They are lurking behind many of the purchases you make, whether that’s tickets to a concert, a room at a hotel while on vacation, or even a mysterious few dollars extra on your cable bill. Hidden fees are more and more common.
According to Consumer Reports, 85 percent of Americans have paid or come across unexpected fees over the past two years.
Consumer Reports also found that two-thirds of consumers have paid these hidden charges more now than they have in the past.
“These hidden fees are found on cable bills, hotel invoices, airlines, ticketing; a broad range of products and services,” Anna Laitin, Director of Financial Policy for Consumer Reports, told NBC 7 Responds during a June 19 interview.
“More people are seeing them and virtually everybody hates them,” said Laitin. “The internet has given us this incredible ability to search and compare but it also creates incentives to companies to hide things.”
Consumer Reports found that 69 percent of those surveyed found hidden fees on cell phone bills. The next highest percentage of discrete charges were discovered on concert and sporting events, followed by gas and utility bills, and then credit cards.
In response, NBC 7 Responds wanted to know what you, the consumer, can do to avoid the hidden charges.
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Consumer Report’s Laitin recommends consumers contact the company directly.
“If there’s a hotel resort fee added at the very end of your stay, consumers have had some success going to the hotels, telling them they have to take the fee off,” said Laitin.
Laitin says that absent any legislation that addresses the non-advertised fees, it is up to the consumer to take matters into their own hands.
“We always recommend people fight back when they can, especially when it is something that the consumer didn’t see until the end.”
Consumer Reports has also launched a new website to track hidden fees. Follow this link to report any unexpected fees.
