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Bill to ban hidden fees in California signed into law

oag.ca.gov

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Re: Bill to ban hidden fees in California signed into law

#21

Post by Beldin »

cmeacham98 wrote: post #17
latentcall wrote: post #6

Just need other states to follow suit. However, I personally haven’t dealt with hidden fees and don’t know how prevalent they are in the US. Is it a widespread issue? I suppose none of the companies I do business with have them.

Have you been to a sit-down restaurant recently? Where I live (major southeast US city) there's a 50/50 chance there will be some random bullshit fee (sometimes even more than one!) tacked onto the bill (and I'm not talking about tax or a tip).

Taxes are (should be) completely predictable. There's no reason not to include them in the price. So those definitely constitute bs fees.

Re: Bill to ban hidden fees in California signed into law

#22

Post by musicale »

Looks like Ticketmaster, AT&T, Comcast Xfinity, Hotels with mandatory "resort fees", airlines, banks, car dealerships and rental agencies, realtors, landlords, etc. may have to make some changes.

Deceptive pricing is extremely annoying, as are stealth price increases.

Re: Bill to ban hidden fees in California signed into law

#23

Post by dehrmann »

krab wrote: post #14

> Hidden fees are fees in which a seller uses an artificially low headline price to attract a customer and usually either discloses additional required fees in smaller print, or reveals additional unavoidable charges later in the buying process. Like tips?

At least tips are expected. It's the 5% "employee support fee" that annoys me because it's a hidden fee, and it's not clear how it relates to tips.

Re: Bill to ban hidden fees in California signed into law

#26

Post by _AzMoo »

sfmike wrote: post #15

We could learn from for example Japan where there is no cents and all fees included so 5000 Yen is 5000 yen no tip no tax no fees no cents it's really cortisol reducing.

Aside from the cents bit, it's like that in Australia too. If something (retail) says $30 then it's $30. If it says $30.95 then it's $30.95. It's very simple. When you're selling wholesale it's different because it's a sales tax, and that's paid by the consumer, not the retail business.

Re: Bill to ban hidden fees in California signed into law

#27

Post by dehrmann »

ngoel36 wrote: post #2

Glad we are focused on the most critical issues facing society.

It might not be the most crucial, but it likely has widespread voter support, and it makes it harder for merchants to take advantage of customers. No, it doesn't solve California's homeless problem, but it's a win for consumers.

Re: Bill to ban hidden fees in California signed into law

#28

Post by bradgessler »

krab wrote: post #14

> Hidden fees are fees in which a seller uses an artificially low headline price to attract a customer and usually either discloses additional required fees in smaller print, or reveals additional unavoidable charges later in the buying process. Like tips?

And sales tax, CA “paint disposal fees”, CA bottle fees, and all the other crap CA (and municipalities) tack onto their bills?

Re: Bill to ban hidden fees in California signed into law

#29

Post by hn_throwaway_99 »

adasdasdas wrote: post #7

I don't know why we can't just force everyone to show post tax/fees price upfront. It's complete bullshit that every restaurant bill comes with 3 different taxes.

I disagree. Note the California bill specifically exempts taxes from this "upfront pricing" requirement.

The reason I think listing taxes separately is OK is because (a) it is not something that the business itself has any choice over, and (b) all businesses have to tax the same for equivalent services. I think listing the taxes separately serves an important purpose to remind the purchaser about where your payments are actually going. If you don't like the fact that you have to pay 3 different taxes, well, if enough other people agree with you, you can change that.

I'd be OK with listing taxes up front (but I will say that restaurants I've been to always highlight any mandatory fees besides normal sales tax on the menu) but I'm absolutely in favor of breaking out the cost of government services on the bill.

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