If the price of a commonly purchased item increases by a significant amount, some consumers will decide that the product is not worth the price and will stop purchasing that item or will find a cheaper alternative.  Businesses know this and avoid raising the price of the item to retain their customers, but the retailers still want to make more money with as little effort as possible.  This is why many companies use special fees to increase their profits without providing much more to their customers.

Special Fees For Convenience

The most prolific special fees used today are the convenience fees charged for doing business in a particular way.  These fees are often charged for paying a bill online or over the telephone, purchasing tickets to an event without traveling to the event location, or using a bank ATM machine to access an account that is not held by the same bank.  These convenience fees are often disclosed at the end of the transaction just prior to completion when there is less of a chance that the consumer will cancel the transaction to avoid paying the fee.

Special Fees For Transactions

Some companies now charge special fees for certain types of transactions in the accounts that they hold.  Banks and credit card companies are notorious for these fees and charge the fees for activities such as using a teller more times than the amount specified in the account information, using a credit card to access cash, making transfers between accounts, or having too many transactions within a specified time period.  Every company can choose what types of transactions will have special fees attached so one company may charge transaction fees that others do not.

Special Fees For Maintenance

Maintenance fees are typically fees charged by the company to perform the actions that it takes to service the account.  These actions have always been performed to provide information in the account current and to make the customer aware of the account information, but now companies add an additional charge for each action that the customer is expected to pay to continue using the account.  These charges may include fees for mailing paper account statements to the home, fees for reviewing account information for upgrades or lower interest rates, or annual fees for the privilege of accessing the account.  These fees can add hundreds of dollars to the amount that each consumer pays the company, adding millions of dollars to the company’s profits.


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