus fees that harm consumers and undermine honest businesses. It would require sellers to advertise prices that include all mandatory fees and to disclose upfront the amount, purpose, and refundability of any fees.
Importantly, the rule would not dictate or limit prices, nor would it ban the use of mandatory fees. It simply aims to promote transparency so that consumers can make informed decisions.
While the rule is still in the proposal stage, President Biden has been vocal about his administration’s plans to address junk fees. Federal lawmakers have also introduced bills to tackle these practices, and California recently passed a similar law. Additionally, lawsuits filed by states and consumer advocacy groups have targeted offenders.
As a result, some vendors and platforms have already started making changes. Ticketmaster and Live Nation pledged to disclose full pricing upfront, eliminating surprise fees during the checkout process. Airbnb now allows travelers to easily sort listings to see prices inclusive of cleaning fees, which were previously used to hide costs. And some major hotel chains have amended their practices due to lawsuits.
While resort fees may seem like a minor issue, they have a significant impact on consumers and distort the market. By addressing these fees, policymakers are taking a small but important step towards good governance and consumer protection.
[HTML tags:
Comment on this story
Comment]
[HTML tags:
Popular opinions articles
View 3 more stories]
Denial of responsibility! Vigour Times is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
