Pony99CA
join:2004-09-05
Hollister, CA
| reply to Maxo
Re: what is that for again
said by Maxo  :I don't expect the company to just eat the fee. But it should be included in the monthly cost. The thing is that companies advertise something like, "Phone line for just $29.99/month" but it's actually $29.99/month + taxes + USC + fee x + fee z = $39.99/month. So you really don't want it included in the monthly cost, but in the advertised price. I agree that companies should do that, but it's not that easy. For example, if a company charges a fee that's based on usage, you can't really calculate that ahead of time. Also, for national advertising, those fees may vary from state to state, so the company would have to create 50 ads. That's why most of these companies have fine print in their ads (or really fast disclaimers on radio or TV ads).
Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see better full disclosure of fees. I hate calling a hotel and asking what their nightly rate is, being told $100 per night, and then finding out on checkout that I owe $112.50 because of the 11% transient tax and the $1.50 phone charge (even if I didn't use their phones). They should be required to disclose those charges as part of the price, but I do like seeing them spelled out on my bill instead of just being included in the cost. |
