Energy Recovery Fee?

[spitzair]

I’m not quite sure where to post this but figured since it has to do with billing and invoices this might be the best place, if not mods please feel free to move it.

Anyway, while booking a rental car the other day I was looking at the breakdown of fees and surcharges and among them I noticed an Energy Recovery Fee. What the heck is that?!? I’ve tried to find it by searching with Google but haven’t had any real answers come up. Does anyone here know what this is other than some way to squeeze some extra pesos out of a guy?

 

[GregsHD]

Just another horse $hit tax!

From the Budget Rental site "To help recover the escalating energy costs related to our business operations, we must impose a separately stated Energy Recovery Fee (ERF) to all customers at all locations."

I've just about had enough of all this BS. I hope to hell modern civilization crashes in my lifetime...

Don't get me started hahaha!

 

[chroniekon]

It's sort of like the airlines did to us a few years back when fuel prices peaked. They started charging a fee for your luggage. The fuel prices went down but the fees have remained. It was so popular, they have invented other fees.

 

[AllDodge]

Same thing when fuel cost went up, they charged a fee. Now that fuel is mostly stable and has gone down, they still charge the fee

 

[CM1995]

Whatever they call it - It's just simple inflation. It costs more to do business every single day.

 

[spitzair]

Well. Thanks for th explanation guys. I would have thought that’s the cost of doing business and should be built into the rental price... all the extra fees and surcharges ended up costing more than the rental rate!

 

[Ronsii]

Have you looked at your celphone bill lately???

 

[CM1995]

Have you looked at your celphone bill lately???

Now there's a special tax on your cell phone bill in order to pay for all those free government phones..

 

[ianjoub]

Would you rather they called it the 'bend over fee'?

 

[Ct Farmer]

Picked up 10lbs of Stoody hardface rod today. $8 haz-mat fee.

Why because when I burn it there might be some toxic fumes?

Who gets the $8?

 

[Tones]

People's needs have grown, and with those needs has come to an increase in the consumption of our planet's resources.

Increase in consumption usually = higher profits so there's no real need to add fake surcharges.

 

[Shimmy1]

I've just about had enough of all this BS. I hope to hell modern civilization crashes in my lifetime...

Amen brother. The sooner we get it over with, the better.

 

[JLarson]

I'm gonna just start adding random fees to my invoices, can't beat em join em.

Amen brother. The sooner we get it over with, the better.

I've been hoping for a big freaking comet, I've got a spot picked out to watch from a lawn chair.

 

[BigWrench55]

I for one absolutely hate fee's of any kind. My belief is to just add it into the price of whatever it may be. But when you start adding a fee for this and a fee for that. I feel like I am being taken advantage of and for a smchuck. Right now on my electric bill I have a "customer fee" of five bucks. I am absolutely offended by this fee and feel like I am being charged for the privilege of being a already paying customer. It might as well say your an asshole for paying this fee.

 

[John C.]

Fees are added to high the actual cost per hour of charges. The two big ones I dealt with were "miscellaneous hardware" and "environmental fees." The misc. charge originally was to cover small nuts and bolts, washers, electrical fittings, and spray cans of oils or paints. That didn't last long and then all that had to be charged out by piece. The misc. charge however stayed the same. The environmental charge came in when the shops had to start paying for waste oil disposal. The problem I had with it was the parts departments charge for it now. So what are the environmental hazards in the parts department?

 

[spitzair]

Not sure where DLily’s post went but anyway... if people’s needs have changed then that, as far as I’m concerned anyway, should be built into the price as the cost of doing business. They suck you in with a price that they obviously can’t make any money at so they have to make it up with all these ridiculous extra fees. I can’t imagine what people would tell me if suddenly there’s a fee for this, that and the other thing, but they would most definitely go elsewhere...

 

[Tugger2]

I see enviromental fees on every thing from welding supplies to paint.
The paint one gets me, i can take my house paint waste in for free recycling which seems to justify the fee. As a business they will not accept my paint waste for recycling even though the fee has been paid. Just paid almost 1000.00 for a small pallet of left over and waste paint to a hazmat disposal company. Trying to do the right thing ,but getting tired of being hosed by unexplainable fees. Im getting old and wore out,might be time for an energy recovery fee on my own hourly rate.

 

[John C.]

I have a client who needs a lot of waste oil picked up. Any guesses at what that might cost per gallon in your neck of the woods?

 

[Tugger2]

Here waste oil still has some value. I sent off about 500 gallons of used oil with a bit of water in it and was around 150.00

 

[John C.]

Was that what it cost you or what you had to pay?