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U.S. PIRG Consumer Blog
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April 22, 2008
Gotcha fees roundup
Every once a while, I'll list some new, or higher, gotcha fees: A consumer from Florida emailed to inform me that AT&T Wireless stores charge a $2 fee to pay phone bills in cash; the fee is going up to $5. Over at ConsumerAffairs.com, Joe Enoch recently wrote that the NCAA is apparently increasing its slam-dunk non-refundable fee for joining the lottery to obtain men's or women's b-ball tourney tix to $9 per ticket. The NCAA also holds onto your deposit, and any interest on it, for at least 3 months: The ticket applications for the early rounds for next year's men's basketball tournaments are due March 1 and require the consumer to pay about $200 plus a $9 service charge for each ticket. Consumers can apply for as many as eight tickets. Meanwhile, Martha White of the New York Times reports that 5 large airlines, in lockstep, are establishing a second-checked bag fee of $25. Many also have companion overweight bag fees.Over the weekend, United announced (Bloomberg) that it was raising its "change ticket" fee from $100 to $150 and requiring Saturday-night stays on more discounted flights.
On the bright side, as Kelli Grant reports at SmartMoney.com, the FAA has increased passenger "involuntary" or forced bumping compensation from the longstanding prehistoric level of $400 to "up to $800." That's not anywhere near inflation levels since 1978 ($1300) but it should at least result in better offers to the people who accept bumps.
Posted by Ed Mierzwinski at April 22, 2008 08:39 AM
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