CHARLOTTE, N.C. — You probably don't know it, but you're spending a lot of money on junk fees. Now, U.S. lawmakers are working on legislation that would help eliminate these hidden fees for Americans.
President Joe Biden made it a point to mention in his State of the Union speech he was getting rid of "junk fees, or extra charges that are added to your bill."
But what exactly are junk fees, and are there ways to get around them?
OUR SOURCES
- The Biden administration
- A bill filed in the Senate
- Sara Rathner with NerdWallet
WHAT WE FOUND
Junk fees are usually hidden fees that consumers wind up paying at the end of a transaction. These can include surcharges for hotel rooms, "convenience fees" on event tickets and other associated fees tacked onto credit card bills, plane tickets and more. Rathner said many people are wasting a bunch of money each year on junk fees and they often don't even realize it.
"These individual fees on their own might not seem like much, but added up altogether, junk fees are costing American families tens of billions of dollars a year," Rathner said.
The Junk Fees Prevention Act would make merchants disclose these hidden fees upfront instead of hiding them at the very end of the transaction. So, when you are buying concert tickets or booking a hotel, you don't get an advertised price that ends up being much less than the actual cost.
Rathner said, while this won't make these hidden fees any lower, it's still a step in the right direction.
"It is going to make it easier for consumers to comparison shop, knowing the final price and not just the initial price that's being advertised," Rathner said.
This means if you’re deciding between two hotel rooms, both places would have to disclose any hidden fees before your get to the checkout process. That allows customers to choose the hotel that works best for them.
Since junk fees aren't going away entirely, Rathner said you'll need to include them in your budgeting.
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