{"id":14401,"date":"2023-02-08T10:11:54","date_gmt":"2023-02-08T15:11:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.prisonpolicy.org\/blog\/?p=14401"},"modified":"2026-01-06T17:37:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T22:37:15","slug":"junk-fees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.prisonpolicy.org\/blog\/2023\/02\/08\/junk-fees\/","title":{"rendered":"Incarcerated people must be at the forefront of Biden Administration and Federal Trade Commission efforts to end \u201cjunk fees\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

In February 2024, we sent a new comment to the Federal Trade Commission in response to its proposed junk fee rule and its impacts on incarcerated people. You can find this letter and an overview of our comments here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n“Junk fees<\/a>,” those hidden charges attached to purchases or transactions, are something we’ve all faced. For those outside the prison walls, they are an inconvenience that may force them to find another company to do business with or grumble as they pay more for a product than they expected.\n<\/p>\n

\nFor incarcerated<\/span> people, though, there is no escape. They don’t have the option to use a different service or company. And their ability or inability to pay these fees often has dramatic consequences, determining whether they can stay in touch with a loved one or buy food at the commissary to supplement the paltry meals the prison provides. And considering the unconscionably low wages they earn for their labor<\/a>, these fees are no minor inconvenience.\n<\/p>\n

\nAs part of a broader effort by the Biden administration<\/a>, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), an independent agency charged with protecting consumers and enforcing antitrust laws, is currently considering new measures<\/a> to crack down on these fees. This week, along with the National Consumer Law Center<\/a> and 27 other organizations, we explained to the agency that because of their low incomes and uniquely constrained position as consumers, providing incarcerated people relief from junk fees should be at the top of their list.\n<\/p>\n

\nIn an 18-page joint letter<\/a>, this coalition highlighted some of the most abusive financial practices in prisons and jails and the ways incarcerated people are especially vulnerable to these junk fees.\n<\/p>\n

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Money transfers<\/h2>\n

\nAs facilities increasingly shift the costs of incarceration to the people who are locked up, money plays a more important role than ever in the lives of people in prisons and jails. They now often have to pay for essentials like hygiene products, food, and paper from the commissary. As a result, many families have to send money to their incarcerated loved ones to help them make these purchases.\n<\/p>\n

\nSensing an opportunity for profit, companies have sprung up to facilitate these money transfers. Our 2021 analysis of this industry<\/a> found that these companies charge steep fees — up to 37% — and have complex pricing structures that make it hard to know exactly how much it’ll cost to send money to your loved one.\n<\/p>\n

\nThese fees are tough to justify at a time when services like Venmo and Zelle make transferring money outside of the prison walls easy and free.\n<\/p>\n

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Communication and technological services<\/h2>\n

\nAs prison and jail phone rates recently came under increased scrutiny, the companies behind these services have evolved<\/a> to offer new services that have, thus far, largely evaded government regulation and oversight. As these companies moved into these unregulated industries, they packed their products with unfair and unclear fees that sap money from incarcerated people and their loved ones.\n<\/p>\n