Why We Pay So Many Fees
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December 3, 2010
Interview with Bob Sullivan, author of the book Gotcha Capitalism: How Hidden Fees Rip You Off Every Day-and What You Can Do About It
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Mike Carruthers:
With so many products and services you buy today, there is the price and then there are the fees. Bob Sullivan:
When you rent a car, goodness gracious, the amount that you're quoted is often fifty percent of the price that you end up paying once the vehicle license recovery fee and the tire and battery disposal fee are added in. |
 Bob Sullivan |
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Bob Sullivan, Columnist for MSNBC.com and author of the book Gotcha Capitalism, believes we need to start complaining and trying to get these fees waived.
There are industries that are more likely to give you refunds than others. So, we found out that credit card companies actually (while they lay their fees on) also take them off with relative ease. Conversely cell phone companies and pay TV like cable, they're very stingy and rarely give refunds - so pick your targets is one thing. And the other is go after the recurring fees more...
Because a nine dollar a month fee may be small but over a year that's over a hundred dollars and well worth the effort to try to get rid of it. And Bob says, if you still feel like you're getting taken to the cleaners, appeal to a higher authority.
And it really does work - there really are people in those offices (particularly I found in State Attorney General's offices) who are very helpful and eager to help. And some of it is self-interest. Every Attorney General I know is running for Governor in some way or another and it's great publicity for them. But also letter writing in particular is a dying art and as a result when you write an effective letter and send it to the right people, you often do get someone's attention.
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