One item caught our attention in President Biden’s State of the Union speech last week. Junk fees and how the president and his administration is working to reduce, and in many cases, eliminate them.
Biden defined them as those hidden charges that raise the price of a concert ticket, or a hotel room, or internet service. “Junk fees may not matter to the very wealthy, but they matter to most folks in homes like the one I grew up in,” Biden said. “They add up to hundreds of dollars a month.”
The president is urging Congress to pass the Junk Fee Prevention Act. It will — for example — require the full disclosure of prices like concert tickets and the total cost wil be up front. It will do away with penalties for cancelling phone and web services and do away with fees airlines charge for a family to sit together on a flight.
It will also require banks to significantly reduce late fees for credit cards — fees that Biden considers, “excessive.”
Here are the four areas the Junk Fee Prevention Act will address:
Entertainment Fees
- Service charges, processing fees, delivery fees and facility fees charged by online ticket sellers add significant amounts to a purchase.
Airline Fees
- Free family seating is not offered by any airline. Biden wants transparency brought to the ticket selling process and the fees charged by airlines for people to sit with their children.
Termination Fees
- What you have to pay to end phone, wireless or cable TV services is expensive. Biden wants the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to do away with them.
Resort Fees
- Room rates at some hotels can be a big surprise when fees are added because the room is at a “resort.” “These fees can cost you up to $90 a night at hotels that aren’t even resorts,” Biden said.
Source link: MSN — http://bit.ly/3jRiSEx
