Fees - Enough Already

[rk911]

It's like when you buy a car - they add on a document handling fee. They add on the maximum allowed by State law and then when you ask what it is, the wordsmith the answer to make it sound like they're saying that it's required by the State. Such BS. In one sense I pay it but since I negotiate an out the door price, I don't really care how they break it out.

This! ^^^^^^^

We've been doing this for many years. We buy a new car every 8-10 years or so. Just bought a new Wrangler and walked in with a price range we were willing to pay. Initial offer was smack dab in the middle so we signed. No muss, no fuss. Don't care one iota how they write up the sales form as long as the bottom line is the agreed upon final total.

 

[GenXguy]

Luckily my cable company gave me accurate info about the 'bottom line'. I was surprised that my first bill was exactly what they said it would be. More than half of the bill is for 'fees', but the total they told me was accurate.

I agree most places try to avoid talking about what the 'bottom line' will be.

Is this new service, though? I know my internet cable bill was a lot lower the first year, but after the introductory pricing, it more than doubled. Of course, I was expecting that. I had signed up online and read the fine print. Although they keep raising it $3 or $4 per month every year. At least the speed has gone from 25 Mbps to 75 Mbps during that time and tests consistently close to 90 Mbps. The upload speed has gone up to 10 Mbps as well, which started around 2 or 2.5 Mbps. One sneaky fast one Comcast pulled in January is reducing the autopay discount from $10 to $5 when doing it by credit card. So, I had to get the switch to draw from a checking account to get my $10 autopay discount back.

 

[SecondAttempt]

The fees that stack up are the ones that get tacked onto a condo or VRBO/AirBnb rental!

In general with the cleaning fee, required damage waiver, booking fee, property management fee, not to mention local lodging taxes which are high in tourist areas, you are paying quite a bit more than the initially quoted nightly price. You often need to stay 6/7 nights to reduce some of the one off-fees.

Just going to rant like everyone else but quoting your post as a starting point.

I ran a vacation rental for over 10 years but sold it right around the time Expedia bought VRBO. I absolutely refuse to participate in that scam. I read horror stories daily on forums about what VRBO and AirBnB have devolved to. They are a dying business model because of fees which is a real shame for owners and guests alike. I will never rent a vacation rental unless I do it directly with the owner off any platform.

I carefully scrutinize receipts and refuse fees beyond what I agreed to. I boycott restaurants with table fees or service fees, etc. and I contact them to let them know. I sometimes contact restaurants before going to ask about fees and say I will not go if they fail to answer. To me this costs them extra to deal with.

I never tip for takeout. For dine-in I am a very generous tipper.

I agree, it has to stop and the best way to make that happen is for all of us to make it very unpleasant for businesses trying to push junk fees!

 

[SecondAttempt]

AT&T as most others will load up their bill with various fees. But Redpocket will have much less fees. Why?
BTW I’m now implementing a “reader’s fee” to my posts here. $5.00/post. Discounts available for multiple posts. Also might do a subscription for those who read multiple posts.
I take paypal and Venmo.

That seems fair. But my consulting fee for assessing the quality of your posts or making comments is $20 per post. I will need your card number.

 

[Closet_Gamer]

Its not a fee but another one I would like to see reduced/pushed back is the way they advertise leases on TV.

"Get this snazzy car for just $249/mo for 24 months!*"

Mouseprint:
* with $4000 down.

The downpayment is often a huge % of the total cost of the lease. Lots of people are not sophisticated enough to do that math on the fly.

 

[athena53]

I'd like to add "shipping and handling" to this list. What a racket. I know postage is expensive but given the S&H, especially on small orders, I think it's a profit center. I suppose it's also an incentive for you to place a bigger order to make it worthwhile.

A couple of weeks ago I ordered 2 Apple watch bands off of Etsy. S&H was $7.99- almost 1/3 of the entire order. They arrived in an ordinary First-Class envelope with a 60-something cent stamp on it.

 

[Taco]

I never tip for takeout. For dine-in I am a very generous tipper.

For me, it depends on where the take out is from.

At a restaurant that is primarily a sit-down type of place, the person handling your takeout order is generally one of the servers.

They have to take time away from their table customers to handle your order.

In my state, they are making the server minimum wage of $2.13 an hour.

They'd rather not be messing with my takeout order and be focusing on their table customers - but their boss tells them they have to help with the takeouts.

Understanding their situation, I do tip the person handling my takeout order. Certainly not as much as for dining in, but something.

It's a silly system and I wish it worked differently, but it's the system we've got and I try to be kind / generous within it.

 

[dmpi]

Hotel and rental cars have the worst fees and the worst taxes. Tourism is big business. When people are on vacation they have their guard down. They just pile on to the cost of the trip.

 

[Fermion]

Hotel and rental cars have the worst fees and the worst taxes. Tourism is big business. When people are on vacation they have their guard down. They just pile on to the cost of the trip.

It isn't just the businesses that do it, the states like to juice the tourists too, especially Florida. It is likely because they know those people can't vote lol.

 

[Stormy Kromer]

Local municipalities can tax non-residents by invoking a city sales tax. A town nearby is the local/regional hub. They passed a .5% city sales tax last year to build a big swimming pool. They sold it to the voters saying that 60% of this revenue will come from non-residents who shop in town.

It won't be from me. I am in the market for a new vehicle this year, about $50,000. I won't even consider the dealers in this town. When they say "its only $250" I respond "if I saw $250 on the ground I'd pick it up".

I'll pay my share of taxes, but I'm not going to look for ways to pay more when there are other options.

 

[karen1972]

Regardless of fees. $100k to sell a $1.25m home is absolutely daylight robbery! Most folks would have to buy a cheaper home than what they sell!

$100k? 5% is the going rate here so $62,500 and I expect that to include
some staging, professional video/photography, and do some heavy lifting.

I laughed when my friend when she said she made her client pay $4k to stage her $1M home and the person paid it, i'm like note to self, not using my friend to ever sell my house. My agent gave use the $2k "realtor bonus" she got from the builder which paid for the upgrades to our appliances and she paid for some light staging for a $200k townhome we were selling. I don't mind paying my agent, I know she will fix anything that is needed to close the deal including sending her own repair guys to resolve issues.

 

[GenXguy]

In my state, they are making the server minimum wage of $2.13 an hour.

They'd rather not be messing with my takeout order and be focusing on their table customers - but their boss tells them they have to help with the takeouts.

Understanding their situation, I do tip the person handling my takeout order. Certainly not as much as for dining in, but something.

It's a silly system and I wish it worked differently, but it's the system we've got and I try to be kind / generous within it.

Those workers earn at least $8.50/hr here, but tipping percentages have only gone up. But if they're just handing you a bag of food, that's no where near full table service for 15% to 20% tip.

Of course, some people tip bartenders just for getting them a bottle of beer.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

$100k? 5% is the going rate here so $62,500 and I expect that to include
some staging, professional video/photography, and do some heavy lifting.

Nope that is just RE Fees and all closing costs. I used an online calculator to estimate it. I think it also takes into account the closing costs on another property, assuming one buys one.

6% is $75k, but does not include Escrow, Title searches and any transfer taxes etc., they are estimated at $36,350 in Florida!

 

[audreyh1]

I'd like to add "shipping and handling" to this list. What a racket. I know postage is expensive but given the S&H, especially on small orders, I think it's a profit center. I suppose it's also an incentive for you to place a bigger order to make it worthwhile.

A couple of weeks ago I ordered 2 Apple watch bands off of Etsy. S&H was $7.99- almost 1/3 of the entire order. They arrived in an ordinary First-Class envelope with a 60-something cent stamp on it.

Yeah very picky about who I order from in terms of shipping costs and rarely pay additional shipping and handling costs.

However I make an exception for perishable specialty foods with special shipping requirements. Particularly if direct from a small business food company. I’m OK paying a lot extra for shipping because it is expensive to ship perishables and it’s not their main business selling to retail customers.

 

[audreyh1]

It isn't just the businesses that do it, the states like to juice the tourists too, especially Florida. It is likely because they know those people can't vote lol.

Cities typically take big cuts of local lodging taxes.

 

[catii]

There's not much you can do about fees, unless one is willing to not do business where those fees are charged. In some areas of commerce that can be near impossible.

I find that I'm more & more stubborn as I get older. Now that I'm in my late 70s, I find myself walking away from transactions that I perceive as "unfair" or misleading.

I'm sure that DW & I shocked the local Maserati dealer when we walked away from buying their SUV in December. I had made out the check for the exact amount, so when the salesman handed me the invoice for an extra $1100, I asked the sales manager if he was absolutely certain that he wanted to change what was agreed upon.

As they're the only Maserati dealer in the state, he looked rather smug, when he nodded. I should have asked my wife to snap a photo of his horrified face, when I tore up the check, & walked out! We received multiple texts & messages, trying to get us back, at the original price, but by then, we had already bought our new Mercedes SUV (saving 5 figures), & were very much enjoying it!

 

[dmpi]

I find that I'm more & more stubborn as I get older. Now that I'm in my late 70s, I find myself walking away from transactions that I perceive as "unfair" or misleading.

I'm sure that DW & I shocked the local Maserati dealer when we walked away from buying their SUV in December. I had made out the check for the exact amount, so when the salesman handed me the invoice for an extra $1100, I asked the sales manager if he was absolutely certain that he wanted to change what was agreed upon.

As they're the only Maserati dealer in the state, he looked rather smug, when he nodded. I should have asked my wife to snap a photo of his horrified face, when I tore up the check, & walked out! We received multiple texts & messages, trying to get us back, at the original price, but by then, we had already bought our new Mercedes SUV (saving 5 figures), & were very much enjoying it!

That's pretty darn funny. I wish I was there to see it.

 

[SecondAttempt]

I find that I'm more & more stubborn as I get older. Now that I'm in my late 70s, I find myself walking away from transactions that I perceive as "unfair" or misleading.

I'm sure that DW & I shocked the local Maserati dealer when we walked away from buying their SUV in December. I had made out the check for the exact amount, so when the salesman handed me the invoice for an extra $1100, I asked the sales manager if he was absolutely certain that he wanted to change what was agreed upon.

As they're the only Maserati dealer in the state, he looked rather smug, when he nodded. I should have asked my wife to snap a photo of his horrified face, when I tore up the check, & walked out! We received multiple texts & messages, trying to get us back, at the original price, but by then, we had already bought our new Mercedes SUV (saving 5 figures), & were very much enjoying it!

I probably would have texted back that the only offer I would consider is the original agreed price less five times what the sales manager tried to rip off from me! Of course I would not have bought from such a scoundrel but I'd make sure as many people as possible (salesman, finance manager, dealership owner, etc.) knew that the MS tanked the deal.

 

[Koolau]

Local Midas extorted 10% over and above agreed upon price for what they called "shop charges" like getting rid of used oil. I pointed out that the brakes don't use oil. The estimate didn't mention the 10%. The shop guy pointed to a sign that stated the policy. I said, fine. I'll find another shop next time. He shrugged.

 

[mickeyd]

tired of all the new fees

BTW my records do not reflect the fact that you need to send me your 2024 annual ER Forums fee. Cash still works.

 

[John Galt III]

Is this new service, though? I know my internet cable bill was a lot lower the first year, but after the introductory pricing, it more than doubled. Of course, I was expecting that. I had signed up online and read the fine print. Although they keep raising it $3 or $4 per month every year. At least the speed has gone from 25 Mbps to 75 Mbps during that time and tests consistently close to 90 Mbps. The upload speed has gone up to 10 Mbps as well, which started around 2 or 2.5 Mbps. One sneaky fast one Comcast pulled in January is reducing the autopay discount from $10 to $5 when doing it by credit card. So, I had to get the switch to draw from a checking account to get my $10 autopay discount back.

Yes, it's sort of new service. I already had cable TV, and I just added internet to it, so I got the package deal for the lowest tier of cable tv and internet. It's not a 'new customer discount'. Full price. They are a local cable co, only in Pa and NJ. I had read awful things about them on the internet reviews (and some good comments) so I was expecting the worst. But so far so good. The base rate for the package went up $3 this year, on Jan 1. From $99 to $102. I am really only expecting a similar modest increase in 2025, but we'll see.

 

[Buckeye]

Don't check your cable or phone bill.

Or Duke electric bill in Florida!

 

[Koolau]

Or Duke electric bill in Florida!

Or HECO bills in Hawaii. I pay more in "fees" when we're on the mainland than I do for actual electricity. I use one KWh/day in summer when we're gone and pay over $1 per day on average. It's getting to the place (old joke) that the product is free, but the membership fee is always going up. YMMV

 

[pb4uski]

... One sneaky fast one Comcast pulled in January is reducing the autopay discount from $10 to $5 when doing it by credit card. So, I had to get the switch to draw from a checking account to get my $10 autopay discount back.

In a way though, the $5 fee for using a credit card isn't that different from the 3% fee that many restaurants are now adding other than is it a higher fee.

We have Comcast/Xfinity, so you made me look. Our bill actually went down!

Nov/Dec was $62 for internet, less $32 promotional credit, less $10 paperless billing, plus $10 DVR plus $15 modem plus $3.69 in fees for $48.69

Most recent bill was $66 for internet, less $36 promotional credit, less $10 paperless billing, plus $10 DVR plus $15 modem plus $2.04 in fees for $47.04

So they increased the base price for internet by $3 but also increased the promotional credit by $3 to offset it but taxes and fees actually went down.

Very odd.

BTW, I know I could buy a modem and save $15/month modem fee but we are renting out our condo and if our tenant had trouble with the internet I didn't want Comcast to blame it on the modem when I am 1,500 miles away.