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.

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2008

March

• 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…

January

• 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…

2007

September

• 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.…

August

• Aug 17, 2007  Sprint 20¢ Text Message Fee
  

  Sprint is sending cell phone subscribers a notice that its per-message rate for pay-as-you-go text messages will rise to 20¢…

July

• Jul 27, 2007  $3 ATM fees
  

  Bank of America appears to be upping the ante again. According to U.S. PIRG, Bank of America…

• Jul 03, 2007  Civil Remedial Fees
  

  As of July, the state of Virginia imposes what it calls “civil remedial fees” of up…

June

• Jun 25, 2007  Wal-Mart Prepaid Card Fees
  

  Wal-Mart has announced that, out of concern for what it estimates as the 20% of its customers who…

• Jun 08, 2007  Hidden Fee Lurks in Online Payday Loans
  

  The EverPrivate Card is a scam targeting people seeking payday loans over the Internet. During the payday loan transaction, customers…

May

• May 14, 2007  No Long Distance Calls Fee
  

  Last month, Verizon began charging its customers $2 for not making any long-distance calls. The company’s new “Shortfall Charge” of…

• May 03, 2007  Roadside Assistance Fee
  

  Cingular and Verizon add a $2.99 monthly charge to some wireless bills for “Roadside Assistance.” In the event that you…

April

• Apr 24, 2007  Congestion Fee
  

  New York City is considering a “congestion fee” for vehicles that enter Manhattan. In the interest of reducing traffic, (and…

• Apr 11, 2007  Refund Alert: Credit Card Foreign Fees
  

  Banks add a junk fee of up to 3% called a ”currency conversion fee” when you…

• Apr 05, 2007  U.K. Fee-Slayer
  

  Most Americans have never heard of the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), the United Kingdom government agency with the power…

March

• Mar 28, 2007  Credit Card Tax Payment Fees
  

  Credit card companies are aggressively promoting the use of credit cards to pay personal income taxes. Some companies are offering…

• Mar 14, 2007  Cascading Overdraft Fees
  

  Cascading overdraft fees are used by many banks in connection with bogus “courtesy overdraft” service to make gobs of money…

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