ILLINOIS (25News Now) -A new bill in the Illinois legislature aims to crack down on junk fees when people shop.

These hidden fees, like “convenience” and “processing” fees, are seen tacked onto a purchase at check-out. They’re predominantly seen online and are not included in the advertised price for a service or good.

“If you aggregate the cost of those junk fees, or processing fees, that are not as advertised, you could send a family’s budget over the edge based on these fees, particularly when people are working in the margins,” said State Rep. and Speaker Pro Tempore Jehan Gordon-Booth (D-Peoria).

“We think that this is an important consumer protection,” she said.

The White House’s Council of Economic Advisors estimates that Americans are paying $90 billion in junk fees every year.

Gordon-Booth is backing the bill, and says on average, people spend hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars on these fees per year. She said hotel and rental car industries commonly apply junk fees.

“You’ll see an addition $50 to $70 tacked on at a daily rate,” Gordon-Booth said. “That begins to add up very quickly.”

She said if Bill HB4629 is passed, it would require businesses to disclose any fees up front with consumers, as well as give the Attorney General the authority to hold those companies accountable if they don’t.

“If you want to charge what it is you choose to charge, charge that, because the market will determine what people are willing to pay,” Gordon-Booth said. “We just think that some of the psychological games that are happening right now are unfair to the consumer, particularly our senior citizen consumers.”

President and CEO of Better Business Bureau of Central Illinois in Peoria, Jessica Tharp, said these extra costs can also come by way of fees on loans.

“A lot of people would agree that buying a home can be a confusing process. There are lot of things to sign and different disclosures, so, the goal is to make sure that people know what is expected in that agreement,” Tharp said.

Tharp said transparency is important to provide to a customer, but she also said people need to stay aware of the details of purchases or loan payments.

“Any time that a consumer feels that they weren’t made aware of something up front is always an issue is that we would want to support, to address,” Tharp said. “At the same time, the consumer needs to be responsible to know where their money’s going and what pending charges or due dates they are responsible for.”

Gordon-Booth said the bill is not to try and punish businesses, but rather make the market fairer for shoppers.

The bill passed in the Illinois House and is not being considered in the Senate.

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