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.

• Apr 17, 2008  Airline baggage fees
  

  Checked baggage fees started with Ryanair. Then they crossed the Atlantic and the Spirit caught on with Allegiant and Virgin…

• Mar 04, 2008  Airlines' second-bag fee
  Two major airlines, United Airlines and US Airways, have recently announced a new baggage policy that will require consumers traveling…
• Jan 17, 2008  Insurance Premium Installment Fees
  

  We often hear the phrase, “The poor pay more,” and here’s a couple concrete examples of how people who can’t…

• Sep 13, 2007  Gift Ticket Fee
  With airline ticket prices getting more expensive, taking the bus may present the best opportunity to travel on the cheap.…
• Nov 29, 2006  Gift Card Fees
  Gift cards are the chicken entrée of Christmas presents: an uninspired but inoffensive middle ground that…
• Oct 02, 2006  The Opt-Out Fee
  For years the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), an organization of businesses that send out bulk unsolicited marketing communications, has let…