Fees are like taxes: they’re an inescapable part of life. Some are designed to make you avoid certain activities. Many are there to try and make your life better in some way. Others are weighed and debated like the advantages and drawbacks of contingency fees. And while all are frustrating, hopefully the information below will help you understand them a little bit more.
Toll Fees
One of the most annoying fees you’ll face is the toll fee. While inconvenient, especially if they malfunction in some way, tolls do have benefits. The main one is to help keep the road they’re on well-maintained. What this means exactly will vary from allowing for more frequent repairs to ensuring they’re cleared by a snowplow.
There is another benefit to tolls, though: project funding. Sometimes a road needs to be expanded or another large project needs to be done with it. If they’re funded solely by tax dollars, it could take years for the project to pass all of the required paperwork hurdles and gain the money necessary to go ahead.
Tolls make the latter process much easier by collecting money as vehicles pass by. While this does mean the paperwork remains, it’s much easier to deal with when you know the money is already collected.
Contingency Fee
A contingency fee is the money that you have to pay to your lawyers if you win. A lost case means you don’t owe a dime. For the sake of your lawyers getting paid, a settlement counts as a win. How much they’ll receive varies but is always a percentage of the money you’re awarded.
The main types of lawyers who use contingency fees are employment and personal injury attorneys. Both know that their client is going through a really hard time and relieve some of that stress by refusing to collect until either they win or a settlement is reached.
Allowing people who really need help to get what they need without worrying about juggling a legal cost alongside medical bills, decreased income and regular expenses is the main benefit of this payment model. It is used successfully by many, though some worry that it causes unnecessary issues like lawyers pushing for low settlements so they can be paid faster.
Service Charges
It’s important to know that service charges are not tips. Service charges cover the cost of some service that the customer benefits from, like security. This money does not affect the paycheck of any employees and instead helps the company offset some of its most vital but costly expenses.
These are always considered fees because they are an unavoidable part of doing business for both the customer and the business.
Tips
Tips, on the other hand, go straight to the employees and act as a necessary part of many’s finances as a result. However, they aren’t a set, required charge so they aren’t typically considered a fee. Many people still view them as such though, even setting some cash aside before going to a restaurant.
These waiters and delivery drivers are left waiting until their job is done to see how well they’ve been paid, and many are disappointed in what they find. A tip is supposed to be paid for servers who do their job well, but many people are inflexible with their rates and underpay even the best service as a result.
Others overpay for poor service out of pity or fear for the person’s well being which can encourage bad behavior instead of the opposite.
ATM Fees
ATMs will either offer you massive convenience or be a pain in the rear based solely on how high the fees are. ATMs offer different fees based on a few factors. This can be pretty frustrating when you need cash now. An ATM that is out of the banks’ network will have the highest fees.
You’ll not only have to pay for the withdrawal itself but also for the machine’s upkeep, so you’ll be paying two separate fees. Machines that are in some bank’s network will still have upkeep fees but they’ll be lower than out-of-network ones even when it’s not one that belongs to your own bank. They can be avoided altogether if you’re smart about it, though.
Always keeping some cash on hand for emergencies and withdrawing directly from your bank before trips to places that may use cash, like amusement parks, are great examples. Using only your bank’s ATMs is another way, but this is a lot harder to do especially if your bank is small.
Parking Tickets
Of these two, parking tickets are the easiest to understand but can occasionally be frustrating. There are places everywhere where you are and aren’t allowed to park. Parking in a spot you’re not supposed to anyway will result in you getting a ticket and a fine. The good news is the fine is the only consequence.
Parking Meters
Parking meters are a bit more complicated. The original goal was pretty noble: keep cars driving while offering shoppers prime parking spots. They also offer the city with a bit of extra money to use for whatever may need it, even if you overstay.
Staying parked at a metered spot when the time runs out will result in you getting a parking ticket. While many parking meters today are old and still only accept coins, the idea was good and can be improved if they’re replaced with ones that accept more modern patent methods.
