I wonder how this will affect the rest of the US even if congress can’t pass something. For example, if I’m in California and I buy something elsewhere am I protected? If I live in Oregon and buy something in California am I covered?
Bill to ban hidden fees in California signed into law
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Re: Bill to ban hidden fees in California signed into law
#242I don't quite see how an overdraft fee (one of the examples given) is a junk fee - it costs the bank real money to cover the loan they are effectively giving you when you are in overdraft.
That would be covered by the interest charged on the overdraft.
Re: Bill to ban hidden fees in California signed into law
#243I don't quite see how an overdraft fee (one of the examples given) is a junk fee - it costs the bank real money to cover the loan they are effectively giving you when you are in overdraft.
Cost the bank real money? lol What planet are you from? Banks don’t use their money.
Re: Bill to ban hidden fees in California signed into law
#244I don't quite see how an overdraft fee (one of the examples given) is a junk fee - it costs the bank real money to cover the loan they are effectively giving you when you are in overdraft.
I don't think it applies to overdraft fees despite what that article says. They are talking about advertising a price, and whoops, you find out that there are lots of extra fees when you go to pay.
Would have to track down the actual law.
Re: Bill to ban hidden fees in California signed into law
#245> "Now we can put the consumer first and create a level playing field for those businesses that advertise the real price, up front," I hope this means they're banning the common US practice of omitting sales taxes and tips from prices.
Don’t forget the “living wage surcharge” that many cities mandate for restaurant workers!
It’s typically not disclosed until after you eat, and varies from city to city.
Re: Bill to ban hidden fees in California signed into law
#246Does this mean wireless and ISP bills will finally be accurate?
Re: Bill to ban hidden fees in California signed into law
#247I don't quite see how an overdraft fee (one of the examples given) is a junk fee - it costs the bank real money to cover the loan they are effectively giving you when you are in overdraft.
In the recent past, US banks were found to have specifically designed software to calculate how to best re-order customer transactions to maximise overdraft fees.
Banks also generally make it hard/impossible to opt out of overdraft, something that would probably be preferable to many customers. Overdraft fees are a huge source of income these days.
Re: Bill to ban hidden fees in California signed into law
#248> "Now we can put the consumer first and create a level playing field for those businesses that advertise the real price, up front," I hope this means they're banning the common US practice of omitting sales taxes and tips from prices.
Don’t forget the “living wage surcharge” that many cities mandate for restaurant workers! It’s typically not disclosed until after you eat, and varies from city to city.
This seems insane to me. Paying your employees a living wage is just another cost of producing the food, it should be part of the menu cost like everything else.
Splitting it out is no more sensible that adding "building rent" or "ingredient cost" as extra line items on the final bill.
Re: Bill to ban hidden fees in California signed into law
#249Earlier quoted context omitted.
The "12.5% service charge" you see all over London would beg to differ.
Haven't been there in a while, but I was able to collect VAT refunds a LHR. Is that on top of VAT?
The UK is an oddball now -- VAT-free shopping for non-UK citizens ended in 2021. You can still do it in (most?) EU member states though.
Re: Bill to ban hidden fees in California signed into law
#250I wonder how this will affect the rest of the US even if congress can’t pass something. For example, if I’m in California and I buy something elsewhere am I protected? If I live in Oregon and buy something in California am I covered?
I also live in Oregon, and I’d be willing to bet that this comes down to a legal argument. Meaning if you don’t think a fee is fair you can pursue legal action. The effective way to regulate this would be have an agency that tracks this stuff and when something is amiss, the offender gets fined.
Which is to say that if you wanted to pursue this, I doubt it would be worth your time being out of state.