BinaryWolf

Bigger Than Identity Theft

Bob Sullivan, a columnist for the Red Tape Chronicles, has been quoted as saying that hidden fees and surcharges are the “fastest-growing white-collar crime in America,” even bigger than identity theft. In his book Gotcha Capitalism, he exposes the ways we’re all cheated by big business.

A 2006 study by the Ponemon Institute , an independent business-research firm, found that the average adult pays about $722 each year in hidden fees and surcharges. The survey also noted that consumers pay about an extra $200 a year if they fail to use loyalty cards at grocery stores.

Frustrated consumers are fighting back. The Ponemon survey found that the success rate for complaints are 65 percent for credit card companies and 60 percent for airlines. Consumers had a 37 percent success rate when they complained to hotels. Industries with the lowest complaint success rates include cell phone service providers, at 27 percent, insurance companies, at 28 percent, and cable-and satellite-television providers, at 20 percent.

Some Web sites to assist unhappy consumers:
complaints.com
planetfeedback.com
callforaction.org

Tags: hidden fees and surcharges., Frustrated consumers, complaints