Following New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s Executive Orders cracking down on so-called “junk fees” and “subscription traps,” city officials have begun taking action against companies and industries they say abuse consumers by imposing such fees, create such traps or otherwise violate the consumer protection laws under DWCP’s jurisdiction. While most of these actions did not involve consumer financial services as such, we felt it important for our readers to be aware of how aggressive and active this agency has become.
Specifically, Executive Order 9, issued on January 5, 2026, established a city-wide “junk fee” task force chaired by Deputy Mayor Julie Su and Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) Commissioner Sam Levine. It also directed the DCWP to take whatever actions it deems necessary to crack down on hidden or deceptive fees. In addition, it directed the office to monitor compliance, investigate potential violations, and enforce new rules designed to address such fees.
Since then, the DCWP has taken action against several companies and sent compliance notices to companies in various industries. The compliance notices apprise companies of practices that would violate state and/or city law, arguably making any subsequent violations willful and making companies liable for the costs of city investigations if there are repeated violations. We summarize these actions below…