On July 29, the Massachusetts Attorney General issued updated business guidance and a webinar explaining the state’s new “junk fee” regulations under the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act, which take effect on September 2. The guidance breaks down the rule’s disclosure and cancellation obligations into checklists and identifies narrow carve-outs for businesses already subject to comparable federal or state rules.
The guidance (previously discussed here) offers a high-level roadmap for implementing the new regulations, clarifying when the “Total Price” must appear, how optional fees must be labeled, and what qualifies as a “simple” cancellation process. The guidance emphasizes that violations after September 2 will be deemed unfair or deceptive acts under the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act.
Key obligations include:
- Total price must lead every price display. Sellers must show the maximum amount a consumer will pay, excluding only government taxes and shipping costs, more prominently than any other figure whenever pricing information appears.
- Mandatory fees require plain-language labels. Sellers must state the nature, purpose, and amount of each charge and, if avoidable, provide clear instructions for opting out.
- Personal data may not precede price disclosure. Sellers cannot request billing or other personal information before displaying the total price, unless the data are strictly necessary for eligibility or regulator-approved pricing.
- Negative-option offers require easy cancellation. Subscriptions and similar plans must provide a simple cancellation mechanism at least as easy to use as the sign-up method and send renewal notices 5–30 days before new charges accrue when the term exceeds 31 days.
- Trial offers require date-specific disclosures. Before a consumer accepts a free or discounted trial, businesses must disclose the last day to cancel to avoid charges and the exact date billing will begin.
- Only narrow exemptions apply. The regulation exempts certain telecom price labels, motor-vehicle disclosures, and licensed securities sales, but otherwise sweeps broadly across sectors including lodging, insurance, and e-commerce.
Putting It Into Practice: States are continuing to ramp up consumer-protection requirements in wake of the CFPB’s decline (previously discussed here, here, and here). Massachusetts’ updated guidance turns March’s broad “junk fee” mandate into a concrete compliance roadmap. With California and other jurisdictions advancing similar initiatives (previously discussed here), companies operating nationwide should monitor emerging rules, standardize price-transparency protocols, and adjust relevant practices now to stay ahead of the regulatory curve.
