Biden administration takes aim at junk fees with new proposed rule, guidance

[October 11, 2023]  By Diane Bartz, Jeff Mason and Douglas Gillison
 
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Biden administration took another shot at unpopular junk fees on Wednesday with a proposed rule that would require businesses disclose mandatory fees up front and an instruction to banks not to impose excessive charges for basic information such as account balances. 

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks via video to the U.S. Fire Administrator's "Summit on Fire Prevention & Control," from the Eisenhower Executive Office Building's South Court Auditorium at the White House in Washington, U.S., October 10, 2023. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

The battle against junk fees is part of President Joe Biden's administration's effort to ease strains on voter pocketbooks as an election year approaches.

Biden, a Democrat, is running for a second four-year term, and Republicans are hammering him over inflation and the state of the economy.

Taking on "junk fees" gives Biden and his allies fodder to show they are helping people tackle costs as many Americans are dissatisfied with his economic stewardship.

The administration has previously proposed a rule to require airlines to disclose fees upfront.

The Federal Trade Commission proposed a new rule on Wednesday to ban hidden fees across a swath of industries including car rental agencies, hotels, and event ticketing providers. The agency estimated the fees cost consumers tens of billions of dollars annually on items such as hotel resort fees.

"These junk fees function as an invisible tax that quietly inflates prices across the economy," FTC Chair Lina Khan told reporters on a conference call.

Businesses would have to include all required fees in the original price that they give customers, making comparison shopping easier, the FTC said.

The proposed new rule would allow the agency to demand monetary penalties from companies that violate it and win refunds for customers, the FTC said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Wednesday issued an advisory opinion that banks and credit unions cannot charge excessive fees to consumers who want to check an account balances or find out what how much they need to pay off a loan.

The CFPB earlier this year proposed cutting credit card late fees, which has angered banks. The CFPB in February proposed a limit on late fees, setting an $8 threshold above which card issuers would need to offer justifications, down from the current $30.

The Supreme Court is considering a legal challenge to the CFPB's funding structure brought by the payday loan industry which the administration says constitutes a threat to the agency's viability.

(Reporting by Diane Bartz, Jeff Mason and Douglas Gillison; Editing by Richard Chang)

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