How to Avoid Being Ripped Off by Fake Fees
Bottom-line, companies want your money. Businesses in almost every industry are finding ways to slip in extra charges on your bill that separate you from your hard earned income. We are getting mislead on the real price of things and are being systematically separated from our money. My New Year’s resolution is not to lose weight or exercise more, but instead, it is to avoid getting ripped off by these bogus fees. Here are some examples along with some ways you can keep from getting ripped off.
Phone Bill Fees
Can anybody reading this completely understand their cell phone or regular phone bill? The example that burns me is the cell phone contract. You have to sign up for a 2 year contract, and will have to pay a large early termination fee if you don’t stay the length of the contract. OK, clear enough, but now many cell phone companies have instituted a ‘Handset Upgrade Fee’ which means that even if you stay with the company for the length of your contract, you are going to have to pay this upgrade fee. So in essence you lose either way. Watch out for these hidden fees that are often buried in the fine print so small you need a microscope to read it. Be aware.
Ridiculous Fees (Often Hidden)
I rented a car a couple months ago thinking I was paying $30 a day for 3 days. So I figured my total bill would be around $90-$100. I return the car to the airport and my total bill is $140, due to all of these ridiculous taxes and fees. I mean come on, a Vehicle License Recovery Fee, are you kidding me? So let me get this straight, I can rent the car but the license is extra. What a joke.
How to Avoid Being Ripped Off
- Pay attention to the fine print. This will help, but this is just not practical all the time because the fine prints is so small and so detailed in most situations.
- MAKE COMPLAINING A GOOD HEALTHY HABIT! This point is key. Many companies have the strategy of actually charging as many fees as they can get away with. They have done the math and realize that many consumers will just accept the fees and never say anything. But for those people that are willing to complain, they will often instantly give them a refund. So BE LOUD and don’t put up with this practice. Perhaps if we all complain enough, such tactics will become a thing of the past.
Please let me know any tips that I missed by leaving a comment. One way to avoid getting ripped off is by using a coupon on your purchase. With that in mind, here are some of the better online coupons on my website right now. Thanks Lynnae for letting me continue to contribute to BeingFrugal.net in 2010!
- Abe Books Coupons
- Celebrate Express Coupons
- Dell Coupons
- Gap Coupons
- Pet Care RX Coupons
- Smart Bargains Coupons
- Sports Authority Coupons
- Vera Bradley Coupons
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Author
By Kyle James, on Jan 8, 2010
Kyle James owns and operate a website called Rather-Be-Shopping.com which specializes in coupon codes for over 750 stores, organized in 25 shopping categories. He also has a blog, where he writes about frugal living and personal finance tips as well as other musings about the adventures and mis-adventures of raising 3 active kids.
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There’s a radio/TV announcer Clark Howard that does a show that’s all about keeping people from getting ripped off. His website is http://www.clarkhoward.com/ and he has podcasts of all his shows ready for download. He’s based out of Atlanta GA. His information and consumer advice is great. He’s been doing his radio show for about 20 years and has seen lots of ways people have been and are still being ripped off.
I recently moved, and in doing so absolutely refused to fall for the “as low as $19.95″ advertisement on the back of every U-Haul truck I passed on the street. Last time I rented a $19.95 van, I ended up paying over three times that much after a variety of fees that I was apparently not allowed to opt out of. Instead, I asked around at work, offering $10/hour to anyone who could loan me a large vehicle. One co-worker thought this was a ridiculous proposition and let me borrow her SUV for free! I of course ended up buying her half a tank of gas as thanks, but even this was a small price to pay compared to the…ahem…”nineteen dollars and ninety five cents” I would’ve paid to U-Haul.
The cell phone fees are ridiculous! Also, every month on my verizon bill, there’s at least one $1.99 data usage charge. My husband and I NEVER text or use the Internet from our phones, but every single month, those charges are there. We call, go through a five minute phone call and they remove the charges. But imagine how many people don’t call?? That’s millions on dollars in verizon’s pocket.
“MAKE COMPLAINING A GOOD HEALTHY HABIT! ”
This is the key. More people need to do it more often. I’ve been on both sides. In business I’ve worked with companies that used this strategy. As a consumer these fees tick me off. Sadly, I don’t mind paying… I mind getting nickel and dimed.
I had a friend fly over the holidays. After charging $1200 because they were the hub airline, they hit him with a $25 baggage fee! It was a pain and slowed down the check-in process for everyone. Their employees are inconvenience and their customers are inconvenience. Funny thing, had they quoted him $1225 he would have paid without a thought! Instead the poor ticket counter guy got to listen to him rant, the girl at the gate got to listen to him rant, the flight attendants got to listen to him rant and the customer service got to listen to him rant. At least the airline earned their $25 this time!
My credit card company was putting huge fees on me every month now matter when my payment arrived and would not remove them. Finally what I did and I do not recommend this to anyone but it did work for me. I stopped making my payments for 3 months and only then did they start talking. They dropped my interest rate to from 29.9% to 0%, took 30% off the balance and allow me to pay large payments. Credit report is reinstated after 3 small payments or one large payments.
Credit card companies will work with you but sometimes you just need to get their attention.
I always go over our bills carefully for hidden fees and my husband’s favorite, or nearly favorite, saying is, “The squeaky wheel gets the grease!” We pay enough for service and I don’t want to pay more.