consumers are revolting against the proliferation of all kinds of hidden fees

The United States declares war on “junk fees”, a fashionable expression since 2023, in reference to hidden but often mandatory fees. They can increase the total of a bill at a restaurant, at a hotel or for a plane ticket.

Those who have already traveled to the United States have undoubtedly noticed that the price displayed on a restaurant menu is different from the total paid, since it does not generally include local taxes and service. But junk fees are something else again.

“Fee”, which can be translated as “charges” or “surcharge”, is a magic word for a business. A word is often attached to it, without us knowing exactly what it corresponds to: the “convenience fee” or the “processing fee” are classics of the genre, the equivalent of administrative fees.

In Utah, a restaurant customer did not want to pay a “surcharge for the cost of beef”, says USA Today. Which is understandable since he ordered chicken. He had to fight to cancel the overload. In Michigan, a restaurant added an inflation fee of $4 per bill to offset rising prices. It’s simpler than printing a menu with new prices. The National Restaurant Association says 16% of its members have added extra to pay in 2023.

A Los Angeles hotel imposes an urban fee of $30 per day to cover Internet access, telephone access and newspaper delivery. In Chicago, a guest at another hotel asked why he had to pay a 3% transaction fee. It was explained to him that this “fee” was due to bank charges associated with payment by card. He replied that he would pay in cash. “Yes but no, you still have to pay”he heard himself say.

Last example, cited by the Wall Street Journal : sending a simple envelope with FedEx has increased to 38 dollars, once a supplement “for gasoline” and a supplement “to collect the mail yourself upon arrival” is added.

On arrival, the sum is enormous. The White House gave an estimate of $90 billion per year, paid by Americans in junk fees. This amounts to $650 per household. Buying a concert ticket online, rather than directly at the concert hall box office, can cost up to 21% more than the price of the seat, according to a press release from the White House. For a food delivery company, in 2021, junk fees represented 15% of the total billed, or $1.3 billion in revenue for the year.

Beyond the high prices, what is extremely annoying for the consumer is not knowing how much they will pay in total and also the feeling of being trapped with a low call price. When searching online, not everyone necessarily gives up at the end of the transaction, because searching for another hotel, another restaurant or another flight takes time with an uncertain result.

Fortunately, the Biden administration has decided to regulate the trend a little, which is not surprising. Talking about purchasing power in the run-up to an election in a period of high inflation is obviously useful. This is happening at the federal level but also at the state level. In California, junk fees will be banned from July 1, 2024 in restaurants. Minnesota businesses are also constrained by the law now. And then, a measure from the Biden administration aims to force airlines to give a price clearly detailing everything it includes. Almost all of them charge a baggage surcharge, even on domestic flights, but in May, several airlines took legal action against a measure they consider “arbitrary” and “capricious”.