This to me is rather topical as I have had to fork out many "stealth charges" over the years whilst uing the internet.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7268721.stmTelecom and internet firms will soon have to stop levying extra charges that the regulator Ofcom says are unfair.
The regulator is responding to complaints about additional charges for paying bills by cheque or cash, ending contracts early or paying bills late.
Any extra charges must be clear and "demonstrably fair", Ofcom says.
The draft guidance from the regulator covers bills and charges not only for home phones but also for mobile phones, broadband and pay TV.
If charges remain unclear to customers, firms will not be able to recoup more than the cost of providing the service, under the draft rules that should come into force in the autumn.
"For consumers to get an all round fair deal they need to know the full costs of the services they are buying," said Ofcom's chief executive Ed Richards
There is no extra cost to an ISP if the customer pays in cash as it would be converted into e-cash at the place they go to pay it, this is the first rip off that cost me an extra £5 pounds each bill.
As an internet user over the yeras I suppose I have become used to this sort of tactic to penalise folks who wont allow their personal information to end up on an server somewhere for sale as has happened to most who hand over their bank details to companies like BT who then outsource the work to third party countries, to me the extra cost of safeguarding my identity is one I willingly pay although perhaps for the wrong reasons.
Lets hope more stealth charges are looked into and the industry cleans its house to offer beter deals and services without penalising customers who want something that many expect as standard.
