I renewed my driver’s license last week. I live in Toronto where there is a $60 levy per year when you renew your license to help the city desparately raise revenue to balance its books. I have mixed thoughts over this levy. If it helps fund public transit and fills in pot-holes than its good use of the money but it also feels like a cash grab on some level.

As I was paying for this fee, it got me to thinking of the top 5 industries that try to swindle their customers at every opportunity and how they are trying to rip us off any way they can. Here is my list:

1. Airlines: They get you on fuel surcharges, they get you on extra luggage fees (especially now as some airlines are limiting the number of bags you can bring without incurring an extra charge), they get you on airport improvement taxes (technically nothing to do with the airlines), they get you on $2.50 soft drinks. Now some airlines are removing the movie screens in their planes to lighten the plane and save on fuel costs which, of course, such savings will not be passed onto the customer. Is there an industry more structured to deliver customer dis-satisfaction than an airline?
2. Cell Phones: Every month I have to pay a $6.95 system access fee and a $0.50 911 emergency access fee. Funny, I thought I paid my taxes to maintain 911. Why am I paying for it again?  Why am I paying for an access fee? Wouldn’t you roll that cost into my monthly plan? How do I know it truly costs $6.95 to access the system and its not a profit center for the cell phone companies? A system access fee to me is equivalent to pay $6.95/month so I have the privilege of entering into a mall to shop at the stores. Is not the money I spend in the mall enough? Now you want me to pay to enter the mall? Random fact- outside of health related liability, cell phone companies are one of the leading industries hit by class-action lawsuits (angry customers anyone?)
3. Sports franchises. In order to subscribe to season’s tickets, you have to pay for a seat license in order to have the privilege to buy the tickets. In other words, you have to pay for the privilege of spending more money (think of it as the equivalent of system access fees in sports). Your seat is probably in an arena that you paid for with your tax dollars since the sports franchise held your city hostage and “made” them build a facility with public money for a private enterprise to use for profit generation. Want a Pepsi? Sorry, this is a Coca-Cola only building too… and no outside food as well…
4. Banks. I thought banks made money by loaning out my deposits and earning their profit from the spread between interest received in loans and interest they pay me? So why all the service charges? Why can’t I deposit and with-draw money from a branch different than my home branch without a hassle. Why are you charging me for transaction regardless of whether I am depositing money or with-drawing it? Wouldn’t you want to encourage deposits by not counting that as a transaction in the maximum number of transaction in my service plan?
5. Automotive. Buying a car? You need to pay freight and pre-delivery inspection (in U.S., I understand that PDI is generally charged separately than freight and negotiable whereas in Canada it is lumped together). Why am I paying for someone to inspect my car? Don’t they do that at the factory? Bringing the car in for maintainance? The parts cost a lot (a friend of mine who works in this industry suggested that you don’t worry about the labour and negotiate down the parts: the mark-ups for parts are unreasonably high) and a lot of work is not guaranteed.

Your turn. Any particular industry make your blood boil? Now is the opportunity to vent…