Insulting Fees Companies Are Charging Us

When you think about the way companies try to nickel and dime us, it's insulting.  There are so many add on fees charged by car, bank, credit cards, and airlines today that I don't know where to start.  It's all just another way of adding additional revenue to their bottom line without raising their prices.  Do they think we're stupid?  Apparently so.  Here are a few of the charges that I find most insulting.

1.  Lap fees for babies.  If you have a child under two and he sits on your lap on a domestic flight, there is no charge.  Makes sense, right?  But take the same child on an international flight and you will pay a 10% lap charge for him sitting on your lap.  That's 10% of the full coach price, which might be up to $150.  Now that is just ridiculous.

2.  Pet fee for a carry on pet.  I can understand why airlines would charge for shipping a pet in baggage.  That requires some handling and I would expect some sort of fee.  But if you bring the pet onboard and put him under the seat, why would they charge $125?  For what?  They are providing no service.  It's just another way to get another fee.

3.  Checked baggage fee.  Most airlines now charge a fee for checked baggage.  Do they expect you to fly without luggage?  I find this most insulting, especially since the fee is waived for their elite customers or those with expensive credit cards.  Southwest is one of the few that still does not charge for baggage.

4.  Foreign transaction fees.  Many credit cards charge a 3% transaction fee to the user for his overseas charges.  Why?  If you have an elite status card (which you back a lot for), you may not have to pay these fees.  As is so often the case, the middle class guy has to pay, while the bigger earner, with a gold card, doesn't pay.

5.  Resort fees.  This is a fee I absolutely hate.  You're already paying a high fee to go to a resort, now you have to pay a fee for using the amenities in the hotel?  This is relatively new, just another way of jacking up the price of the room.  You don't have a choice in whether you want to pay the resort fee, so why isn't it just included in the price of the room?  Very easy answer.  They want to keep the price of the room lower, in other words they are trying to trick you.  We're not that easy to fool, are we?

Ticket Master fees, movie fees, gift card fees.  I hate these too.  There is NO reason to charge a service charge when you buy a movie ticket on line.  They are not providing a service.  You are doing all the work, in fact you're making it easier for the movie theatre because they don't need a live person to sell you a ticket.  How about the fees for activating a gift card.  I think these may have been outlawed, but for many years you had to pay a fee to activate your gift card, so you weren't getting the full amount of the gift.

I could go on and on, but you get the picture.  The big hotels, airlines, banks, auto rental companies, and many others, are trying to make us feel like we're not paying as much as we really are.  Call it a transaction fee, a service fee or another other type of fee, it's just another way for corporations to increase their bottom line.  Companies are charging extra fees, and you're getting nothing for it.  Somehow, we've got to let our lawmakers that we're insulted by additional fees.  Hotels all have comment cards in the rooms, and we need to start commenting.  I'm mad as hell and don't want to take it anymore, but I'm not quite sure what to do.



4.  Carry on baggage fee.  Now this is utterly ridiculous.  Spirit and Alligiant both charge for carry on luggage.  Do they charge for a woman's purse?  I'm not sure about that.