CD280: Corporate Junk Fees

Do you hate hidden hotel, housing, airline, ticketing, banking, and other corporate fees? Do you want Congress to do something about them? In this episode, learn about the wide range of unreasonable fees being reported to Congress during hearings and examine what proposals could have bipartisan support. Please Support Congressional Dish – Quick Links Contribute monthly or a lump sum via PayPal Support Congressional Dish via Patreon (donations per episode) Send Zelle payments to: Donation@congressionaldish.com Send Venmo payments to: @Jennifer-Briney Send Cash App payments to: $CongressionalDish or Donation@congressionaldish.com Use your bank's online bill pay function to mail contributions to: 5753 Hwy 85 North, Number 4576, Crestview, FL 32536. Please make checks payable to Congressional Dish Thank you for supporting truly independent media! View the show notes on our website at congressionaldish.com/cd280-corporate-junk-fees Background Sources Recommended Congressional Dish Episodes CD267: The Monopoly Powers of Live Nation/Ticketmaster FTC Authority "Justices unanimously reject FTC's authority to compel monetary relief." Ronald Mann. Apr 23, 2021. SCOTUSblog. "AMG CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC, ET AL. v. FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION." Supreme Court of the United States. April 22, 2021. Junk Fee Overview "What Is Partitioned Pricing, the Subject of Recent Regulatory and Litigation Scrutiny?" Ashish A. Pradhan. May 19, 2023. The National Law Review. "Drip Pricing." Will Kenton. January 24, 2023. Investopedia. "The President's Initiative on Junk Fees and Related Pricing Practices." Brian Deese et al. October 26, 2022. White House Briefing Room Blog. "Federal Trade Commission Explores Rule Cracking Down on Junk Fees." October 20, 2022. Federal Trade Commission. "Petition for Rulemaking for the Federal Trade Commission to Ban Drip Pricing." Brian Canfield et al. July 7, 2021. Institute for Policy Integrity, NYU School of Law. Internet "Broadband Consumer Labels." *Federal Communications Commission Healthcare "FTC Action Against Benefytt Results in $100 Million in Refunds for Consumers Tricked into Sham Health Plans and Charged Exorbitant Junk Fees." August 8, 2022. Federal Trade Commission. Banking/Payments "Letter from the Consumer Bankers Association to Sen. Raphael Warnock and Sen. Thom Tillis." Lindsey D. Johnson. July 26, 2023. Consumer Bankers Association. "CFPB Takes Action Against Bank of America for Illegally Charging Junk Fees, Withholding Credit Card Rewards, and Opening Fake Accounts." July 11, 2023. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Newsroom. "Overdraft/NSF revenue down nearly 50% versus pre-pandemic levels." Offices of Consumer Populations and Markets. May 23, 2023. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. "CFPB Issues Guidance to Help Banks Avoid Charging Illegal Junk Fees on Deposit Accounts." October 26, 2022. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Newsroom. "CFPB Orders Regions Bank to Pay $191 Million for Illegal Surprise Overdraft Fees." September 28, 2022. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Newsroom. "AG Shapiro Takes Action to Defend Pennsylvanians from Predatory Personal Lending Company." August 16, 2022. Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General. "Commonwealth of Pennsylvania et al. v. Mariner Finance, LLC," [Case No. 2:22-cv-3253]. August 16, 2022. U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. "Overdraft fees can price people out of banking." Joe Valenti. March 30, 2022. * Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Blog. "Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Launches Initiative to Save Americans Billions in Junk Fees." January 26, 2022. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Newsroom. "Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Multiple States Enter into Settlement with Nationstar Mortgage, LLC for Unlawful Servicing Practices." December 7, 2020. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Newsroom. "Attorney General Shapiro Announces $575 Million 50-State Settlement with Wells Fargo Bank for Opening Unauthorized Accounts and Charging Consumers for Unnecessary Auto Insurance, Mortgage Fees." December 28, 2018. Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General. Housing "FACT SHEET: Biden-⁠Harris Administration Takes on Junk Fees in Rental Housing to Lower Costs for Renters." July 19, 2023. White House Briefing Room. "Too Damn High: New Report Examines Role of Junk Fees in Skyrocketing Rents." March 14, 2023. National Consumer Law Center. "Rental application fees add up fast in a tight market." Jennifer Ludden. January 13, 2023. WBUR. Airlines "The New 'Big Three' of Travel Search Engines: Competition Dies." Reid Bramblett. Frommer's. "These Airlines Charge Families Extra To Sit Together." Suzanne Rowan Kelleher. Mar 7, 2023. Forbes. "Airline Family Seating Dashboard." U.S. Department of Transportation. "Airline Customer Service Dashboard." U.S. Department of Transportation. "Notice of Proposed Rulemaking - Enhancing Transparency of Airline Ancillary Service Fees." December 13, 2022. U.S. Department of Transportation. "Total ancillary revenue in the airline industry from 2011 to 2022." November 2022. Statista. "Overstuffed carry-on bags are causing a serious safety hazard, say flight attendants." Rosie Spinks. June 1, 2018. Quartz. "U.S. Department of Transportation Sets Airline Customer Service Standards with Stringent New Rules on U.S. and Foreign Carriers." May 2011. Jones Day. Hotels "AG Shapiro's Action Requires Marriott To Disclose 'Resort Fees.'" November 17, 2021. Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General. "MGM Resorts sued over resort fees.' Christina Jelski. Mar 12, 2021. Travel Weekly. "FTC Warns Hotel Operators that Price Quotes that Exclude 'Resort Fees' and Other Mandatory Surcharges May Be Deceptive." November 28, 2012. The Federal Trade Commission. Ticketing "Letter to Chairman Joseph J. Simons from Congressmen Frank Pallone, Jr. and Bill Pascrell, Jr." June 20, 2018. U.S. House of Representatives. "StubHub Hidden Ticket Fee Class Action Lawsuit Stays Alive." Anne Bucher. June 13, 2018. Top Class Actions. "Susan Wang and Rene' Lee v. StubHub, Inc. Case" [No. CGC-18-564120]. The Superior Court of the State of California, County of San Francisco. Cars "FTC Proposes Rule to Ban Junk Fees, Bait-and-Switch Tactics Plaguing Car Buyers." June 23, 2022. Federal Trade Commission. Laws Federal Trade Commission Act Section 5 breakdown Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Bills S.916 - Junk Fee Prevention Act S.4145 - Consumer Protection Remedies Act of 2022 S.1376 - Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal Act S.4419 - Good Jobs for Good Airports Act Audio Sources Taking Account of Fees and Tactics Impacting Americans' Wallets July 26, 2023 Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection Witnesses: Michelle A. Henry, Attorney General, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Lindsey Siegel, Director of Housing Advocacy, Atlanta Legal Aid Society Brian Johnson, Manager Director, Patomak Global Partners Clips Michelle Henry: In the consumer finance space, we recently filed a multi-state lawsuit against Mariner Finance, a Wall Street private equity-owned installment lender. Our lawsuit alleges that Mariner charged consumers junk fees for hidden add-on products that consumers either did not know about or did not agree to buy. These hidden add-on products, such as credit insurance and auto clubs, are typically low- or no-value products. Consumers left Mariner believing that they had entered into an agreement to borrow and repay over time a certain amount of money. In reality, because of these hidden junk fees, Mariner added hundreds to thousands of dollars to the total amount a consumer owed. The cost of the junk fees is staggering. For a random sample of loans originated in Pennsylvania in December of 2020, Mariner charged each consumer an average of $1,085 in junk fees for an average of $3,394 in cash borrowed. Michelle Henry: We also had a significant junk fee …