What "fee" is completely useless?

[nat965]

Ok, so, I was talking to a friend a while ago and we were talking about fees and where they are useless and unnecessary.

One example would be payment processing fees for bills. You are literally paying to pay your bill...

thoughts?

[Landon]

The fee that banks charge to swipe a card to the businesses.

[Brad]

There's a few fees that I have been boggled by, and still am confused.

The first being an Activation fee. I know in Canada an activation fee is usually $25 CAD to start up a phone on a contracted plan. This really confuses me because; a, You're being charged $60-80 CAD/Month to use their service, and they still want to make you pay for the activation. I know that most phone companies will waive it, but I know that will my upgrade after 2 years, I still had to pay that activation fee which pissed me off because I was already with their services, but yet they wanted me to pay for the new phone.

The second is the fee on some toll roads in both Canada, and the US. Now before I begin there are some toll roads that I've seen that actually put the money that is used for those roads back into maintaining the road and keeping it really nice, but then there are some toll roads that I've been on in the states that are so horrible, you wonder where all that toll road fee is going... and some tolls are not cheap!

[Landon]

There's a few fees that I have been boggled by, and still am confused.

The first being an Activation fee. I know in Canada an activation fee is usually $25 CAD to start up a phone on a contracted plan. This really confuses me because; a, You're being charged $60-80 CAD/Month to use their service, and they still want to make you pay for the activation. I know that most phone companies will waive it, but I know that will my upgrade after 2 years, I still had to pay that activation fee which pissed me off because I was already with their services, but yet they wanted me to pay for the new phone.

The second is the fee on some toll roads in both Canada, and the US. Now before I begin there are some toll roads that I've seen that actually put the money that is used for those roads back into maintaining the road and keeping it really nice, but then there are some toll roads that I've been on in the states that are so horrible, you wonder where all that toll road fee is going... and some tolls are not cheap!

I'm pretty sure on some roads "turnpikes" they don't get federal funding like the big interstates do so they have to make them because the owners don't get federal funding? Not sure.

[dbgtz]

Fees when renting from a letting agents.
What exactly am I paying for?? (Nothing because private is better).

[FlyingJesus]

Basically anything that comes under "admin fees" which I think pretty much encompasses everything said in this thread so far especially when (as people have said) you're paying to pay for something

[e5]

Card charges when booking cinema tickets online.

You don't pay this when being served face to face by a paid member of staff, yet you get charged, when actually, it's cheaper to sell a ticket online than in a shop and you do all the work yourself.

Really annoys me!

- - - Updated - - -

Ok, so, I was talking to a friend a while ago and we were talking about fees and where they are useless and unnecessary.

One example would be payment processing fees for bills. You are literally paying to pay your bill...

thoughts?

that's usually called a 'service charge' or a 'tip'....

[scottish]

Odeon don't charge for booking tickets online

[nat965]

Charging for the first piece of checked baggage on a flight. I guess its to reduce the number of people carrying luggage, but still...

[Charlie]

Buying concert tickets online and having to pay some stupid booking fee, even if you chose to print them at home, they charge you. When I moved out of my last place, they charged us £75 which was taken from the deposit as a "check out/inspection" fee. It was a house I rented, not a hotel so why was I paying a check out fee?