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Category: Consumer Fees

  • Hidden costs of food delivery apps

    How delivery apps are eating away at your money

    The fad of ordering food through apps has caught fire. However, some hidden fees on the most popular platforms may be eating away at your wallet.

    EatingNYC broke down the costs associated with Postmates, DoorDash and Uber Eats.

    Postmates was found to have the highest fees.

    Although Uber Eats does a good job of breaking down the costs involved, consumers could be paying up to 20 percent more when ordering food.

    UberEats hidden service fees can rack up.

    At first you’ll see the delivery cost and then there’s services and fees, which usually is about 15 percent of the food cost… but then they try to add in all these other fees.

    According to prices in four U.S. cities, Postmates proves to be the most expensive option since it has more food partners than other apps. You can read more about the rip off of Postmates hidden fees.

    Although Postmates is one of the higher apps in terms of “service fees” you could be facing fees close to $8 or $9 per delivery using the alternatives.

    If a consumer were to order one medium Big Mac meal from Postmates once a week, fees could add up to $1,000 per year. That equates to a domestic first-class flight or a nine-day trip to Disney World.

    DoorDash hidden service fees can add up but can be cheaper than the other apps.

    DoorDash may not be as explicit in explaining what the extra fees pay for but they are one of our favorites in lesser fees than the competitors.

    Fees may be high with all of the delivery apps but there’s still a big demand for fast delivery and consumers are willing to pay the extra cost. You just have to compare each time you make a delivery until you get it down which restaurants better partners with what app.

    The reason why these apps are so expensive because you’re paying for convenience. There are so many parties involved including the app who has to get paid and the courier too. There are just so many more transactions involved that really boost those fees.

  • UberEats Sneaks New 10% Service Fee, Additional $2 Fee For Orders Under $10

    We caught Postmates a few years ago doing the same thing and were hoping that Uber Eats would not turn out to be as shady. It turns out Uber Eats has been rolling out the following sneaky fees to some customers:

    • All orders include a 10% service fee
    • Additional $2 fee is applied to orders under $10

    This was found on all restaurants for some customers where the delivery fee remains the same but there is also an option to pool with nearby orders to save $2 on delivery. It looks like these new fees are only for selected customers as of now.

    Personally, I have two phones that I use to test out these things and noticed that one phone that is Platinum level with Uber Rewards does not have any of these extra fees. The other phone that has a Blue level (lowest level) of Uber Rewards is charging the fees. This may be a way to avoid the fees that Uber Eats is charging by ordering more Uber rides and claiming a higher rewards level.

  • Beware: Wyndham Hotel Sneaks “Resort” Fees On You at Non-Resort Hotels

    Just when trying to book travel gets harder and harder trying to navigate with all of the different ways we are nickeled and dimed with airfare and hotels. You may not notice resort fees sometimes because they are hidden in the taxes and fees section of your bill instead on your room rate where it should be. That is our biggest problem with these fees is they are not part of the room rate to compare to other hotels in the area for the best deal.

    Looking at hotels in New York City we looked at the Marriott, Hilton, and Wyndham hotels. Wyndham was the only one that sneaked resort-like fees onto the booking. They actually called them City Hotel fees at one hotel in Manhattan and a hotel a few blocks away they called these Facility Fees of 25.00 plus tax a night. Yes, thats a full $25 PLUS TAX A NIGHT. If that doesn’t make your eyes spin I don’t know what does!

    I discovered this as I recently had a booking at the Henri property in the Chelsea area of NYC. I booked a rate that was the same price as the Element in Times Square just to discover upon check-in that I would have to pay an additional $25 fee for bottled water everyday aka a resort fee. This is unacceptable. I could’ve stayed at a hotel down the street with a full kitchen and a social snack hour that this hotel doesn’t have. I’m paying more for a hotel that is worse.

    I was excited before booking this hotel because I had been granted Wyndham Platinum status through a status challenge but had forgotten some other Wyndham problems of the past. I had forgotten that a hotel I stayed at in Orlando had the same resort fee hidden that I didn’t even realize after checking out. Although I can half way understand hotels in Orlando near Disney, off the Las Vegas Strip. or in South Beach Miami charging resort fees as those are actual resorts.

    Let me comment on the Platinum status with Wyndham that is basically worthless as i’ve had two stays and not one upgrade and nothing but two free waters at one location in which I was charged a resort fee anyway for those same waters. If that doesn’t make me feel like i’ve been made a joke out of Wyndham I don’t know what does!

    Congress needs to get involved with these hidden hotel fees with more transparency if these companies cannot do it themselves. We as consumers need to at least call them out as these are unacceptable and I refuse to stay at ANY hotel that charges these fees and if I find out about it after booking I will be even more livid. It’s not just hotels that do this we discovered that Postmates and DoorDash have these hidden fees as well.

    Another thing to mention about Wyndham hotels as we live in the days of going after people and businesses that use straws. This company wraps every cup with plastic at their hotels instead of just stacking them like most would do. Why would each cup need to be wrapped up in plastic? That seems like such a waste and i’m surprised environmentalists are not going after the wasteful chain.