I just heard about an electricity utility in New York State that charges its customer a $1.00 bill fee regardless how they receive their bill (i.e., electronically or paper-based by mail) and how they pay for it (again either electronically or by mail).
This is essentially a fee that customers are charged to actually pay their bills--a spokesperson indicated that this covers off the production and processing of bills. When customers complained about this fee, they were told by the utility that they have actually already been paying it but it had been hidden somewhere else in the billing breakdown !
This got me thinking about what other types of hidden charges or fees are applied to consumers. I know, for example, that Canadians who use their credit cards in the U.S. are subject to an additional fee over and above the straight exchange rate. Many residents of Ontairo, have to pay their local hydro (electricity) utility a fee each bill to cover off the utility's past debts.
There are many more...so I am hoping you can share some with us. Let your fellow consumers know what they are paying that they probably don't know about...and what they probably shouldn't be paying. Let's all be consumer advocates today!
As usual, please leave your input in the Comments section of this blog entry. Thanks!
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