Fees and penalties are the staples of many service industries. Remember that great expression from your local video store.
“Be Kind, Rewind”
Back then, some places even charged a penalty if you didn’t rewind your VHS tape. The fee no longer applies, as there is no tape industry. That sounds like a fairly sarcastic commentary, but how many fees disappear?

- My home telephone bill (yes I still have a landline) had a “Touch Tone” charge on it (up until July 2015), but if I tried to use a rotary phone I get nasty remarks from Bell, pointing out the technology really isn’t supported anymore. This fee no longer applies, after Bell was shamed into removing it by the CBC.
- Paper billing charges were a thing for a while. Wasn’t that Green and cool? That went away (mostly) after the Government said they were not allowed. I actually can see why that charge was there.
- Account fees for day-to-day banking continue at most major banks, even though many smaller banks offer free banking (PC Financial, Tangerine and others), yet we continue to pay for the services at major banks? Michael James has pointed out that eventually the Major Banks will take a dive and may finally stop charging these fees? Nah, never gonna happen.
- Online trading fees start at $29.95 and it has dropped steadily since (and is around $9.95 or lower). Since I am pretty sure the trading houses are still making money on this, it does make me wonder how low could these fees go?
Fees That Are Not Long For This World?
Are there any fees that may go away sometime soon? I can’t think of many (maybe gas taxes once gas cars go away). Pretty sure overdraft fees will never go away.
Home phone? 2 comments.
1) Dude, really. Home phone? You’re spending money on a bell home phone. Everyone has a cell phone, the landline is arbitrary, and expensive.
2) if you’re really going to keep a landline, then you need to buy an ATA (you can get them for a few $10 bills) and go voip. That’ll eliminate long distance charges as well as that horrible monthly Bell bull.