At one level, this is petty but it’s indicative of a bigger problem. Have you made a reservation at a hotel, and found out at the last minute that instead of the quoted price, you’re paying an additional $20 a day because of a “resort fee?” Why can’t they be honest and simply show the full?!
Or you get an airline ticket for a price you are willing to pay, only to be hit with luggage fees, and “mandated government fees,” that drastically increase the cost of travel?
Or this new “fee” from Alamo—
This isn’t a hidden Alamo fee; it is a government tax, which Alamo is required to disclose as a “Customer Facility Charge.”
Or your cell phone service: you agree to a price for this, only to find additional monthly fees that are not revealed until you get your bill.
Or my latest favorite—last night I tried to order Pizza Hut’s $10 pizza—Advertised as “$10 for any large pizza, any topping” which they were glad to sell me for $12.50. I mean, what the heck?
I thought I was doing something wrong. So I played around with this order online,and tried to find an asterisk (*) that would list the exclusions . Couldn’t find it. So I called the local place, to order my pizza from them. I told the guy on the phone I wanted the “Any Pizza for $10 deal.” I gave him my preferences and he told me I could pick it up in 10 minutes; it would be $12.50!
So I asked him, “What part of “any pizza for $10” made this cost $2.50 more?” He told me it was the extra toppings and sauce. So I asked him to define “any” and after a short rant on my part, he agreed to sell me the pizza for $10. (BTW, playing with the site, I found that the $10 price goes up by $2 if you want it delivered. Again, there is no warning until you reach the check out page.
It is enough to make me sympathize with those people who defaulted on the subprime mortgages. How many of them thought they could swing the $10 price, but were actually charged $12.50?
This used to be called “bait and switch.” In most states it is an illegal advertising practice to make a public offer of one price and then charge another. But we are either used to this, or government doesn’t want to advertise their greed so they won’t prosecute this any more.
I guess we are going to have to yell at everyone and demand the advertised price every time, or be willing to walk away, in order to end this practice. Which will probably be more effective than trying to get the government to start calling taxes, “taxes,” not fees.