Things we HATE to pay for: TV licence, admin fees, flight charges, Inheritance Tax
These fees and charges are guaranteed to make your blood boil! But which do you find the most irritating?
There are no free lunches in life. We all know that, but some things in life are just that bit more painful to pay for than others.
Here, we take a look at some of the most hated charges we all incur at some point in our lives.
Paying to drop someone off at the airport
The hefty cost of parking at an airport is well known, but at least you could argue that you're getting a secure place to leave your car in return.
The growing trend to charge people just to drop someone off outside the airport is a step too far. What exactly are you paying for? The wonderful views? No wonder people get riled every time another airport gets in on this rip-off tactic.
TV licence
The TV licence has never been an incredibly popular charge for Brits. But the fact that a growing number of households watch TV on the laptops and tablets means the charge grates that little more each year.
Still, at least you'll get to stop paying it... when you turn 75.
Inheritance Tax
A perennial front-runner in any list of hated payments, Inheritance Tax is paid when a person's estate is worth more than £325,000 when they die.
The public's opinion of this practice is summed up by the fact that many simply refer to it as a 'death tax'.
Thankfully the Government is going to raise the threshold to up to £500,000 per person by 2020. It's an improvement, but I'd hazard a guess that it will remain one of the most hated charges regardless.
Read How to cut your Inheritance Tax bill.
Leasehold properties
Everyone dreams of owning their own home. You spend decades whittling away that mortgage debt mountain and finally you have a place to stay for free.
Except for many leasehold 'homeowners', who still have to pay rent for the ground it's built on, which can cost hundreds of pounds a year. Paying a landlord for a house you own seems absurd – and it is. That's why people hate it so much.
Extortionate admin fees
Open a document on your computer, change a couple of words, click save, then close it again.
That wasn't much effort, was it? Yet some firms see fit to charge you anywhere up to £50 for doing just that.
Insurance firms in particular are infamous for charging extortionate 'admin fees' if you need even one minor detail changed. It's time to end this crazy practice once and for all.
Carrier bag tax
A controversial one, as plenty of people feel the shopping bag tax is a brilliant way to reduce the amount of bags littering our streets.
But those in the other camp will be angered that they now have to pay for something the shops were freely giving away before. Some stores instead try to aggressively promote bags for life instead, which can cost up to £1 a go – and are just as easy to forgetfully leave at home before you head off to the supermarket.
The confusion over which shops will charge shoppers (it depends on the number of outlets) further aggravates those who are opposed to it.
Bank overdrafts
Take a look at your bank account rates – there's a very good chance you're being paid 0.1% (or even nothing at all) for any money you have in credit.
Now look at the rate for dipping into your overdraft – many are charging exorbitant interest rates of more than 20%. Hardly seems fair, does it? And that's before you factor in the hefty fees, which could leave you hundreds of pounds worse off in a matter of months.
An unfair, and rightly hated charge.
Find a current account that charges you less for dipping into the red
Additional charges when flying
Comparison sites have become a great way to get cheap flights. The only catch is it's often not clear when booking what extra add ons you'll be forced to pay once you arrive at the airport (having already paid to be dropped off there, of course).
Certain budget airlines are famous for charging huge sums just to print out your boarding pass or having the temerity to want to bring luggage with you.
Worryingly, even the more established airlines are getting in on the act.
Recently I travelled to Austria with British Airways, but was told my flight only included free baggage for the return journey. Thankfully the problem was easily resolved – for a price of £100 per bag. Appalling.
Paying to speak to a company
If you're a paying customer, surely you should be able to speak to someone at a company for free?
Not so, sadly, with many firms opting for premium rate lines to bump up their profits. It's an infuriating trend, and one that shows no sign of disappearing.
Just last week, it was revealed that energy giant SSE had done away with an 0800 line for customers and introduced certain 0345 numbers instead.
That means some customers will be forced to pay up to 40p a minute to speak to someone at the energy giant, which, let's not forget, announced pre-tax profits of just under £549 million for the six months to end September 2015.
What do you think? Which of these is the MOST infuriating? Have we missed one of your most hated charges from our list? Share your additions in the comments section below
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