{"id":1083,"date":"2023-10-14T17:45:56","date_gmt":"2023-10-14T17:45:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/connectwithfund.com\/finance\/biden-administration-moves-to-eliminate-all-junk-fees-folks-are-tired-of-being-taken-advantage-of\/"},"modified":"2023-10-14T17:45:56","modified_gmt":"2023-10-14T17:45:56","slug":"biden-administration-moves-to-eliminate-all-junk-fees-folks-are-tired-of-being-taken-advantage-of","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/connectwithfund.com\/?p=1083","title":{"rendered":"Biden administration moves to eliminate all junk fees. \u2018Folks are tired of being taken advantage of.\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The mountain of meritless and hidden \u201cjunk fees\u201d that consumers pay should be banned, Biden administration officials said Wednesday, in an escalation of an ongoing effort to fight hidden charges that cost consumers billions each year.<\/p>\n

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission announced a set of proposed rules that would require businesses to show the full price up-front on a wide range of transactions \u2014 from concert ticket purchases to car rentals, hotel bookings to apartment rentals \u2014 and save people time and money as they shop for the best prices, regulators said.<\/p>\n

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The Federal Trade Commission\u2019s proposed rule \u201cwould prohibit corporations from running up the bills with hidden and bogus fees, requiring honest pricing and spurring firms to compete on honesty rather than deception,\u201d said Chairwoman Lina Khan. The FTC proposal would assess money penalties on violators, she told reporters.<\/p>\n

At the same time, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said it\u2019s making it clear that big banks and credit unions cannot charge customers for simple requests, such as fees to review account balances, check-imaging fees or charges to access loan statements.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen people request basic information about their accounts, big banks cannot charge them massive fees or trap them in endless customer-service loops,\u201d CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said.<\/p>\n

The agency has already been scrutinizing fees, and banks have largely curbed non-sufficient-funds fees, Chopra said. The result is an estimated consumer savings of $2 billion a year. Businesses have already paid back consumers $140 million in junk fees after CPFB scrutiny on unnecessary fees. That included charges from one unidentified company for paper statements \u2014 except no statement was ever printed or mailed, Chopra said.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday I\u2019m proud to announce that my administration has taken our most comprehensive action ever to eliminate junk fees,\u201d President Joe Biden said Wednesday in the White House\u2019s Rose Garden. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just about simple fairness. Folks are tired of being taken advantage of and being played for suckers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For over a year, the Biden administration has been hammering away at the harms of junk fees that can knock bank customers, travelers, concert-goers and others with unneeded costs. But efforts have culminated so far in companies making pledges to show \u201cup-front all-in pricing,\u201d transparency that may only do so much to protect consumers, some advocates say.<\/p>\n

The one-two punch from regulators Wednesday attempts to be a tough new chapter. \u201cThese announcements are some of the most comprehensive actions on junk fees the administration has taken to date,\u201d said Lael Brainard, director of the White House\u2019s National Economic Council.<\/p>\n

Consumer advocacy groups cheered the news Wednesday. \u201cIt\u2019s a long needed change that is going to have a real impact on Americans\u2019 pocketbooks,\u201d said Susan Harley at Public Citizen.<\/p>\n

Requiring clear, easy-to-understand prices will help people make informed purchases and it also improves competition for businesses that already want to offer clear up-front pricing, said Harley, managing director for Public Citizen\u2019s Congress Watch division.<\/p>\n

A group that represents financial institutions was critical. \u201cThe CFPB\u2019s latest advisory opinion is another instance of the bureau overstepping its authority and masking a major power grab as simple \u2018guidance,’\u201d said Greg Mesack, senior vice president of government affairs at the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions.<\/p>\n

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce urged the administration to drop the proposal. \u201cThe reality is this attempt at price controls will only stifle the innovation that leads to more choices and lower prices for consumers,\u201d said Neil Bradley, the business group\u2019s executive vice president and chief policy officer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need a government that is focused on holding accountable those who defraud consumers, not one focused on micromanaging the economy,\u201d Bradley said.<\/p>\n

The Biden administration\u2019s focus on unnecessary fees and added costs comes while inflation has burned Americans\u2019 budgets. Inflation rates have receded from their four-decade highs, but higher prices and the ability to pay back debts are still on the mind of many people. September\u2019s consumer inflation data is scheduled for release Thursday.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no estimate on exactly how much money the FTC proposal could save consumers, but it could be in the billions, senior administration officials said.<\/p>\n

Hidden and deceptive fees are already illegal under federal law, but the proposed FTC rule is an effort to broaden the fight instead of bringing individual cases.<\/p>\n

The rule takes aim at fees that are hidden and misrepresent their purpose. Businesses also have to be clear about whether fees are refundable, regulators said.<\/p>\n

Of course, there\u2019s no guarantee the FTC proposal will make the books. It has to go through a public comment and review period, and possibly even withstand lawsuits. The agency has proposed a ban on noncompete clauses in the job market and business groups say they are ready to sue if it takes effect. <\/p>\n

The new CFPB guidance is rooted in a 2010 law that grew out of the financial crisis and Great Recession. Banks and credit unions with at least $10 billion in assets already have to follow laws to provide customers with account information, the CFPB noted.<\/p>\n

When financial firms charge fees for that kind of information, they\u2019re blocking customers from the data they are entitled to have, the agency said.<\/p>\n

The agency said it could press for money penalties if violations happen after Feb. 1, 2024.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Read the full article here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The mountain of meritless and hidden \u201cjunk fees\u201d that consumers pay should be banned, Biden administration officials said Wednesday, in an escalation of an ongoing effort to fight hidden charges that cost consumers billions each year. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission announced a set of proposed rules that would require businesses to show the full price up-front on a wide range of transactions \u2014 from concert ticket purchases to car rentals, hotel bookings to apartment rentals \u2014 and save people time and money as they shop for the best prices, regulators said. The Federal Trade<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1084,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1083","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-finance"],"yoast_head":"\nBiden administration moves to eliminate all junk fees. \u2018Folks are tired of being taken advantage of.\u2019 | ConnectWithFund<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The mountain of meritless and hidden \u201cjunk fees\u201d that consumers pay should be banned, Biden administration officials said Wednesday, in an escalation of\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/connectwithfund.com\/?p=1083\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" 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