How to Fight Back Against Junk Fees

Many junk fees are “optional” and some can be disputed or ignored

Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash

The concept of “junk fees” was elevated to one of national significance when President Biden mentioned them in his State of the Union.

Junk Fees Get Elevated to State of the Union

But what IS a junk fee and how can you fight them?

U.S. PIRG has a great blog on the topic — explaining what junk fees are and how you can resist them.

Here’s how they explain junk fees:

Mandatory charges that aren’t disclosed up front. It could be a “resort fee” slid in just before you book a hotel room, a required company charge added to monthly cell phone bill, or a service fee you can’t avoid when purchasing an event ticket. Many companies are guilty of “drip-pricing” — prices that don’t include everything you must pay.

Optional charges that are portrayed as mandatory or are given official-sounding names to deceive consumers or discourage them from questioning the fees.

Mandatory fees or charges buried in an unreasonably long…