Consumer Reports: Protect yourself from hidden fees

As companies pile on sneaky fees, CR gives you tactics to spot and avoid them

You never want to pay more for something than the advertised price. But these days, that’s exactly what’s happening to consumers when they buy something with an added fee.

Fees across a wide range of industries are siphoning billions of dollars out of Americans’ wallets each year. Consumer Reports tells you how to spot, negotiate and avoid extra fees altogether.

Carol Begnoche and her husband, Brian, love everything Virginia Tech.  

“We are huge Hokie fans," she said.

It only makes sense -- it’s where they met and where they both attended college. So, when their alma mater’s men’s basketball team played Duke in the NCAA tournament in March, they knew they had to be there.

They purchased their tickets on Stubhub for $355 a piece. On top of that was a fee.

“I expected to see fees, but I was flabbergasted by how much they were," Begnoche said.

Their tickets had an additional $173.80 for what’s listed as “service, delivery and transactional fees.” 

And the Begnoches aren’t alone. From cable TV fees to banking fees to airline fees -- Consumer Reports heard from nearly 3,500 Americans who were angry about the growing number of fees on their bills. A common theme -- added fees are annoying and costly.

"Companies are doing everything they can to make their prices appear lower to bring consumers in the door. The problem is that they have to increase the price somewhere along the way, and they do it by hiding fees in the final price," said Anna Laitin, director of financial policy at CR.

A CR survey of more than 2,000 adults in the U.S. shows at least 85% of Americans say they’ve encountered an unexpected or hidden fee over the past two years. 

As for who’s most likely to charge consumers hidden fees, CR’s survey finds that telecommunication providers, live entertainment or sporting events, and gas and electric utility companies top the list. 

"It’s important to check your bills regularly to make sure there are no fees you didn’t know about. And ask companies a lot of questions before you pay them," Laitin said.

As for Begnoche, next time, she’ll budget for ticket fees and put that extra money towards a hot dog and a cold beer at the game.

Consumer Reports says StubHub offers a feature that lets you set your search for tickets so that fees are included in the price, which helps to budget and avoid any surprises.