FIGHTING BACK AGAINST JUNK FEES

In his State of the Union address in February, President Biden talked about efforts to eradicate junk fees and his administration’s proposed Junk Fees Prevention Act.

- MARK SOLHEIM

The legislation mainly targets four kinds of fees and surcharges: service fees at concerts and sporting events, fees charged by airlines so family members can sit together, resort fees at hotels, and early-termination fees charged to consumers who want to switch cable TV, internet or mobile-phone providers. As long as Republicans

control the House of Representatives, most Biden initiatives are dead on arrival. The administration has had some success using regulations and applying pressure to restrict bank fees and lower the charges for late payments on credit cards. It has also made progress nudging some companies to retreat on fees in the face of threatened new rules.