[jazzpush2]

Now do service fees and 'convenience' fees. Every ticket I buy for a movie somehow costs $2 extra now. (As with everything else). Robbery.

[dylan604]

My favorite is the local tax office charges extra for paying online vs going in to the office to pay in person. At first, I thought it was a way to recoup the processing fees as you're obviously paying by card online. The last time I paid in person with a card, that fee was not added on though. So they are charging you extra for not having to pay an employee to process your account.

[mrWiz]

Until a few years ago merchants were not allowed to charge credit card fees. In that case, online fees make a legally-allowable proxy for credit card surcharges.

[dylan604]

the whole allowed to/not allowed to charge extra to cover the processing fees is a yo-yo. One of the best known examples is gas stations showing you different prices for credit/cash on their signs. So the "until a few years ago" seems like some internet trope as I can remember the gas station signs showing cash/credit from back when I was a kid, and let's just all agree that wasn't "a few years ago"

[acdha]

It might also be that you’re just hearing from people in different states. More than half of the states allow surcharges, but that can change: for example, Oklahoma removed the ban just last year: https://legiscan.com/OK/text/SB677/id/3231564

[perlgeek]

What you really need are strong consumer protection offices, and the right for them to sue.

This has really helped in Germany.

[bsimpson]

The one that pisses me off is when the waitress tells you to pay with your phone, and it's charged a "convenience fee."

[traderj0e]

I won't go anywhere that wants you to pay with phone period, cause it's just annoying and usually means bad food/service. If they somehow hid this fact until the end and wanted a fee for it, I'd just slap a bill on the table and leave. Don't think that's even a crime.

[butlike]

Right? As silly as it might sound, I go out to interact with people. I don't want a mindless unthinking automaton as a server. I want someone who will check in on how the service is going, and also make recommendations if I ask. I really don't understand the push to make inherently social endeavors more isolating. I guess it's money. :(

[traderj0e]

That's what I'm saying, I won't tolerate the automation. At least not at a place that expects a tip too.

[foobarchu]

I looked at buying tickets for a local hockey game last week, and the venue goes through Ticketmaster. The service fees were exactly the same as the actual ticket cost, maybe the total 200% of the list price.

I ended up going to the physical box office, where they still charged an extra 40% of the ticket cost in service fees.

[alexanderscott]

most large venues have a rev share agreement on these fees. they aren’t all going to the ticketing company.

[micromacrofoot]

usually the service fee doesn't even get refunded, which feels additionally foul

[wccrawford]

I think that's exactly the point. They've charged you $2 to process the request. They did that work. Even if you get the money back for the event, they still did the job, so they won't refund the service fee.

[micromacrofoot]

Sure, but imagine a brick and mortar doing that? "we paid our cashier so we can't refund you the full cost"

running the service is the cost of doing business

[dbbk]

If there was no service fee how would Ticketmaster generate any revenue?

[colechristensen]

California, Minnesota, Maryland, and New York have

[bsimpson]

And then the restaurant lobby got the CA one rescinded for restaurant junk fees, which were probably the biggest culprit most people encounter day-to-day.