I-TEAM: Surprise fees eating your money?

DAYTON — The cost of everything seems like it has gone up, and now extra fees is being added to your bills.

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News Center 7′s I-Team Consumer Investigator Xavier Hershovitz looks at the different fees and how to avoid them.

Ronald Barker, of Dayton, said, “The fees are outrageous.”

From the convenience store to ordering some delivery, “It’s like a pretty hefty tax on it so I’d rather go and get it myself,” said Chloe Klawan, of Dayton.

It can feel like everywhere you turn; fees surround you. So how do you go about avoiding them? Well, it depends on the cost.

Dave Wilson, of Huber Heights, said, “If I can get them for the same price online, I would. The fees are a little excessive.”

When it comes to avoiding those costly fees for entertainment, try heading straight to the venue. There you avoid all those added processing fees.

“That’s why I’m here getting them instead of ordering them online,” Wilson said.

Then, there are convenience fees. Food delivery services like Uber Eats and DoorDash tack on delivery and service fees.

Just go and pick up your food to avoid those. Unless you want to pay that added expense.

Kaylee Wagers, of Dayton, said, “You save time and time is money.”

There are also surcharges which are added fees to use your credit card everywhere from doctors’ officers to the corner store.

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Sara Rathner who is a credit card expert with NerdWallet said, “Usually you’ll see a sign at the register or sign at the door of the business. Its buyer beware.”

She said these surcharges are starting to pop up more and more. That has to do with a fee merchants pay to companies like Visa, Mastercard, and American Express.

“Definitely a line item on businesses operating costs and with the cost of other things going up too. It could be another way that merchants are trying to find to save money by passing those costs on to consumers,” Rathner said.

Many use their credit cards for the rewards. Rathner said to be careful.

“Let’s say they charge a fee of 3% if you can get 3% or more cash back or travel rewards by using a certain credit card at that merchant. Then, you can come out on top, but if you don’t carry a card that will earn you that much, then you’re going to still be paying fees,” Rathner said.

She continued and said your debit card should not have the same sort of fee tacked on. If you notice there is, “Speak to a manager, if possible, and talk to them about how you were charged and see if there’s something they can do to fix the situation for you. And, if they can’t, then you can talk to your bank and see if you can file a dispute about the charge,” Rathner said.

Let’s be honest – no one likes added fees. And, Rathner said they don’t seem to be going away.

“Many merchants are operating on really thin margins, and they certainly don’t want to drive customers away with fees. But there’s also the reality of the cost of doing business,” she said.

So, what do you do to avoid those fees?

“You can change the way that you decide to pay. You can use cash if the merchant accepts cash, you can also pay with debit cards, and those are two ways to avoid paying those fees,” Rathner said.

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