Joe Biden targets hidden ‘junk fees’ from banks, cable TV, concert tickets

US President Joe Biden pledged Wednesday to crack down on surprise fees consumers are forced to pay on cable bills, hotel rooms and concert tickets, while US financial regulators declared bank fees for bounced checks and overdrafts unfair.

“These are junk fees,” Biden told reporters at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. “They benefit big corporations. Not consumers. Not working families. And that changes now.”

Biden signalled his administration would look at concert tickets, hotels and airfares shortly after the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued guidance that surprise overdraft fees and unexpected depositor fees for bounced checks are likely unlawful.