Arbitrations for Junk Fees, Drip Pricing and Hidden Charges

Attorneys working with ClassAction.org are pursuing various mass arbitrations on behalf of consumers who were charged so-called “junk fees” or subjected to illegal “drip pricing” practices that wait to disclose fees until later in the online checkout process. This is a relatively new type of legal action that, unlike class action lawsuits, requires affected consumers to sign up to take action. 

Below, you’ll find a summary of each investigation, including which companies, websites and apps are involved; who could be affected; and which laws may be getting violated. Each summary will also include a link to a secure form where affected consumers can sign up to join others taking action. It doesn’t cost anything to sign up.

Illegal, Hidden Fees? Current Investigations

MySchoolBucks Arbitration: Illegal Fees? (North Carolina)

We’ve all seen the movies—strong-arming kids into giving up their lunch money is a classic bully move. So, what about charging parents fees to add money to their kids’ lunch accounts? Bully move or not, attorneys are looking into whether payment processor MySchoolBucks is violating North Carolina law by charging users excessive transaction fees.

Specifically, the attorneys believe it could be deceptive for MySchoolBucks to advertise meal plan prices on its website without clearly disclosing that parents will need to pay substantial fees—sometimes up to $3.25—each time they use a credit card to add money to their children’s accounts. They also suspect that the fees (sometimes called “program fees” by MySchoolBucks) may exceed what it actually costs to process credit card payments, allowing MySchoolBucks to profit at parents’ expense.

The attorneys believe that under North Carolina law, people who paid transaction fees could have claims worth anywhere from $500 to $4,000.

If you live in North Carolina and paid a fee for using your credit card to add money to your child’s account on MySchoolBucks.com or the associated app anytime since 2021, join others taking action. Sign up by filling out the form linked to below.

MySchoolBucks Users Sign Up Here

SeatGeek Deceptive Ticket Price Investigation

SeatGeek.com users: ever been frustrated by added fees on the checkout page? Attorneys believe SeatGeek’s ticket prices may have been deceptively advertised due to these unexpected fees and are gathering users to take legal action.

Specifically, they believe SeatGeek may have violated New York’s Arts and Cultural Affairs law, which requires sellers to disclose the full price of an event ticket upfront and prohibits them from increasing a ticket’s price during the purchase process. Certain SeatGeek ticket buyers who ended up paying more at checkout than the initially advertised price due to added fees could be owed $50 or more under the Arts and Cultural Affairs law.

If you bought tickets on SeatGeek.com while living in New York or for an event in New York between June 30, 2023 and June 30, 2024, join others taking action against the company. Sign up by filling out the form linked to below.

SeatGeek.com Users Sign Up Here

FTC Considering Banning Certain Fee Practices

In November 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published a proposed rule to address unfair and deceptive fees for goods and services, including event tickets. Specifically, the agency is considering banning certain fee practices that it has found to be prevalent and harmful, including misrepresenting the total cost of goods and services by leaving out mandatory fees from advertised prices and misrepresenting the nature and purpose of the fees.

The FTC noted that consumers had expressed concern that sellers frequently do not advertise the total cost a buyer will have to pay and instead add on fees “only after consumers are well into purchasing transactions.” According to the agency, many consumers also complained that sellers often misrepresent fees or fail to explain their purpose, leaving buyers wondering what the fees are for and feeling that they’re essentially paying for nothing.

The FTC found that the thousands of public comments it received after initially announcing its intention to address junk fees and other potentially deceptive pricing practices “strongly support” the need for a rule to address harm to consumers and businesses.

Several class action lawsuits have also been filed alleging that drip pricing and junk fees violate consumer protection laws.

Is This a Lawsuit? What Am I Signing Up For, Exactly?

You are not signing up for a lawsuit, but rather a process known as mass arbitration. This is a relatively new legal technique that, like a class action lawsuit, allows a large group of people to take action and seek compensation from a company over an alleged wrongdoing. Here is a quick explanation of mass arbitration from our blog:

[M]ass arbitration occurs when hundreds or thousands of consumers file individual arbitration claims against the same company over the same issue at the same time. The aim of a mass arbitration proceeding is to grant relief on a large scale (similar to a class action lawsuit) for those who sign up.”

Some companies’ terms and conditions may contain a class action waiver and/or an arbitration clause requiring consumers to resolve disputes via arbitration, a form of alternative dispute resolution that takes place outside of court before a neutral arbitrator, as opposed to a judge or jury. It’s for this reason that attorneys working with ClassAction.org have decided to handle these matters as mass arbitrations rather than class action lawsuits.

How Much Does This Cost?

It costs nothing to sign up, and you’ll only need to pay if the attorneys win money on your behalf. Their payment will come as a percentage of your award. 

If they don’t win your claim, you don’t pay.

Before commenting, please review our comment policy.