Massachusetts Your Wallet At Risk: New Hidden Fee Law That Could Cost You Hundreds Is Officially Here
Starting today, a controversial new law in Massachusetts is allowing banks and credit card companies to tack on a "convenience fee" for every single digital transaction you make, including paying your bills online, using your debit card at a store, or even just logging into your banking app. Consumer advocates are sounding the alarm that this could cost the average household over $400 a year in unexpected charges, with no easy way to opt out. The trick is the fee is buried in the fine print of every monthly statement, so if you don't check every single line item, you'll miss it. Worse yet, the law allows the fees to be retroactive, meaning you could owe money on bills from last month that you already paid. Financial experts say the only way to avoid the new Massachusetts surcharge is to switch to cash or a local credit union that hasn't adopted the policy, but that could mean losing your rewards points or travel miles.