Rep. Courtney, U.S. House Crack Down on Hidden Junk Fees

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, Rep. Joe Courtney voted alongside a bipartisan coalition of Members to crack down on hidden and misleading junk fees in the entertainment industry.

“Core inflation has fallen to its lowest level in three years, but I’ve heard from many families, including at my town hall last week, who, at no fault of their own, are struggling to get by,” said Rep. Courtney. “I joined my colleagues in passing a measure to protect Americans from fraudulent tickets, surprise costs, and excessive fees when they purchase event tickets. We have more work to do, but as Supreme Court Justice Brandeis said, ‘sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants’ to fight corruption and greed.”   

The bipartisan TICKET Act, co-sponsored by Rep. Courtney and led by Reps. Schawkosky (D-IL) and Bilirakis (R-FL), improves transparency in the entertainment industry by requiring all event ticket sellers to display the total ticket price—including all required fees—in any advertisement, marketing, or promotional materials. Studies from the New York Attorney General’s office and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) show that fees can contribute anywhere from 21 to as much as 58 percent of the total cost of tickets. Specifically, the bill would:

• Display the total ticket price (including all required fees) in any advertisement, marketing, or price list.
• Disclose to consumers the total ticket price (including all fees), including an itemized list of base ticket price and each ticket fee, at the beginning of a transaction and prior to selection of the ticket.
• Disclose to consumers if a ticket being offered for sale is a speculative ticket where the seller does not have actual or constructive possession of the ticket.

Enacting this law would provide the Biden Administration with stronger enforcement powers, which for years has charged an all-of-the-above approach to address excessive, non-transparent fees across private industries.

Courtney is also a co-sponsor of the Junk Fee Prevention Act, which comprehensive legislation to eliminate excessive, hidden, and unnecessary fees imposed on consumers and require full prices of services be provided upfront ensuring transparency in the ticketing, hotel, and entertainment industries, as well as prevent airlines from imposing a fee to seat families together.

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