Extra charges are being tacked on everything from restaurant bills to concert tickets. A bill requiring that they be disclosed upfront is being considered by the Senate.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n
It has become increasingly expensive to eat out, and more so with new fees such as kitchen charges and credit card swipe fees unsuspecting diners might not see until the end of a meal.<\/p>\n\n\n\t
On top of that there\u02bbs tipflation \u2014 the tips you are expected to pay now for services you never tipped on before such as takeout coffee from a counter. And there\u02bbs tip shaming when credit card machines prompt diners to give hefty tips \u2014 sometimes as high as 25% to 30%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tips, at least, are voluntary. But service fees can be mandatory<\/a> and they are not always advertised ahead of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
California will ban hidden mandatory fees when its new law<\/a> goes into effect July 1. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He chairs the Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee, which on Wednesday gave preliminary approval to Senate Bill 2020 to prohibit \u201cjunk fees\u201d as President Joe Biden calls them, if they are not disclosed upfront<\/a> as part of the total cost of a product or service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And restaurants would have to warn diners in advance if they have kitchen charges. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
You see added fees in many Honolulu restaurants including Zippy\u02bbs for dine-in customers<\/a> and the Highway Inn, which charges a 5% kitchen service fee. Zippy\u2019s and Highway Inn both let customers know about their service fees on their menus. However, Highway Inn\u2019s warning is only in tiny print at the bottom of the menu that also mentions an automatic 18% tip charge for parties of six or more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The State Office of Consumer Protection strongly supports the measure it says will ensure transparency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Requiring mandatory disclosures of fees across all industries protects consumers from deceptive hidden fees and bait and switch pricing,\u201d Executive Director Mana Moriarty testified<\/a> at Wednesday\u02bbs hearing of the Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The measure was referred with amendments to the Senate Judiciary Committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Federal Trade Commission has proposed a new rule<\/a> to fine businesses that fail to warn customers about their mandatory extra fees. The rule also would require businesses to quickly provide refunds to customers who claim they have been deceived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Restaurateur Tom Jones says the added charges are needed to help restaurants survive as their costs soar on everything from rents and insurance payments as well as the increasing costs of the food they prepare, cleaning supplies, electricity, health benefits and base salaries with the minimum wage hiked this year<\/a> from $12 to $14 per hour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Victor Lim, the owner of five McDonald\u02bbs franchises on Oahu, says if a ban on extra fees becomes law in Hawaii he will raise the prices of all the food items on his menus rather than have to advertise upfront the exact amount of his restaurants only added charge: its fee for home delivery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He says it is difficult to inform customers ahead of time the exact cost of food delivery because it varies depending on how much food is ordered, which delivery company is transporting the food and how far away the customer lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lim says raising prices to meet the demands of a new law could mean $8 rather than $6 for a Big Mac and that would drive away many of his cash-strapped customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lim is legislative lead for the Hawaii Restaurant Association<\/a>, which represents 4,000 restaurants and bars in the islands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n