Staying Fit
Exorbitant fees that come out of the blue are practically everywhere. Call it a fee-for-all.
- Your hotel bill includes a surprise “resort” or “destination” fee. Never mind that you didn’t use the gym, swimming pool or Wi-Fi, or partake in city tours or other amenities.
- That sweet budget airfare you booked online doesn’t look as enticing after fees for privileges that were once gratis are piled on, such as selecting a seat or placing a carry-on in the overhead bin.
- Tickets to a hot concert, show or sporting event that you vied for online don’t disclose the hefty handling charge on top of the tickets’ face value. The vendor has exclusive rights to sell access to the event, so you must pay the fee or stay home.
These and other maddening charges, collectively known as junk fees, exasperate Americans of all ages. Older adults on fixed incomes may feel the financial strain even more.
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The Biden administration has declared war on junk fees. On Oct. 11, the Federal Trade Commission proposed a rule that would ban hidden fees and make it mandatory for businesses to disclose the "all in" pricing for hotel stays, concerts and other events upfront.
"All too often, Americans are plagued with unexpected and unnecessary fees they can't escape. These junk fees now cost Americans tens of billions of dollars per year — money that corporations are extracting from working families just because they can," FTC Chair Lina M. Khan said in a statement. “By hiding the total price, these junk fees make it harder for consumers to shop for the best products or service and punish businesses who are honest up-front.”
Not all fees are illegitimate. Charges may cover staffing and the cost of doing business, and companies have a right to make a profit.
But some businesses are more transparent about disclosing fees to consumers ahead of time, rather than burying them in the fine print of advertisements or contracts.
What you’re paying for — or not — can get squishy.
Junk fees in the spotlight
In October 2022, the Biden administration asked federal agencies to find ways to reduce or eliminate hidden fees, charges and add-ons for everything from banking services and cable and internet bills to airline and concert tickets.
“It’s beyond frustrating to end up spending more than you budgeted because of random, arbitrary fees,” Khan said in an earlier statement. “No one has ever felt that a ‘convenience fee’ was convenient. Companies should compete to provide the best quality at the best price, not to see who can squeeze the most added expenses out of consumers.”
Last year, the FTC solicited comments from the public “on the harms caused by junk fees and the unfair or deceptive tactics companies use to impose them.” Some of those fees it considers fraudulent, such as auto dealerships’ “nitrogen-filled” tires, which have no more nitrogen than normal air.
The agency wants to improve the public’s access to funeral prices posted online. A review of funeral providers’ websites, which took place during the height of the pandemic when many couldn’t make funeral arrangements in person, found that more than 60 percent provided little to no information about prices.