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Title details for Gotcha Capitalism by Bob Sullivan - Wait list

Gotcha Capitalism

How Hidden Fees Rip You Off Every Day-and What You Can Do About It

by Bob Sullivan
ebook
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Wait time: About 2 weeks

What is Gotcha Capitalism?

Coughing up $4 fees for ATM transactions. Iron-clad cell phone contracts you can't get out of with a crowbar. Paying big bucks for insurance you don't need on a rental car or forking over $20 a day for supposedly "free" wireless internet. Every day we use banks, cell phones, and credit cards. Every day we book hotels and airline tickets. And every day we get ripped off.
How? Here are just a few examples of how big business can get you:

• You didn't fill up the rental car with gas?
Gotcha! Gas costs $7 a gallon here.
• Your bank balance fell to $999.99 for one day?
Gotcha! That'll be $12.
• You miss one payment on that 18-month same-as-cash loan?
Gotcha! That'll be $512 extra.
• You're one day late on that electric bill?
Gotcha! All your credit cards now have a 29.99% interest rate.

But not for much longer. In Gotcha Capitalism, MSNBC.com's "Red Tape Chronicles" columnist Bob Sullivan exposes the ways we're all cheated by big business, and teaches us how to get our money back--proven strategies that can help you save more than $1,000 a year.

From the Trade Paperback edition.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    January 22, 2008

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9780345504883

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9780345504883
      • File size: 1481 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Booklist

      January 1, 2008
      What is the difference between your cell-phone companys quoted monthly rate and the actual bill that you get every month? Once you add in all the sneaky fees, surcharges, and taxes, the actual bill can be up to double the advertised price. Sullivan chronicles how this trend has crept into every area of commerce, including credit-card companies, banks, cable TV, Internet access, mortgages, the travel industry and, the worst abusers of all, the retirement and financial-planning industry. Instead of offering their services for a single stated price and keeping to it, companies pad their profits by cheating, hiding the actual cost of their services with hidden fees, to the tune of $45 billion a year! Sullivan picks apart each industry, with fun topics such as mouse print, lying ATMs, and diminishing gift cards. His excellent tips on how to crack the fee code, deal with customer-service reps, and become a sophisticate will help you to reclaim your money, your rights, and your dignity.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)

Formats

  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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