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Premieres 6 November 2026 at 12pm UK time
Who's Tricking You? · Episode 17
Why the Price Rises Every Time You Click Next
Booking fees, service fees, fees for paying: government researchers found hidden fees cost UK shoppers about £1.6 billion a year online. The Old Fox explains the 2025 ban on hidden compulsory fees and the first big fine. Tip: go to the final screen before you fall in love.
- Government research in 2023 found that 46% of 525 online and app providers used at least one 'dripped' fee, rising to 72% in transport and communication, costing UK consumers around £1.6 billion a year (Department for Business and Trade, 'Estimating the prevalence and impact of online drip pricing', 2023).
- Since 6 April 2025, under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, unavoidable fees must be included in the headline price (Taylor Wessing; Boyes Turner, April 2025).
- In its first fine under its new consumer powers, the Competition and Markets Authority fined the AA's driving schools £4.2 million and ordered about £760,000 in refunds for adding a mandatory £3 booking fee only at checkout (TLT; Duane Morris, April 2026).
- Consumers can report problems to Trading Standards through the Citizens Advice consumer service.
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What the fox said
Why does the price go up every time you click next?
Because the price you saw first was only the bait.
It's called drip pricing. A low headline. Then a fee. Then another. Drip, drip, drip.
A booking fee. A service fee. A fee for the privilege of paying.
By the time you see the real total, you've chosen your seat, typed your name, and you're tired. Most people just pay.
In 2023, government researchers checked five hundred and twenty-five websites and apps. Nearly half had at least one dripped fee.
They estimated it cost British shoppers around one point six billion pounds a year.
Then the law changed. Since April 2025, any fee you can't avoid must be in the price you're shown first.
In 2026, the competition watchdog fined a big driving-school group four point two million pounds, over a three-pound booking fee added at checkout.
Optional extras can still be added later. Bags, seats, insurance. So watch those boxes.
Go to the final screen before you fall in love. If a compulsory fee appears late, screenshot it, and report it to Trading Standards through Citizens Advice.
The first price isn't always the price. Read to the end. Keep your nose to the wind.
Sources
- Government research in 2023 found that 46% of 525 online and app providers used at least one 'dripped' fee, rising to 72% in transport and communication, costing UK consumers around £1.6 billion a year (Department for Business and Trade, 'Estimating the prevalence and impact of online drip pricing', 2023).
- Since 6 April 2025, under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, unavoidable fees must be included in the headline price (Taylor Wessing; Boyes Turner, April 2025).
- In its first fine under its new consumer powers, the Competition and Markets Authority fined the AA's driving schools £4.2 million and ordered about £760,000 in refunds for adding a mandatory £3 booking fee only at checkout (TLT; Duane Morris, April 2026).
- Consumers can report problems to Trading Standards through the Citizens Advice consumer service.
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