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#junkfees

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"[Tom] Krause is a private equity looter. He's the guy who basically invented the playbook for PE takeovers of large #tech companies... converting their businesses from selling things to renting them out, loading them up with #JunkFees, slashing quality, jacking up prices over and over, and firing everyone who was good at their jobs. He is a master enshittifier, an enshittification ninja."
- @pluralistic

pluralistic.net/2025/02/07/bro

@rbreich
You asked for examples of #JunkFees: My apartment complex has become the master of them.

All in the past year (after 20+ years):
o $500 (once per-pet) non-refundable pet "deposit".
o $30/m "Pet Rent"
o $50 (once) for a "Pet Screening" (WHETHER YOU OWN A PET OR NOT.)
o $60/m for covered parking
WE must pay $15/m for THEIR insurance (NOT Renters Insurance, which I also pay voluntarily.)

My lease says my rent is $865/m, but I *pay* well over $1,000/m after all their "fees" are added in.

THE NEW OWNERS OF MY APARTMENT COMPLEX keep finding new ways to nickle & dime us to squeeze extra money out of us.

I had to give up my covered parking b/c they now want $60/m (whether it's outside my door or two blocks away.)

My latest rent bill is $300 higher than last month ($45 from renewal.) They now charge everyone $10/m to pay for THEIR insurance, and this month, we got stuck paying Community Sewer & Water fees going back to last DECEMBER (for an additional $180!) 😱
#JunkFees @rbreich

@_L1vY_ @IAmDannyBoling @atrupar
The new owners of my complex refuse to take EVEN A CASHIERS CHECK. It's "online or nothing". Paying by "eCheck" is $2.95, but they charge $45 😱 just to pay using a credit/debit card!

Your bill is not posted until the 1st and you only have until the 4th... and they must *enable* the "eCheck" option first, which typically isn't until the afternoon of the 1st. Then they switch it back off again till next month. 😒 #JunkFees @rbreich

Replied in thread

@atrupar
A new company bought my apartment complex earlier this year.

One of the first things they did was raise everyone's #rent ($45 for me, but the largest increase I've ever been hit with.)

But they started adding #JunkFees that DWARF that rent increase. $60 for a parking permit. "Community utility" fees, and TWO identical charges for something I can't even recall supposedly over THE EXACT SAME time period.

My rent is now $300/m MORE than it was just last month. Rent? It's the Junk Fees.

WILL SOMEONE PLEASE pass the ban on #JunkFees ASAP?

The new owners of my apartment complex keep finding new ways to nickle & dime us into oblivion.

This month, it's $272 in added fees for "Merged PPA" (Purchase Price Allocation? Power Purchase Agreement?)

#WTF is that? And it's two different fees for the EXACT SAME time-frame (March to July.) 🤬 🤬 🤬 🤬 🤬

I wanted to book a place to stay in Cape May, New Jersey for the Fall Festival of Birding weekend. I found a few spots on #VRBO that were reasonably priced. Or so I thought. A $225 Host fee!!! What is a Host Fee? I have no idea. Neither does the FTC.
#JunkFees
ftc.gov/news-events/news/press

islandinthenet.com/sn/115744/

Federal Trade Commission · FTC Proposes Rule to Ban Junk FeesThe Federal Trade Commission today announced a new proposed rule to p

Remember how Republicans like to claim they're the champions of the "little guy" and the "average American?" Why do we never see any action to support those claims when the opportunity presents itself?

rollingstone.com/politics/poli

Rolling Stone · Republicans Are Determined to Keep Credit Card Late Fees HighBy Nikki McCann Ramirez

The financial industry knows how to take advantage when you accidentally overdraw your bank account, charging up to a $35 fee for a single overdraft. Sign this petition supporting the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s plan to cut overdraft fees to $14 or less, and require banks to clearly disclose upfront what the full costs are.
#USPolitics #economy
#consumerprotection #bankfees
#junkfees

action.consumerreports.org/nb-

Consumer Reports$35 overdraft fees are outrageous!Sign petition to curb excessive overdraft bank fees!
Replied in thread

@w7voa

"the Biden-Harris Administration will help eliminate more than $20 billion in junk fees annually going forward. Analysis of a number of major sectors across the economy show that consumers pay $90 billion in junk fees every year, including on live event tickets, internet and cable fees, apartment rentals, banking fees, auto dealer fees, and more."
whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/s

"Frustrated with #airlines that charge passengers steep fees to check bags and change flights, #PresidentBiden last fall embarked on a campaign to crack down on the practice — and force companies to show the full price of #travel before people pay for their #tickets.

Fliers rejoiced...

Since then, the #Biden administration has broadened its efforts to expose or eliminate #JunkFees throughout the #economy "
washingtonpost.com/business/20

What a ßÚ††HØ£€

« #Republican Proposes Amendment to Keep #JunkFees for Consumers

Rep. #RalphNorman introduced an amendment to protect junk fees.
During the debate on a bill for appropriations for the #DepartmentsOfLabor, #Health and #HumanServices, and #Education, Rep. Norman (R-SC) introduced an amendment to prohibit funding for the Department of Labor to crack down on junk fees in retirement investing, claiming it would result in higher fees for #Americans. »

meidastouch.com/news/republica