Junk fees Americans hate most

Junk fees are endlessly frustrating and can often ruin a purchasing experience. Unfortunately, more than nine in 10 Americans have encountered them, meaning they are a shared pet peeve for most, if not all, of us. They come in a range of shapes and sizes, with ambiguous labels like “service fees” and “convenience fees,” giving companies an excuse to add surprise charges to transactions or transfer some of the burden of credit card processing fees to the consumer.

We compiled an exhaustive list of different types of junk fees and asked over 1,000 Americans which ones they’ve encountered most and how they’re pushing back against the practice. For our survey, we defined a junk fee as a hidden, surprise fee that comes up toward the end of your transaction and/or was not included in the initial item price. 

Here’s what we learned about the junk fees Americans hate the most.

Key findings 

Here are the key takeaways from our research into junk fees Americans hate most:

• Around 93% of Americans said they’ve paid junk fees, and 91% said they’re becoming increasingly common.
• 83% said they have abandoned a transaction due to encountering a junk fee.
• Americans find junk fees associated with concert tickets, food delivery and online orders the most frustrating.
• Convenience fees, COVID-19 recovery fees and print-at-home fees are what Americans find most confusing.
• Almost two-thirds of consumers would prefer to pay more for a good or service overall if junk fees were absorbed into the total cost.
• 75% believe junk fees force consumers to pay more than they were planning.

Where do Americans face the most junk fees?

Given that more than nine in 10 Americans have paid junk fees, it’s no surprise that they are becoming dreaded by many in the U.S. In fact, the Council of Economic Advisers estimates that certain types of junk fees cost U.S. households up to $90 billion per year.² Our survey has revealed where Americans are most likely to see junk fees, with 59% of respondents having experienced them during online shopping orders — more than in any other situation. 

This was followed by: 

• Food delivery (57%).
• Concert ticket purchases (50%).
• Hotels (43%).
• Phone plans (40%).
• Internet service (33%). 
• Airfare purchases (32%).
• Vacation rentals and dine-in restaurants (both 27% each).
• Sporting events (26%).

Even though the top five include food delivery, hotel and phone plans, more people associate the live entertainment industry with junk fees than any other industry at 20.5%. The food delivery and hospitality industries do follow, but at 12.5% and 12.3%, respectively. Other industries that Americans associate with junk fees include: 

• Banking (8.3%). 
• Telecommunications (7.3%). 
• Airlines (6.6%).

Types of junk fees

The most common type of junk fee faced by Americans comes under the label of “service fee,” with 81% of respondents having encountered these fees. The second most common label is “convenience fee,” with 69% of respondents having encountered these fees. Some of the rarer fees Americans have seen include:

• Destination fees (9%).
• In-house dining fees (8%).
• Infrastructure fees (7%). 

Despite not being the most encountered fee, the most frustrating one for respondents was convenience fees (38.9%). Convenience fees were also the most confusing type of junk fee, with 11.3% of respondents saying it was the fee they understood the least. Service fees were the second biggest source of frustration (33.7%), with only 6% of respondents saying this fee was the most confusing.

Other fees that frustrated Americans in our survey include: 

• Delivery fees (21.6%). 
• Processing fees (20.6%). 
• Overdraft fees (14.5%)
• Cancellation fees (12.8).
• Resort fees (11.2%).

After convenience fees, the most confusing junk fees for Americans were COVID-19 recovery fees (9.4%), print-at-home fees (8.9%) and inactivity fees (6.1%). When it comes to the source of these fees, respondents found fees associated with concert tickets to be the most frustrating, followed by food delivery orders and online shopping orders.

How do Americans feel about junk fees?

The Wise Junk Fees Report suggested that 27% of Americans have experienced more financial stress from junk fees than other issues. More than half of the respondents (56%) reported negative impacts on their financial situations, while 51% reported negative impacts on their emotional well-being.³

According to figures from Switchful, only around 5% of Americans completely trust brands and companies to provide transparent pricing. 40% of millennial respondents have no trust in these companies, while 21% of Generation Z respondents have no trust. Switchful’s study shows that the younger generation has a bit more trust overall in brands and companies.⁴

Switchful’s report also shows that 44% of Americans who responded to the survey do not have confidence in the government’s ability to change the laws around junk fees.⁴ 50% of Switchful’s respondents are angry or frustrated with these fees.⁴ Our survey showed that 96.7% of respondents would support a law requiring companies to advertise the complete, total cost of a good or service, making hidden, surprise fees illegal.

Our survey also found that 63.9% of respondents would be happier if companies absorbed junk fees into their overall prices and raised them accordingly. 

How are consumers fighting back against junk fees?

According to Switchful’s research, 32% of Americans are very likely to dispute a charge from a company that is a junk fee.⁴ Some of the other most common responses to receiving a surprise junk fee include telling friends and family (38%) and attempting to fight the charge (29%).⁴

Our survey found that junk fees have led consumers to have increased resistance when purchasing a good or service. 72% of respondents said they were more likely to abandon purchases with surprise fees. Our survey also showed: 

• 44% were less likely to shop to begin with. 
• 23% were more likely to leave a negative review. 
• 18% were more likely to complain to the company. 

When asked if they had ever written a negative review of a good, service or company as a direct result of hidden fees, 69% said no, while 31% said yes. However, 82.5% of respondents have stopped or abandoned a transaction due to a hidden fee that wasn’t included in the initial price.

According to the Wise report, 50% of Americans said they have started asking companies about any potential junk fees before making a purchasing decision.³ 36% of Wise’s respondents said they delayed or canceled a purchase after they found out about a junk fee that was added.

Sources

1. USA TODAY Blueprint survey.
2. The White House – The Price Isn’t Right: How Junk Fees Cost Consumers and Undermine Competition.
3. Wise – The Wise Junk Fees Report.
4. Switchful – 2023 Junk fees report: impact on the American consumer.