Discovering hidden fees has to be one of the most negative touch points there is.
A customer finding out about a fee, when the first bill arrives and it’s too late, isn’t acceptable.
It’s obvious why it was a hidden fee. The company knew you wouldn’t like it, so they kept it a secret, in the hope, you would never find out.
Legally they may have covered themselves by writing it in the terms and conditions but the trust levels between customer and company will drop significantly. And trust is probably the most valuable commodity for businesses.
It’s not good enough to just mention it in the terms and conditions.
If you’re afraid of being transparent because you’ll lose customers then you need to improve your offering because selling people a lie is a short term fix and eventually you’ll run out of people to trick.
Thomas Duggan 