After passing out of committee last week, Gov. Ned Lamont on Thursday pressed legislators to approve a bill that would prohibit hidden fees for certain transactions like buying concert tickets and food delivery services.
Senate Bill 15, proposed by Lamont as part of his budget adjustment suggestions at the start of the session, was approved by the General Law Committee on March 7, and awaits further discussion on the state Senate floor.
The bill would require businesses, such as online ticket purchasing websites and food and beverage delivery and lodging platforms, to clearly disclose the total price for the goods or services they’re offering. It would prohibit unexpected, mandatory hidden fees that are typically tacked on at the end of a consumer’s transaction, Lamont said.
“We are increasingly seeing situations in which a product or service is being advertised at a low price and then when a consumer gets to the very end of their transaction that price suddenly increases with any number of mandatory fees being tacked on, and frequently consumers will complete their purchase without even realizing the price jumped until well after it has already been finalized,” Lamont said.
Per Lamont’s office, the proposal builds on a law from last year that requires upfront disclosure of pricing for the purchase of tickets to live events. Consumers, though, have said certain ticketing platforms continue to run advertisements or otherwise not disclose the full price of tickets until they’re already getting ready to buy them. Senate Bill 15 would close that loophole by requiring companies to disclose the full price of tickets as soon as they’re displayed.
Attorney General William Tong and state Department Consumer Protection Commissioner Bryan T. Cafferelli also offered support for Lamont’s proposal.
