From Business To The Government, Hidden Fees Are Taxing Oklahomans

Has this ever happened to you, you are quoted one price for goods or services and then when you get your final bill, it's a whole lot more than you thought?

Didn't print out the tickets for your next cruise on your home computer? No problem, some cruise lines will print them for you, for $25 extra. Failed to book your next flight online yourself? Discussing it with a person on the phone will set you back $25 or more. A pillow and blanket? $7, headphones $5, and kennel your pet if you can, taking him with you on a flight could see $100 tacked on to your airline ticket.

Hidden fees are everywhere and they are not going away, in fact, we are seeing them more and more.

"In the last few years since the economic downturn in 2008 and I think what's happened is there's been downward pressure because of the economy on the ability to raise prices and so people have been looking at, where can I slot a fee and they'll be less sensitive to it and therefore it won't raise as many eyebrows," said Randy Allen.

Randy Allen is the dean of Cornell University's Management School. He says you can fight back with a little help from your friends.

"Well, I think first of all, you really have to start looking a lot more closely at bills you're getting and understand are there any fees in there you didn't realize that were there before, then the second thing is, if you do see them, is challenge why is that fee is there and then thirdly, I think what has happened in the rollback in the proposed debit card fees is that the consumer is getting active through social media and protesting those fees," said Randy Allen.

A consumer revolt incubated on Twitter and Facebook did force Bank of America to reverse course on raising debit card fees $5 last November, but without the backlash, other big banks would have followed their lead.

"What you see a lot is one company deciding they're going to try and do it and if they're successful, then everybody else says if they can do it, I can do it and then they pile on and add those fees as well," said Randy Allen. "I think it's more complicated than that because the companies are under a lot of pressure from their shareholders, which in some cases gets back to individual consumers or groups such as pension funds."

And don't think private companies are the only ones doing this.

The federal government excels in hidden taxes according to analysis by the Institute for Policy Innovation. Americans pay almost $660 billion a year in hidden taxes, that is more $2,600 for every man, woman and child in the country.