Car rental companies are notorious for advertising low rates but then when you add all the taxes and fees, the price can jump up dramatically.

Recently a friend rented a car from Enterprise in the Boston area and he noticed a number odd extra charges added to his bill.

*MOUSE PRINT:

What these fees are for is not obvious. Poking around online reveals that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is directly responsible for two of them, and indirectly for the third.

The parking violation surcharge, which one would think is only imposed if you got a ticket, is actually mandated by state law. It says that the rental company will not be liable for traffic tickets if it collects a sixty cent surcharge from the car renter and pays that to the city. (See G.L. c. 90, § 20E(i))

The $2 per rental police training fee is another creature of the Massachusetts legislature. They thought it was a clever way to help pay for police training. (See story.)

And lastly, the “VLC Rec Fee” is a made up fee by rental car companies. It stands for “Vehicle License Cost Recovery Fee.” It is designed to recover the estimated average daily cost per vehicle of the charges imposed by the government for the rental car company to title, register, inspect, and plate all vehicles in its rental fleet. Enterprise charges a whopping $2.80 per day for this.

Interestingly, Illinois has a statute about this particular fee that says if the total fees collected exceed the rental car company’s actual costs of registration, etc., it may keep the excess, but has to adjust the fee charged to renters downward the following year.

Here is the latest roster of products that manufacturers have reduced in size in order to pass on a sneaky price increase.

Dawn

P&G has continually downsized Dawn Dishwashing Liquid through the years. The latest change: they knocked another ounce off their smallest bottle… it is now down to just seven ounces.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Lay’s Potato Chips

One of the most downsized products over the years has been potato chips. The big bag gets smaller and smaller until the point where they reintroduce the large size again, but of course at a much higher price. This time around, maybe because parties are getting smaller on account of COVID-19, Lay’s is chipping away at the party size bag shrinking it from 15.25 ounces to 13 ounces.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Thanks to our ace downsizing spotter, Richard G. for this submission.

Walmart Great Value Paper Towels

LeAnne W. came across a huge downsizing at Walmart recently. Their own brand of paper towels, Great Value, was downsized from 168 sheets on a roll to just 120. And the price remained the same at $14.97. Some value.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Dollar Tree Flour Tortillas

MrConsumer’s go-to place for flour tortillas is Dollar Tree. They sell one-pound packages with a dozen tortillas for a buck. Last winter, the tortillas seemed smaller, but the package still said 16 ounces. Then they introduced 12 ounce packages but still with 12 inside. I am happy to report that the 12 ounce bags were short-lived. They are back up to full-size and a full pound.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Keebler Club Crackers

It looked like Keebler Club crackers had been downsized from 13.7 ounces to 12.5, thus eliminating a dozen crackers from each box.

*MOUSE PRINT:

But thanks to reader Jim’s research, it turns out not to be the case. The “snack stack” box was the only “original” variety carried at MrConsumer’s local store. Visiting another store, the comparable “original” Club Cracker box was in stock, and in fact was still 13.7 ounces. The only thing eliminated from the product was the Keebler name and the Keebler elves. Perhaps even cartoon characters are not safe if a company downsizes its workforce.

If you find a product that has recently been downsized, please try to take a sharp picture of the old and new side-by-side and send it to us.

Lawyers sometimes have a sense of humor. This is evidenced by the fact that every year or so one of them hides a totally irrelevant provision in a company’s terms and conditions statement just to prove that virtually no one ever reads through all the boilerplate.

In the past, we’ve spotlighted the local TV station that buried a provision in their standard release form requiring the interviewee to don a Santa’s cap and sing a song. Then there was the provision that granted users free wifi in public areas in London, but they had to give up their first born child in exchange. And there was the case when Amazon released a new gaming platform for developers but the terms and conditions warned against using the code in any life-critical situations except if a virus was transmitted by zombies and threatened the existence of mankind.

Now comes NBC with its new Peacock streaming service and a nearly 10,000 word terms of use statement.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Would you care to try to find the hidden gem?

If you give up, the answer is here.

 

Periodically we share offers from sellers that just make you scratch your head or chuckle because of the contradictions in the advertising or surprises in the fine print.

In an online promotion, Macy’s promised to take $11.99 off a box of a particular brand of chocolates when you made any purchase. But, when reader William-Andrew went to check out, the system did not take off the full $11.99.

*MOUSE PRINT:

The Macy’s online call center refused to fix the overcharge, but once stores reopened, the manager there gladly gave our consumer back the difference. Thanks for nothing (at least online), Macy’s.

While we’re dumping on Macy’s, reader Gay R. sent in a coupon that promised a generous 25% off for their credit card holders. The back of the coupon, however, noted a list of exclusions in miniscule type that seemingly left little the coupon could be used for.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Joe W. says he visited the Sears in Danbury, CT and had to send in a picture of a “blowout” deal he saw on some tools while getting his car repaired.

*MOUSE PRINT:

He said “at least they were brutally honest.” Thanks for nothing, Sears.

And CVS was offering the same amount of savings on these masks that only looked like they were on sale.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Thanks for nothing, CVS.

If you didn’t look carefully, you might have thought it was your lucky day to find a genuine bargain on parking downtown.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Credit:Reddit

If you find a funny or oddball offer that could be spotlighted here, please submit a copy to us.

MrConsumer has a toenail problem. Like many people, his toenails have turned brittle, irregular and off-color. He has toenail fungus. Years ago, his doctor said there was a pill for that, but it seemed strange to treat this condition from the inside out (and various articles suggest it is not always effective and takes a long time to work, if at all).

Recently, the most popular over-the-counter ointment brand, Fungi-Nail, ran this TV commercial touting the product.

Seems pretty unambiguous — “Maximum strength Fungi-Nail is so powerful, it cures and prevents fungal infections… Say goodbye to toe fungus with Fungi-Nail.”

But, on the back of the carton, there is a most unexpected disclosure.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Say what? This product is not for nail fungus? Then why is the product called “Fungi-Nail?” You have to check the FAQ section of the website for that answer.

*MOUSE PRINT:

So, the name has nothing to do with the function of the product. Nice. And that point is also made at the end of the section on toe fungus on their website:

If you think you have nail fungus, contact your doctor.

So what’s Fungi-Nail good for? Athlete’s foot!