But seriously though, who needs them?
If you are unaware of what I’m talking about, allow me to fill you in.
“Junk fees” are hidden charges attached to goods and services such as loans, bank accounts, or purchases.
This allows companies to secretly pad profits and prevent consumers from truly being able to price shop, as the price continues to unexpectedly go up.
You would think such a deceitful action would receive nearly unanimous condemnation, but not in the 2024 political arena.
Recently, a bill was put forth that would limit how much a company can charge for junk fees. People have seen junk fees on a credit reach as high as $45, which can be devastating for someone that was already struggling to pay the original bill.
Under this new legislation, that number would be limited to $8 per infraction.
Unfortunately, a large number of Republican legislatures have voted against it claiming that most Americans enjoy paying high junk fees. (I’m not making this up).
Wisconsin’s own Representative Bryan Steil is one of those “No” votes, and just also happens to be the recipient of $241,000 from the country’s biggest credit card companies and industry trade groups, but I’m sure that’s just a coincidence.
Then there’s algorithmic pricing.
If you’re dependent on ride share apps on a regular basis, I’m sure the concept of surge pricing is not foreign to you.
Well what if I told you that same principle was being used by corporate landlords, Amazon, and coming soon to a town near you, fast food restaurants, in an effort to milk consumers for every possible ounce of profit.
You would think such blatant acts of corruption would be nipped in the bud once it became common knowledge, but unfortunately, it’s going to be a push from all of us to roll back several of these unfair practices.
Bilal Baydoun is the Director of Policy and Research with the Groundwork Collaborative and he joined me to break down how these practices work, and what we can do to try and prevent these kinds of things from continuing to happen in the future.
To listen to our entire conversation, click the player at the top of the article.
[Spreaker: Outside the Box, www.nclc.org, www.opportunitywisconsin.org, www.blumenthal.senate.gov, www.reuters.com, www.nerdwallet.com]
