The sneaky fees to watch out for that will sting you unexpectedly

There are so many unexpected fees in transport, movies and banking. Here’s what you can do to beat them.

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Movie booking fees, Uber “wait time” fees, credit card charges and “handling fees”.

These are the pesky charges I’ve run my eye over in the past month. Some I was charged, some I avoided and others I didn’t realise until after I settled the bill.

Consumers really need to be on the ball or they’re sure to be shelling out little chunks of money here and there, often for no good reason.

What bugs me most is when the fees seem completely unfair and unnecessary but there’s no easy way to avoid them.

The best thing anyone can do is pay close attention to receipts – they’re a godsend when it comes to pointing out these charges.

These are four fees that have irritated me in the past month.

MOVIE BOOKING FEES

Being organised and planning movie tickets ahead is one of the easiest ways for cinemas to squeeze a bit more out of you.

I sorted two tickets to a flick last week, pre-ordering them online, but it came at a cost – a $3 booking fee. For what I’m not exactly sure.

I printed the tickets myself – saving the cinema the costs of printing the tickets for me once I arrived at the cinema.

I had to cop it on the chin.

The best way around this charge is to roll up to the movie session, hope you can get a seat and avoid the charge.

Online movie booking fees are a charge that often hits customers who pre-book. Picture: Getty

UBER “WAIT TIME” FEES

Watch these – it’s when Uber claims you made the driver wait to pick you up.
I’ve been stung a handful of times in recent months and taken Uber to task over it.

I was pinged 82c on one occasion for no good reason.

If I made the driver wait, yes, I’d pay the cost, but when they didn’t wait a single second I’m not letting them get away with this.

Pay close attention to your receipts because you won’t know until you’ve finished your trip and paid in full.

Sneaky.

CREDIT CARD CHARGES

Cash is king. I recently booked an interstate holiday for two and when we split the bill on arrival I paid my half in cash and the rest was paid by the other person on credit card.

Consequently they got stung about $10 in fees for paying this way.

Paying using debit card sometimes also comes with a charge.
The best way to avoid these costs is to pay by cash.

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HANDLING FEES

This left a sour taste in my mouth.

I ordered two sauvignon blancs at a bar totalling $19 and before I tapped I checked the payment terminal which came up with $19.19.

I asked the waitress what it was for and with a snigger she abruptly pointed to a sign that read “a payment processing fee of 1 per cent applies for all card transactions”.

Next time I’ll make sure I have cash in my wallet.