The Federal Trade Commission announced on July 2, 2026, that travel-booking app Hopper has agreed to pay $35 million to resolve allegations that it charged consumers hidden fees despite marketing itself as a “no hidden fees” service. The settlement is the latest in a string of federal actions targeting so-called “junk fees” — charges that are omitted or buried until late in a transaction — and reinforces a regulatory throughline that now spans travel, ticketing, lodging, and auto sales.
The Allegations
According to the FTC’s complaint, Hopper pre-selected and hid “Tip” and VIP Support fees on a booking screen that consumers had to scroll to see, then charged for them without meaningful consent. The agency also alleged that Hopper overstated the benefits of its VIP Support and “Price Freeze” add-ons — promising near-instant customer service and price protection that frequently failed to materialize. Internal company communications cited in the complaint show employees themselves flagged the tactics as deceptive.
Under the proposed order, Hopper must pay the full settlement toward consumer redress and is barred from misrepresenting fees going forward. It must also clearly disclose the total price of any transaction before consumers commit to a purchase — the same “all-in pricing” principle at the heart of the FTC’s broader fee-transparency agenda.
Part of a Broader Pattern
The Hopper case fits squarely within the FTC’s ongoing efforts both in and outside of auto retail to address pricing transparency. The through-line in each case is the same: businesses may not advertise one price and then tack on mandatory or pre-selected charges before checkout.
Of course these are the same principles the FTC focused on with the letters to 97 dealer groups in March. This case also highlights that it is even more critical now, for dealers who are promoting “no hidden fees” or similar in their advertising, to ensure that there truly are no fees in the transaction that are not charged without “meaningful consent.” Of course this highlights the need to ensure that F&I practices, as well as advertising practices, meet the FTC and state requirements.
ComplyAuto Can Help
ComplyAuto’s Guardian advertising tools, along with DealCheck Ai, which is a real-time deal jacket audit tool, are the industry’s most powerful (and only) AI-powered software tools to allow dealers to monitor advertising and F&I practices at scale, for a fraction of the cost of human monitoring.
Contact ComplyAuto today to learn more about these tools, and how they can help ensure that both your advertising and F&I practices are not putting you at risk.