Pisciottano tackles junk fees, motorcycle lemons with new bills

Introduces legislation to protect Pennsylvania consumers

HARRISBURG, March 22 – Following his appointment to the House Consumer Protection, Technology and Utilities Committee, state Rep. Nick Pisciottano has introduced two bills that would help shield working Pennsylvanians from hidden fees and faulty motorcycles.

“Hidden or ‘junk’ fees are inherently deceptive and should not exist in a free and fair market,” Pisciottano said. “For too long, companies like Ticketmaster have taken advantage of American consumers through these arbitrary fees. I applaud the steps being taken at the federal level to address junk fees and look forward to supplementing consumer protections here in Pennsylvania by mandating fee transparency in advertised prices.”

This legislation, which Pisciottano has named the “Pay the Price You See” bill, would require the disclosure of all mandatory fees and charges included in the advertised and displayed price of any good or service sold in Pennsylvania.

Pisciottano’s second bill would protect consumers who purchase a defective motorcycle and help keep more of those motorcycles off the road.

“Motorcycle buyers deserve the same protection from faulty products afforded to car buyers. The Automobile Lemon Law has shielded automobile purchasers from defective products for decades and it’s past time to expand those protections to motorcycles.”

Pisciottano specified that the current law requires a manufacturer to fix any automobile default which substantially impairs the use, value or safety of the vehicle during the first year of ownership, and that his bill simply extends this requirement to also cover motorcycles.

“This bill would help keep potentially unsafe motorcycles off our roadways as well as strengthen consumer protections for Pennsylvanians purchasing new motorcycles.”

Pisciottano thanked now-retired state Rep. Pam Snyder, D-Greene/Fayette/Washington, who championed the motorcycle lemon bill in previous legislative sessions and orchestrated its unanimous passage through the Republican-controlled House last session.

The Pay the Price You See bill has been introduced as H.B. 636, and the motorcycle lemon bill as H.B. 360. Both bills have been referred to and await consideration by the House Consumer Protection Committee.