Washington, D.C. — In response to news that Washington, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb has filed a suit against StubHub for using “drip pricing” tactics and undisclosed junk fees to trick consumers into spending more for tickets, the American Economic Liberties Project released the following statement.

“We’re thrilled to see D.C. Attorney General Schwalb take on these predatory pricing tactics that cheat consumers and undermine competition,” said Pat Garofalo, Director of State and Local Policy at the American Economic Liberties Project. “With drip pricing, sellers advertise one price up front, and then add more fees as the customer goes through the online checkout process—sneakily increasing cost by as much as 21%. Junk fees aren’t just annoying, but are also anticompetitive, because they prevent consumers from fairly comparing prices. The proliferation of deceptive tactics is why we’re working hard to ban mandatory junk fees and predatory pricing across the country and across industries, in addition to encouraging state attorneys general to rigorously enforce their consumer protection laws.”

Learn more about the fight to end junk fees here.

Learn more about Economic Liberties here.

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The American Economic Liberties Project works to ensure America’s system of commerce is structured to advance, rather than undermine, economic liberty, fair commerce, and a secure, inclusive democracy. Economic Liberties believes true economic liberty means entrepreneurs and businesses large and small succeed on the merits of their ideas and hard work; commerce empowers consumers, workers, farmers, and engineers instead of subjecting them to discrimination and abuse from financiers and monopolists; foreign trade arrangements support domestic security and democracy; and wealth is broadly distributed to support equitable political power.