OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued a statement in response to Senate Bill 478 (SB 478), a bill that he sponsored, being signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom. Coauthored by Senator Bill Dodd (D-Napa) and Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), the legislation will prohibit hidden fees (also called ‘junk fees’) in California beginning on July 1, 2024.
If I am a small business and I advertise one price and sell it for another. It’s called bait and switch and it’s illegal. If you’re a big company, they have to write special rules for you I guess.
Edit: I misremembered the text, “This practice, like other forms of bait and switch advertising, is prohibited by existing statutes” This law will probably make enforcement easier because the law is now more specific.
Under California law it’s not a bait and switch to advertise a base price before fees. That’s why they passed this law. The text of the bill mentions the fact that this sort of pricing did not violate California’s bait and switch laws prior to its introduction.
If I am a small business and I advertise one price and sell it for another. It’s called bait and switch and it’s illegal. If you’re a big company, they have to write special rules for you I guess.
Edit: I misremembered the text, “This practice, like other forms of bait and switch advertising, is prohibited by existing statutes” This law will probably make enforcement easier because the law is now more specific.
Under California law it’s not a bait and switch to advertise a base price before fees. That’s why they passed this law. The text of the bill mentions the fact that this sort of pricing did not violate California’s bait and switch laws prior to its introduction.