Alerts Archive

Fee of the Month

In this special feature, Consumer Action analyzes some of the sneakiest fees and surcharges that affect consumers, and offers tips on how to avoid them. If you have a "favorite" hidden fee you'd like to recommend, e-mail us at the Consumer Complaint Hotline.

    2007

    March

  • Mar 08, 2007  Internet Radio Fees

    Last week, three obscure bureaucrats known as the Copyright Royalty Board ruled that fees paid by digital music…

    • February

  • Feb 26, 2007  Indiana’s Sheriff Enrichment Fee

    The state of Indiana has a peculiar system for collecting back taxes. Indiana charges a 10% fee for unpaid state…

  • Feb 14, 2007  Unauthorized Smoking Fee

    In the last few months, the Marriott hotel chain has gone completely “smoke-free,” and the 10% of its…

  • Feb 05, 2007  Scanner Overcharge Fee

    We all know how frustrating it is to swallow a capricious fee. Wouldn’t it be great if we could charge…

    • January

  • Jan 30, 2007  Mileage Reactivation Fee

    I can fee for miles and miles! Consumers with US Airways Dividend Miles accounts may see their frequent flyer miles…

  • Jan 23, 2007  Fee-Friendly Skies

    Spirit Airlines made two important, interrelated announcements this month. For one, the airline slashed many of its fares to the…

  • Jan 16, 2007  Verizon Fee Free Termination

    Does anyone believe that text messages are suddenly becoming more expensive for wireless companies to transmit? If anything, technology is…

  • Jan 09, 2007  Pre-paid Funeral ‘Servicing’ Fee

    Not every product is as fun to shop for as new computers or iPod phones. When you have to buy…

  • Jan 02, 2007  ‘Free Checking’ Fee

    In February, Bank of America will begin charging customers with “Free Checking” accounts $5.95 a month. The bank is switching…

    • 2006

    December

  • Dec 18, 2006  ‘Sterilization Surcharge’ Fee

    A recent trend among dental practices has been to add a fee of $5 to $12 for sterilizing their equipment,…

  • Dec 11, 2006  Hello Text Message Fee, So Long Early Termination Fee

    Here we go again. As two other cell phone companies announced earlier this year, Cingular will increase its text message…

  • Dec 06, 2006  Fees Rain on Big Easy Parades

    New Orleans’ second-line clubs, named for the dancers and parasol twirlers who march in the line behind brass band musicians,…

    • November

  • Nov 29, 2006  Gift Card Fees

    Gift cards are the chicken entrée of Christmas presents: an uninspired but inoffensive middle ground that…

  • Nov 20, 2006  Head Injury Fee
    If you get a speeding ticket in the state of Massachusetts, the state levies a $50 “head injury surcharge” on…
  • Nov 16, 2006  $4,500 Sewer Fee

    Residents of an unincorporated area of Nevada County, CA, are facing an enormous hike in their sewer rates, which now…

 
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