FAIR OR NOTPay: what you’re charged
Overpricing, junk fees, free-trial traps, subscriptions and the new ways companies charge more. Start with the common problems in 65 areas, the 18 nickel-and-dime tactics, or the free tools that find what you’re paying for.
Common problems
All 65 areas →Streaming services
- Free trials that roll into paid plans without a reminder
- Price increases announced by email that are easy to miss
- Ad-supported plans that cost less but still show many ads
TV remote apps
- A 'free' download that asks for a weekly payment before any buttons work
- A short free trial that quietly turns into a paid plan
- Ads that make the app look like it comes from your TV's maker
Gym memberships
- A low monthly rate with a separate yearly fee billed months later
- Contracts that renew automatically after the first term
- Cancellation only in person or by certified mail
Event ticket fees
- Fee labels like 'service fee' that do not say what the fee pays for
- Countdown timers that push you to buy before comparing prices
- Resale listings that look like official tickets at much higher prices
Internet, cable and phone bills
- Promo prices that jump after 12 or 24 months without a clear reminder
- Monthly fees to rent a modem or TV box you could replace
- Extra line items added after the advertised price
Homeowners insurance
- Wind or hurricane deductibles set as a percentage of the home's insured value, which can be far larger than a flat deductible
- Coverage limits that do not match today's cost to rebuild the house
- Policies that renew automatically at a higher price with little notice beyond the bill
Nickel-and-dime tactics
All 18 tactics →Prices that hide or grow: Unbundling · Add-ons with no price · Drip pricing · Fees that cost them nothing · Restaurant surcharges · Tip requests everywhere · App price markups
Paying again for what you already have: Feature subscriptions · Ads in paid plans · Locked-in ink and parts · Digital “ownership” · Paying for support · Pay-to-shop memberships
Less for your money: Shrinkflation · Surge and dynamic pricing · Shrinking rewards · Fake discounts · Exit fees
Find and stop what you’re paying for
Where subscriptions hide
Every place a recurring charge can be billed, and how to see them all.
How to cancel
Step-by-step cancel help for 25 companies and every category.
Free alternatives
Free built-in features and official apps to check before you pay.
Amazon channel trials
How Prime Video channel trials turn into charges, and how to cancel.
Streaming add-ons compared
Apple TV, Roku, YouTube, live TV and more: billing and cancel rules.
Insurance costs
Why premiums are high and how to check insurer profits and rate filings.
Free tools
Statement scanner
Find every recurring charge and price increase in your bank and card statements. Files never leave your device.
Subscription tracker
List what you pay for, see the yearly total, and mark what to cancel. Stays on your device.
Free-trial reminder
Add a reminder to your calendar before a free trial turns into a charge.
Cancellation letter writer
Write a clear cancellation request to send by email, chat or mail.
Charge dispute letter writer
Write a billing-error dispute to send to your card issuer or bank.
True price calculator
Add up fees and taxes to see the real price versus the advertised one.
Yearly cost calculator
See what a weekly or monthly charge adds up to over a year.
Topics
Rip-offs
Every kind of bad deal, sorted by how many say “me too.”
Overpriced
Charged far more than it’s worth? See reports and free options.
Fair prices
What reasonable pricing looks like, category by category.
Traps & gotchas
Pre-checked boxes, checkout fees and other tricks to watch for.
Free trials
Trials that turn into charges, and how to cancel in time.
Subscriptions
Surprise renewals, price hikes and your auto-renewal rights.
Cancel
Step-by-step cancel and unsubscribe help for each category.
Complaints
Warn others here, then file with the agencies that can act.
Price watch
Price increases and what weekly charges cost per year.
Fair play
Good experiences: clear prices, easy cancels, fair refunds.
Consumer rights
Auto-renewal laws, charge disputes and junk-fee rules.