What is the Junk fee Act?
Asked by: Roscoe Ullrich Jr. | Last update: December 26, 2025Score: 4.1/5 (57 votes)
What is the junk fee rule?
The FTC's Junk Fees Rule requires any business (collectively, a covered business) that sells live-event tickets or short-term lodging (e.g., hotels, vacation homes, and other short-term rentals) to disclose clearly and conspicuously all mandatory fees associated with any good or service offered.
What is the junk fee prevention act?
To limit and eliminate excessive, hidden, and unnecessary fees imposed on consumers, and for other purposes. To limit and eliminate excessive, hidden, and unnecessary fees imposed on consumers, and for other purposes.
What is a junk fee in the US?
- Fees for overdraft or nonsufficient funds. ...
- Late fees for not paying a bill on time. ...
- Convenience fees. ...
- Prepaid card fees. ...
- Closing costs and homebuying fees.
What is an example of a junk fee?
Junk fees have been an area of focus for many state legislatures and attorneys general. For instance, states have taken actions against: hotel resort fees7, debt settlement fees8, food delivery service fees9, event ticketing fees10, rental car fees11, car purchase fees12, and cable and internet fees.
Inside the move to ban hidden junk fees
What states have banned junk fees?
California approved a junk fee ban in 2023 that went into effect in July 2024. Minnesota approved a junk fee ban in 2024 that went into effect in January 2025. Arizona, Virginia, Hawaii, New York, Connecticut, and Illinois are considering junk fee bans in the 2025 legislative session.
What are illegal junk fees?
Federal Trade Commission Announces Bipartisan Rule Banning Junk Ticket and Hotel Fees. The Federal Trade Commission today announced a final Junk Fees Rule to prohibit bait-and-switch pricing and other tactics used to hide total prices and bury junk fees in the live-event ticketing and short-term lodging industries.
How does the CFPB define junk fees?
What Is a Junk Fee? The term “junk fee” is not defined under federal law, but the CFPB has focused on factors such as whether the fee would be unexpected to or take advantage of a reasonable consumer, the amount of the fee compared to the cost of providing the associated service, and a lack of clarity about the fee.
Are credit card fees considered junk fees?
Credit card companies, banks, and other financial services providers charge a wide range of fees. In some instances, these fees may be “junk fees”—excessive or undisclosed fees that mask the true price of a financial product and catch customers by surprise.
What is a restaurant junk fee?
Although the law allows restaurants the opportunity to tack on service fees and gratuities to the price of a meal, the exemption to the junk fee law requires that restaurants be upfront with any service charges or fees outside of the listed menu prices on the restaurant menu: no surprise charges at the end of the meal ...
What happened to the junk fees bill?
Beginning July 1, 2024, the “Honest Pricing Law” or “Hidden Fees Statute,” SB 478, which was recently amended by SB 1524, makes it illegal for most businesses to advertise or list a price for a good or service that does not include all required fees or charges other than certain government taxes and shipping costs.
Why are hidden fees legal?
The law requires honest pricing. It prohibits businesses from “[a]dvertising, displaying, or offering a price for a good or service that does not include all mandatory fees or charges” other than government- imposed taxes or fees or reasonable shipping costs.
What is a junk charge?
Junk fees — another name for what are often seen as unsuspecting surcharges — can appear on bills, loans, air travel, hotel rooms, bank transactions and event tickets, among other things. The term gets its name due to the notion that these charges often seem like an unnecessary add-on to your purchase.
What is the minimum charge for got junk?
The minimum charge for 1-800-GOT-JUNK? is one-eighth of a 10-foot truck bed, which generally costs anywhere from $100 to $150, depending on what you're throwing away and where you live. The maximum you can book is a full truckload, although you can always book multiple trucks if you need to get rid of a lot of stuff.
Is drip pricing illegal?
The law is “intended to specifically prohibit drip pricing, which involves advertising a price that is less than the actual price that a consumer will have to pay for a good or service.” Advertising or listing a price that is less than what a consumer will eventually be charged is a form of deceptive advertising that ...
What is the FTC rule?
Under the Noncompete Rule, the FTC adopted a comprehensive ban on new noncompetes with all workers, including senior executives. The final Noncompete Rule provides that it is an unfair method of competition—and therefore a violation of Section 5—for employers to enter into noncompetes with workers.
Is it illegal to charge credit card fees to customers?
California Senate Bill 478, part of the Consumer Legal Remedies Act, bans all “junk fees” on purchases across California. This includes credit card surcharges in most situations. It's also worth noting that California's new laws extend beyond credit card surcharges.
What is an example of junk fees?
Common Junk Fees
Many people are unaware of these extra charges until they complete a transaction or have already received a product or service. Common junk fees include: Service charges for event tickets. Resort fees at hotels.
What is the new law on hidden fees?
On July 1, 2024, California banned hidden fees and deceptive “drip pricing” practices. The law applies to businesses selling or leasing goods and services for personal use in California, as well as resellers of goods and services like event tickets and online platforms.
How do you avoid paying unnecessary fees?
Plan Ahead
Many fees are the consequence of last-minute actions or cancellations. If you plan your activities—be they travel, bill payments, or even shopping—well in advance, you can often avoid extra charges. Airlines, for example, may have lower rates and fewer fees if you book early.
What are retirement junk fees?
When the saver pays for advice that is not in their best interest, and it comes at a hidden cost to their lifetime savings, that's a junk fee. These costs add up. Requiring advisers to make recommendations in the savers' best interest can increase retirement savers' returns by between 0.2% and 1.20% per year.
What is the new bank fee law?
A new California law will prohibit state-chartered banks from charging fees for withdrawals that are instantaneously declined. Welcome to CalMatters, the only nonprofit newsroom devoted solely to covering issues that affect all Californians.
What are hidden fees?
Hidden fees are any unexpected fees that consumers get hit with when purchasing goods or services. The reason these are referred to as hidden is because the consumer might not have been expecting the charge and, in reviewing their financial data or statements, finds out they've incurred additional charges.
What are school lunch junk fees?
What Are Junk Fees in School Lunch Programs? PayPAMS and other payment processor companies exploit families by charging unnecessary “convenience” and “service” fees at the school lunch counter, taking lunch money away from low-income children.