Whether you’re purchasing concert tickets, checking out of a hotel or canceling a cable subscription or gym membership, you’ve likely run into junk fees.
These are unexpected — and sometimes hidden — fees that companies charge you for a service that costs them little (or nothing) to provide.
Examples of junk fees include:
— Service charges for event tickets.
— Resort fees at hotels.
— Late payment fees for credit cards.
— Airline family seating fees.
— Termination fees for phone or internet service.
— Document preparation fees for financial transactions.
— Out-of-network ATM fees.
— Checking account overdraft fees.
— Restaurant living wage fees.
— Online convenience fees.
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A lot of consumers are unaware of these are fees until they complete a transaction or have already received a product or service.
“A lot of times these fees are just ways for companies to secretly gouge consumers, or to get an unfair advantage over their competitors,” Teresa Murray, consumer watchdog with the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, says.
“If there is a fee that everyone is charging but one company isn’t disclosing it, that can make one company seem like their product or service is cheaper. But they’re just not being transparent,” she adds.
In his State of the Union address, President Biden promised to crack down on these fees, asking Congress to pass the Junk Fee Prevention Act, which aims to limit companies’ abilities to levy some of these charges.
[READ: The State of the Union Is … Cynical]
It’s an initiative that has rare bipartisan support, with about three-quarters of Americans in favor of such measures, according to a Morning Consult survey. While it’s unclear whether that support will translate to successful legislation passage, experts say that increased scrutiny could lead to changes that would likely benefit consumers.
“Junk fees make people feel angry, helpless, and frustrated – like they’re being nickel and dimed,” Nadine Chabrier, senior policy counsel working on federal policy and litigation at the Center for Responsible Lending, says.
“These fees affect virtually everyone, but financially vulnerable consumers frequently bear the brunt of such fees,” she adds.
[READ: The Cycle of Poverty: Traps That Keep You Poor.]
Legislation Detractors
Still, the proposed legislation has some detractors. Peter Earle, economist with the American Institute for Economic Research, says that many so-called junk fees involve businesses passing along the added costs they face to do business.
A concert ticket promoter, for example, needs to pay the facilities that host events and other vendors that make them possible.
“Many times, the reasons for which these fees are appended are defensible,” Earle says. “The only way to eliminate them is by rolling them into a single price, and consumers would like that even less.”
Limit the Impact of Junk Fees
Whether the legislation gets traction or not, there are ways to minimize the impact of some junk fees. For example, make sure to read the terms for any product or service you purchase — and push back or ask about any fees that seem egregious.
You might also choose to do business with companies that charge fewer of these fees. For instance, Alaska, American and Frontier airlines all guarantee fee-free adjacent seats for children age 13 and older and the adult with whom they’re flying. So, flyers concerned about junk fees might opt to fly with these carriers.
“Stop patronizing the places that keep hitting you with these stupid charges, and eventually they’ll get the message that they shouldn’t be charging them,” Howard Dvorkin, certified public accountant and chairman of Debt.com, says.
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What Are Junk Fees and How Do They Affect You? originally appeared on usnews.com
