What is drip pricing and why is it illegal in Massachusetts?

Drip pricing is advertising a product at a price that doesn't include mandatory fees, then revealing those fees later in the purchase process. In Massachusetts, it violates Chapter 93A because the Attorney General's regulations require businesses to sell goods and services at their advertised price and prohibit representations that have the capacity to deceive buyers about the true cost of a product. A price that doesn't include mandatory charges isn't the actual price.

Can my small business really face a class action over hidden checkout fees?

Yes. Chapter 93A creates individual consumer claims with a $25 minimum recovery per violation, plus mandatory attorneys' fees for a prevailing plaintiff. That structure makes class actions viable even when individual overcharges are small. Any business that sells to Massachusetts consumers and adds undisclosed mandatory fees at checkout is exposed, regardless of size.

What does Chapter 93A require businesses to do about pricing disclosures?

Under Chapter 93A and the Attorney General's pricing regulations, businesses must advertise the actual price at which a product or service can be purchased, including all mandatory fees. The total price must be disclosed before the consumer commits to a purchase, not at the final checkout step after they've already selected what they want.

What is the pre-suit demand requirement under Chapter 93A?

Before filing a Chapter 93A lawsuit, a consumer must send a written demand letter to the business describing the alleged violation and the relief sought. The business then has thirty days to respond with a reasonable tender of settlement. If the business refuses or the tender is inadequate, a court can award multiple damages on the basis that the refusal was made in bad faith. Responding promptly and in good faith to a Chapter 93A demand letter is important even when you believe the claim lacks merit.

Does Chapter 93A apply if my business is based outside Massachusetts but I sell to Massachusetts customers?

Generally, yes. Massachusetts courts have held that Chapter 93A applies when a transaction involves Massachusetts consumers, even if the seller is located elsewhere. If you advertise to and accept purchases from Massachusetts residents, the unfair or deceptive act occurs in Massachusetts and Chapter 93A applies.

Conflict & Resolution, Growing & Changing

Junk Fees and Drip Pricing: What the Red Sox Lawsuit Means for Your Massachusetts Business

March 19, 2026
Article

A class action lawsuit against the Boston Red Sox just put Massachusetts's consumer protection law back in the spotlight. If your business advertises prices online and adds fees at checkout, you need to read this.

In most online checkout flows, businesses add items a their cart, show their price, then at the final step add a service fee, a processing fee, or a per-order charge. It’s a common structure. The Red Sox did it for years at Fenway Park.

But in January 2026, three ticket buyers filed a class action lawsuit against the Red Sox in federal court, alleging that practice violated the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act.¹ The lawsuit is still pending, but it’s a clear signal: if you sell to Massachusetts consumers and hide mandatory fees until checkout, you have real exposure under Chapter 93A.

Here’s what Chapter 93A actually requires, why the Red Sox case matters to businesses of every size, and what you should do now to protect yourself.

What Chapter 93A Says About Pricing

Chapter 93A, the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act, prohibits “unfair or deceptive acts or practices” in the conduct of trade or commerce.² That language is intentionally broad, and the Massachusetts Attorney General has issued regulations that clarify what it means for pricing.

First, 940 Mass. Code Regs. § 3.04 prohibits representations that have “the capacity or tendency or effect of deceiving buyers or prospective buyers as to the price of a product.”³ Note the standard: it doesn’t matter whether you intended to deceive. It matters whether your pricing practice has the capacity to deceive.

Second, 940 Mass. Code Regs. § 3.13 requires businesses to sell goods and services at their advertised price. Representing that a product can be purchased for a specified price “when such is not the case” is a violation.⁴

Third, 940 Mass. Code Regs. § 3.16 requires disclosure of any fact that “may have influenced the buyer or prospective buyer not to enter into the transaction.”⁵ The total price of a purchase is exactly that kind of fact.

Putting those three provisions together: if you advertise a price, add mandatory fees that aren’t disclosed upfront, and a customer pays more than the number they first saw, you’re likely in violation of all three.

Drip Pricing and Junk Fees: What the Terms Mean

Junk fees are charges presented as fees that don’t reflect an independent service the buyer would choose to pay for separately. A “$7 Order Fee” that applies whether you buy one ticket or twelve, and that doesn’t correspond to any actual processing cost, is a textbook example.

Drip pricing is the practice of disclosing only part of a product’s true price at the start of the purchase flow and revealing the rest later, after the buyer has already invested time selecting what they want.

The buyer anchors on the advertised price, then faces a higher total at checkout, often with a timer counting down. Research cited in the complaint found that this structure increases seller revenue by roughly 20%, precisely because buyers feel locked in.

Why Chapter 93A Is a Serious Threat for Small Businesses

You might assume this kind of litigation is reserved for large companies. It isn’t. Chapter 93A creates individual consumer claims, and the math works at any scale.

Under Section 9(3), a consumer can recover the greater of actual damages or $25 per violation.⁵ If the violation is “willful or knowing,” the court must award between two and three times actual damages. Attorney’s fees are mandatory for a prevailing plaintiff.

That $25 minimum per person is what makes class actions viable. If a consumer paid $3 in hidden fees, they’re still entitled to $25. Multiply that across hundreds or thousands of transactions, add mandatory attorneys’ fees, and the exposure scales fast. The Red Sox lawsuit seeks treble damages and alleges the Red Sox collected more than $6 million in undisclosed fees from class members during the relevant period alone.

The pre-suit demand requirement under Section 9(3) is worth understanding too. Before filing suit, a consumer must send a demand letter describing the alleged violation and the relief they’re seeking.⁷ The business has thirty days to respond with a reasonable tender of settlement. If the business refuses or offers inadequate relief, the court can award multiple damages on the theory that the refusal was in bad faith. In the Red Sox case, the plaintiffs allege the defendants didn’t make a reasonable tender within the thirty-day window. That failure is now part of the case against them.

What Changed in 2025: The AG’s New Junk Fee Regulations

In 2025, the Massachusetts Attorney General finalized new consumer protection regulations specifically targeting junk fees and negative option billing. The new rules require businesses to disclose the total price of a product or service, including all mandatory fees, before the consumer makes a purchase decision. “Before” means at the point where the price is first presented, not at checkout. The rules also prohibit presenting fees as separate line items if those fees are mandatory and non-negotiable components of the purchase price.

This means the structure that’s been common in e-commerce for years, showing a base price and adding fees at checkout, is now explicitly prohibited for sales to Massachusetts consumers. If the fee is mandatory, it must be included in the advertised price from the first moment a price is displayed.

How to Audit Your Own Pricing Practices

The good news is that compliance here is operationally straightforward. There’s no ambiguity about what you need to do. The question is whether your current checkout flow matches the requirement.

Walk through your own purchase flow as a customer would. Ask these questions at each step:

Is the price shown on any page, ad, or listing the actual amount the customer will pay, including all mandatory charges?
Are any fees added after the customer has selected a product or service that weren’t disclosed at the point of initial pricing?
Do you use urgency mechanisms (countdown timers, “limited availability” warnings) at or near the point where fees are disclosed?
Can a customer realistically avoid any of your fees, or are they mandatory for all purchases through your primary sales channel?

If any mandatory fee appears for the first time at checkout, your pricing practice is at risk under Chapter 93A. The fix is to roll that fee into the displayed price everywhere you advertise or quote a price, or to display the full all-in price alongside a base price breakdown if itemization is commercially useful to your customers.

Campagna v. Boston Red Sox Baseball Club, L.P., No. 1:26-cv-10182-NMG (D. Mass. filed Jan. 16, 2026) (class action complaint alleging drip pricing and junk fees in violation of Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93A, §§ 2, 9 and R.I. Gen. Laws § 6-13.1-1 et seq.). ↑
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93A, § 2(a) (prohibiting “unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce”). Full text at Mass. Legislature. ↑
940 Mass. Code Regs. § 3.04 (prohibiting representations with “the capacity or tendency or effect of deceiving buyers or prospective buyers as to the nature, characteristics, qualities, or price of a product”). [CITE-CHECK: Confirm current text of 940 CMR 3.04] ↑
940 Mass. Code Regs. § 3.13 (requiring sellers to sell at the advertised price; prohibiting representation that “a product or service may be purchased for a specified price when such is not the case”). [CITE-CHECK: Confirm current text of 940 CMR 3.13]
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93A, § 9(3) (providing for recovery of the greater of actual damages or $25, with mandatory double or treble damages for willful or knowing violations, plus attorneys’ fees). Full text at Mass. Legislature. ↑