Trusted Professional

President Meets With Service Company Execs About Surprise Fees

GettyImages-884618936 White House Washington DC President Federal

President Joe Biden hosted executives from several companies at the White House to continue his campaign against so-called “junk fees,” The New York Times reported.

The companies, including Live Nation, SeatGeek, and Airbnb, made commitments that “will improve the purchasing experience for tens of millions of customers annually,” according to a White House statement.

The efforts to eliminate these fees started in September, and the president reiterated his commitment to this in his State of the Union address in February. In October, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) took aim at such fees charged by banks.

In addition to the commitments made by some of the companies, the president asked regulatory agencies, such as the CPFB, the Federal trade Commission (FTC), the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), to address such fees under their respective jurisdictions.

“Today’s voluntary actions demonstrate that companies both big and small recognize the importance of providing consumers with honest, up-front all-in pricing, rather than tricking them with surprise fees at the end of checkout,” the White House statement read. “It is also just a first step towards addressing junk fees in the economy. The President continues to call on Congress to pass legislation that mandates up-front all-in pricing for all ticket sellers, bans surprise “resort fees,” eliminates early termination fees charged by cable, internet, and cellphone companies, and bans family seating fees.”

“Fans want to understand the full cost of their purchase, with no deception or surprises,” SeatGeek CEO Jack Groetzinger told the Times, adding that “there is still more to be done.”

The Justice Department (DOJ) opened an antitrust investigation into Live Nation in December 2022. As it continues to investigate the company’s market position, the American Economic Liberties Project released data that demonstrated the company’s “true power over the music industry.”