New Junk Fee Prevention Act Mandates Upfront Pricing for Tickets and Lodging, Kills Telecom Early Termination Fees

The “Junk Fee Prevention Act” is exactly what it sounds like: a federal attempt to clean up the annoying, mandatory fees that pop up right before you hit “purchase” or check out of a hotel. This bill targets three major areas—event tickets/lodging, communications services, and airlines—to force companies to be straight with consumers about the total cost up front.

The All-In Price: Tickets and Hotel Stays

If you’ve ever booked a concert ticket or a short-term rental and been hit with a mountain of mandatory fees at the final checkout screen, this section is for you. The bill requires “covered entities” (ticket sellers, short-term lodging providers, and their booking platforms) to clearly and conspicuously display the total price—including all mandatory fees and government charges—the very first time a price is shown, even in an advertisement (Sec. 2). Crucially, that mandatory fee amount can’t change during the purchase process. This means no more $50 tickets turning into $85 tickets right before you pay.

For live events, the bill also cracks down on speculative ticketing. If a seller doesn’t actually possess the ticket at the time of sale, they have to notify you clearly and provide a full refund if they can’t deliver the ticket in time for the event (Sec. 2). Furthermore, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is given broad authority to determine if any mandatory fee is “excessive or deceptive,” considering whether the fee is reasonable and proportional to the cost of the good or service. This is a big deal, as it gives the FTC the power to regulate fee amounts, not just their disclosure.

Goodbye, Early Termination Fees (ETFs)

This is the part that hits your monthly bills for internet, mobile, cable, and voice services. The bill outright prohibits providers of these covered communication services from charging you a fee for ending your service before your contract is up (Sec. 3). If you decide to switch providers halfway through your billing cycle, they can’t charge you an ETF, and they must give you a prorated credit or rebate for the remaining days you paid for but didn't use. They can still charge you for rental equipment you don't return or the outstanding cost of a purchased phone, but the nasty penalty fee for switching is gone.

Service providers also have to get radically clearer about billing and advertising. If you sign up for a promotional rate—say, $50 a month for the first year—your bill must clearly state when that discount ends and what the regular, higher rate will be afterward. They have to tell you the new rate 60 days and again 30 days before the introductory price expires (Sec. 3). This aims to eliminate the classic “bill shock” when the promo rate vanishes.

Airlines: Opening the Books on Baggage Fees

The final section focuses on air travel, but instead of banning fees, it mandates radical transparency. It requires the Department of Transportation (DOT) to force all airlines operating in the U.S. to file detailed quarterly reports on revenue earned from “ancillary fees” (Sec. 4). This includes fees for checked bags, carry-on bags, modifying a reservation, and even selecting a seat.

Why does this matter to you? The DOT must compile this data and publish it publicly on its website. Up until now, airlines have treated this fee data as proprietary business information. This bill forces them to show the public exactly how much they make from charging you $30 to select a window seat versus how much they make from a base ticket. The goal is to give consumers, and regulators, a clear picture of how much of your ticket price is actually going toward the flight and how much is pure add-on revenue.