Flight Centre staff told me I couldn't pay for airfares by Eftpos or bank transfer because the system wasn't working. I had to pay by credit card and the fare was bumped up by $160 in surcharges. That was reduced to $80 when I complained. The company tells me it makes no money from the surcharge.
Tauranga-based beautician Donna Kaiser buys InterCity fares for her children every few weeks and is hit with a $3.99 fee, which is about 20 per cent over and above the advertised price. "Imagine if I charged an extra $3.99 for every client that did an online booking for a treatment. There is no way they would pay that on top of a $20 brow tint."
When Jacki MacKay wants to book a Jetstar flight but doesn't quite have sufficient frequent flyer credits, she incurs a $5 surcharge. She points out the surcharge can exceed the actual additional amount owed.
Aucklander Rochelle Gillespie was astounded when told at the Air New Zealand check-in desk that her unaccompanied 8-year-old son Jimmie would be charged $60 for his hand luggage to be put in the hold because he wasn't big enough to get it in the overhead locker and cabin staff weren't allowed to help him.
Ticketing: Ticketek and Ticketmaster charges are legend. On top of Disney on Ice tickets in Christchurch, Ticketek charges $5.25 for electronic tickets sent by email, or $8.25 to pick them up in person or have them sent by snail mail. It also has a 2.55 per cent credit card surcharge and a $1.50 per ticket levy, which goes to the council-owned venue management company. Many venues outsource their in-house box office so the fees can't be avoided even if you pay in cash.
Two events MacKay chose to attend at this year's Auckland Writers Festival weren't included in festival packages, forcing her to buy tickets individually. That meant a $5 processing fee for each $20 ticket, she says. "So a 25 per cent surcharge per ticket."
As a Herald online reader commented: "Sadly if it's something you really want to go to there is no alternative but to pay."
Movies: I can understand that theatres and sports venues are passing on Ticketek's charges. It seems now that companies that do their own bookings want to get a slice of the action as well. If, for example, you want to book movie tickets online through Event Cinemas, you pay $1.20 per ticket, points out West Aucklander Jacqui Robinson, even though it's less expensive for the cinema company than if you pay in person at the counter.
Taxis, hire cars and parking: If you want to get Kiwi drivers riled mention Txt-a-park. A 50c charge on a $2 parking fee is a 25 per cent surcharge, says Karl Baker. That's way more than the 1.5 to 2.5 per cent it costs the operators. Coins fed through the meter have to be collected, which costs the carpark owner money.
Leave your car at home and you still get hit. Alert Taxis, like other taxi firms, charges a $3 fee for using a credit card. The company even charges the card fee for paying by Eftpos, says Eugene St John on Facebook. In my opinion it makes Uber look attractive.
What gets me is the rental car companies that charge you for delivering your car to the airport, when smaller outfits that have a shuttle service don't. I did a quick estimate on Thrifty and Apex's websites for a 24-hour hire on the same day from Auckland Airport, dropping off in Auckland city. Thrifty's headline rate was $51.75 per day, but that doubled to $103.50 when fees and taxes were added. Apex had one straight fee of $72 and promised no extra charges for one-way hires, no booking fees, no credit card processing fees, etc. Good on you Apex.
Banks and lenders: Roz-6kids on Trade Me complained that she was hit with a $3 fee every time a buyer pays over the counter at the bank. I asked all of the high street banks and the only one that replied and didn't charge over the counter fees on any of its personal accounts was Kiwibank. Before you change bank, check first if you could get free deposits another way. If, for example you're a student, a graduate, over 65, or you have good savings or a mortgage with the bank you might be able to get a fee-free account. The best thing to do is ask a teller for suggestions. There might be a little-known account that would suit your needs.
Banks have myriad other fees. The worst are honour and dishonour fees. They're often $25 a time for something that costs the bank cents. The BNZ got rid of these, but still charges an unarranged overdraft fee of $10.
Overseas ATM charges are a rip-off at $5 a time. If you're going to Australia consider opening an ANZ account, because the bank has dropped these fees.
If you default on any loan, hire purchase or store card, expect to be charged for computer-generated letters and statements to be sent to you. You'll also get late fees and debt recovery fees.
Customers groomed to accept charges: Here's the rub. These companies are taking advantage of the fact that we've been groomed to accept surcharges and booking fees. We're making these businesses more profitable by buying online rather than taking their counter staff's time. Yet they punish us for the privilege.
When asked about its booking fee, InterCity's reply showed that the grooming of customers by the travel industry has worked. A spokesman said: "Booking fees have become commonplace within the travel industry over recent years." In other words: We charge them because everyone does and we can get away with it.
Pricing tickets with the charges in them would be a whole lot better PR for these companies. Don't they know that it makes customers think badly of them?
Some businesses hang on to charges even though the cost to them has fallen thanks to technology. In the old days if you changed an airline ticket a new one had to be hand-written and it involved a lot of expensive charges for airlines. Now it's computerised and you print your own ticket and you're still charged.
These days businesses also charge fees to bill you. The concept is straight out of Monty Python. Several readers complained about Spark's $1.50 paper bill. And Paul Cornish pointed out that Spark charges courier fees to deliver the "free" modem needed with the new fibre connections.
Calling surcharges "convenience fees" as Vodafone, the Inland Revenue Department, New Zealand Police, Auckland Council and others do just rubs salt in the wound and devalues their brand. Surely being paid by credit card in a timely manner is a convenience for the biller that they should pay the costs of. If a tradesman tried that one I'd tell him (or her) where to go.
The antidote: Sadly this epidemic of charging has become a way of life for businesses in New Zealand. The charges can be avoided by paying cash or simply walking and shopping elsewhere. Haggling often works, as the Flight Centre example shows. The fact that many customers walk away from cafes that are surcharging on public holidays has made many give up this unpopular practice. Whatever the fee it's always worth asking a member of staff: "How can I avoid paying this?"
