The society we live in is one where money seems to dominate every move and dictates every decision we make. To many consumers, the number of extra charges in the United Kingdom continues to baffle, confuse, and annoy.
Here in Labs, we asked which charges perplex and most of all downright annoy you the most.
A high proportion of panellists said that energy prices annoyed them the most. This was closely followed by hospital car park fees. The other charges which irked panellists the most were freephone numbers that were not free from mobiles and booking fee charges on airplanes.
- These were the four charges that annoyed panellists the most.
Energy prices
- Panellists gave a range of explanations for why energy prices annoyed them the most.
- Most of the explanations centred on the cost of energy prices being too expensive, with companies raising the cost at little notice to consumers.
- Other explanations were concerned with the amount of profit that energy companies made from consumers and the detrimental effect of higher prices upon the poorest earners in society. Some panellists noted that the poorest income earners in society would have to choose between heating and eating, if energy prices continued to rise.
- Furthermore, others believed that consumers should have more choice in regards to energy prices. Many panellists in this group were sceptical of privatized energy companies and remarked that they should be nationalized.
- Additionally, some people in this group said that the most vulnerable in society such as the elderly struggled with the sheer costs of energy prices and this could not go on.
Hospital car park fees
- Panellists who expressed their annoyance with hospital car park fees on the whole said that they were too expensive. Many panellists voiced their anger at the so-called taxing of the sick.
- Many saw the charges unfair and inconvenient, and perceived the companies in charge of the car parks as profiting from ill people’s health.
- Other people were concerned at the lack of spaces provided in hospital car parks, which they perceived as adding stress to the family and the patient alike.
Freephone numbers
- Panellists in this group said that they had been put on hold for hours and that they had not had a response.
- Consequently, this had led to them being charged a hefty sum of money and in some cases had led to arguments on the phone.
- Others people in this group who did not have a landline and had been charged a considerable sum of money on their mobile phone tended to feel that they had been discriminated against.
- There was another set of people who voiced their concerns at their mobile operator, for charging extra money for the calls.
Booking fee charges on airlines
- Most people in this group said that booking fee charges were almost always hidden and were extremely costly.
- Panellists noted that the charges should be included in the total price, rather than misleading customers before paying and being more than the advertised amount.
- Other people were annoyed by the small print of booking fees that some airline companies had, with many seeing it as a form of false advertising and marketing. As a result, many people felt that they were being exploited because of this.
Extra charges to consumers
(Here is a selection of what panellists had to say about the charges that most annoyed them)
Viewpoint 1- Energy prices
“Energy prices rise frequently and never seem to drop” Tempest, York
“Because heating and light are basic necessities, so should be government owned and non profit making” Anon
“The most annoying is energy prices. I do not mind paying for something that I use, however any company that uses its power to extort money out of the masses must be capped. Having high energy prices is immoral because these companies are greedy and only raise their prices to pay for the shareholders and CEO's lifestyle.” Daz, Cheshire
“You cannot avoid them but we are being ripped off. When wholesale price fall consumers prices only fall quickly yet when they rise our prices change almost instantly. The benefits of privatisation at their worst” Les, Yorkshire
The energy companies are taking an essential tool of basic living, and making billions of pounds at the cost of the lives of the poor. The poorest in society are going with out heating, lighting, hot meals. All because of rates that serve only to make big companies rich.” Joel, Manchester
“So confusing to work out how the charges are calculated and it is difficult to compare prices between the different companies. I also feel that those in our society who are not financially stable end up paying the most. For instance, my ninety year old mother in law who did not understand "direct debits" and "on - line agreements", who just wanted a quarterly bill, was paying a much higher rate for her electricity” Gill, Liverpool
The consumer has no control over the market price of energy as it is controlled by the oligopoly of Energy Companies. And as energy is not a choice but a necessity in modern life, it is annoying. Michael, North Berwick
“The price of gas in particular has fallen dramatically, yet none of these savings are passed to consumers. Utilities like this should be nationalised and run on a not for profit basis” David, Hartlepool
“They are confusing, too many tariffs, unclear wording. They are on a par with bank charges, water charges and insurance policies” Steve, Devon
Viewpoint 2 - Hospital car park fees:
“It is, in my view, profiteering at the expense of the sick and their relatives” Anon
“I believe it is wrong to charge people to park at hospitals if they are sick or visiting the sick, to avoid others using the car parks there should be a system say something like where you can have a card stamped to prove you are a genuine patient or visitor” Anon
“Because it becomes a massive expense - especially when someone is in acute care” Ellie, London
“The cost of hospital car parks annoys me because I feel hospitals should be a relaxing environment, especially when the patients or be it patients family are dealing with a difficult illness. For instance, cancer or a heart illness, the fact that you even have to pay adds stress and inconvenience” Callum L, Leeds
”Too expensive, particularly when you don't know how long you're going to be, not enough free disabled places. If you are ill you have enough to be coping with without additional stress of parking - money shouldn't be made from the ill” Anon
“Nobody goes to hospital for the fun of it. Patients suffer if visitors won't pay for parking” Tricia, Ashford
“Its a necessary visit and the prices are ridiculous” Horace, Bradford
“Because they hit people at a time in their lives when money should not be a worry to them. Visiting someone or having to attend hospital for treatment should not come with a price tag attached” Anon
“It's a tax on being ill and the more chronically ill you are, the less you are likely to earn but the more you will need to pay on hospital visits - and charging people to gain access to loved ones in traumatic and difficult circumstances is despicable” LW, Aylesbury
Viewpoint 3 - Freephone numbers
“If you have to pay then it isn't a free phone number!” Andy S, St.Helens
“It's a hidden charge and very hard to find out how much you pay. The company thinks you deserve a freephone number, and yet charges the majority of people hugely inflated prices for phoning them because they use mobile phones. It's also hard to avoid them because some things simply require phone calls” Anon
“You are left on hold for hours costing you a fortune in call fees on the mobile phone. Companies seem to have decided that these numbers are not part of your contract package” Anon
“Because it is a freephone number and yet mobile providers are determined to get as much as possible from consumers. I gave up my contract phone years ago simply because far too much is hidden in small print” Jeff, Yeovil
“Considering most people have a mobile phone, and a lot of people use it as their sole telephone connection, it's unfair for companies to charge a fee for what are meant to be freephone numbers. Especially as the cost of connecting mobile phones to other numbers has decreased due to its rising popularity. Phone charges for calling non-residential numbers from a mobile are also annoying” Miss, London
“It's discrimination against mobile phone owners who don't have a landline” Mike, Kent
“They are a charge which is symptomatic of rip-off Britain, where spurious charges are levied for a non-service” WP, Reading
“Because you wait for ages on the phone and get charged for the company being inefficient and often they only open during normal working house so there is no choice about using a landline” Sue, Birmingham
“If the receiver is the one who pays the bill normally when made from a land line why does a mobile network provider charge” Andrew, Norwich
Viewpoint 4 - Booking fee charges on airlines
“The presented flight price advertised is not the full amount paying to the airline!” Anon
“Because they are hidden charges that you are not aware of when you start the booking” George, England
“They are excessive and unavoidable” Anon
“You never know till the end of the purchase how much it is going to be!” Davie J, Hampshire
“It's usually only stated in the small print that they're going to do so. You have to book in advance to fly, it's not like a train -- why can't they just raise the airfare by the amount of the booking fee and not have a separate booking fee? Even that wouldn't annoy me. It just seems unnecessary” Anon
“Because it's very disingenuous to advertise a price and then charge for things that can't be avoided, like checking in, or paying with a card” Fiona C, Glasgow
“Because you can't really buy what they're offering any other way. A shop charging a postage fee makes sense if you could collect it for free instead” David W, Bristol
“They don't tell you until the very end, its very frustrating” David, Guildford
“The travel price advertised is entirely misleading. A £9 ticket but £96 when all extras are paid for. Madness!” Maggie, Cambridge
“They seem unnecessary and I gather that many of these charges are made for nothing more than a few mouse clicks on a computer - according to a friend who works in ticketing. Most unfair! The worst are charged for extending or changing tickets. These charges are really not worth the ten seconds it takes to make the change!” Anon
What's your view? Are there any other hidden charges that annoy you?
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