New Jersey launches major crackdown on deceptive junk fees
The initiative marks a sweeping effort to lower the cost of living for working families and cost-burdened residents facing inflated bills at checkout.
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Gov. Mikie Sherrill and Attorney General Jennifer Davenport announced a coordinated wave of executive actions designed to eliminate hidden, unnecessary and deceptive "junk fees" across the state.
The initiative marks a sweeping effort to lower the cost of living for working families and cost-burdened residents facing inflated bills at checkout.
Gov. Sherrill signed Executive Order 19, which directs all state agencies to review the industries they regulate to identify hidden fees and analyze their economic impact on consumers. By September 14, executive departments must submit a comprehensive assessment to the Governor’s Office. The report will include proposed rule changes to eliminate these fees, recommendations for legislative action and new measures to ensure that transparent, "all-in" pricing becomes the standard across New Jersey.
State leaders noted that this aggressive, whole-of-government review is particularly critical following repeated attempts by the federal administration to undermine the enforcement capabilities of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission.
In tandem with the executive order, Attorney General Davenport published an official Enforcement Statement on Junk Fees. The document warns businesses that common predatory pricing tactics may directly violate the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, one of the strongest consumer-protection laws in the United States.
The state’s enforcement statement explicitly highlights several unlawful practices commonly used to drain household finances:
Bait-and-Switch Tactics: Excluding mandatory charges from an advertised price and tacking them on at the very end of a transaction.
Hidden Costs: Concealing fees within fine print or utilizing deceptively designed apps and websites to obscure the true total.
Misrepresentation: Lying about the purpose of a fee or falsely claiming it is mandatory to force consumers into giving payment consent.
Vague Language: Inventing obscure, excessively priced surcharges that provide no practical value or benefit to the consumer.
"Working families are tired of being exploited by businesses hiding the true cost of goods and services," Attorney General Davenport said, emphasizing that the state will not hesitate to take swift legal action against violators.
This multi-agency crackdown follows a string of recent consumer-protection actions taken by the state earlier this year. In March, New Jersey joined a 12-state coalition to sue subprime lender OneMain Financial, Inc. over hundreds of millions of dollars in hidden fees. The state followed up in April by leading a 27-state push for federal rental fee regulations and enforcing a new $50 cap on local tenant application fees. Most recently, in May, the DCA issued strict warnings to hotels and short-term rental providers to stop deceptive pricing ahead of the FIFA World Cup tourism influx.
State officials are launching a public education campaign called "Fight the Fees" to help residents recognize and report illegal surcharges. The state has published online flyers, explainer videos and a direct portal for filing consumer complaints. New Jerseyans who have experienced surprise charges or deceptive pricing are urged to share their experiences and submit official complaints by visiting www.njoag.gov/junk-fees.
