I don’t know about you, but I get tons of junk mail every day offering everything from phone service to credit cards at discounted rates only to find out that, if accepted, there are all kinds of hidden fees attached if the whole advertisement wasn’t just a lie. I had this confirmed once again when I called Capital One to take advantage of a no interest transfer from one of my other credit cards. Capital One promised no transfer fees and 0% interest on transferred loans through 2009. Since the card I had faithfully been using and paying off monthly had a 23% interest rate (a United Airlines Miles Credit Card used for business), I took the opportunity seriously since I would still get free travel miles. However, as soon as I got my first statement, I realized that its promises and, yes, its representatives had deceived me. I called and read them the confirmation letter with the promises and still I was charged 22% interest on the transfer. In addition, the supervisor I talked to was rude and unhelpful, so my response is that Capital One has no integrity — so it would be wise to ignore its constant junk mail.

Given my experience, I was motivated to pick up Bob Sullivan’s new book, Gotcha Capitalism: How Hidden Fees Rip You Off Every Day. In the book, he reaffirms my above statements that it’s a hidden-fee jungle out there and he clearly shows how we are all being taken advantage of through wanton consumer fraud. After reading his book I was furious but much better prepared to protect myself from being nickel and dimed to death. If you take the time to read this book cover to cover, like I did, you will discover that the average citizen pays an average of $1,000 or more a year in hidden fees through Internet scams and downright consumer fraud. This may seem ample reason for most of us to protest, but when you consider that this adds up to more than $216 billion dollars a year for corporate America, you have to be enraged. Another example of this is gas prices. I don’t how many of you are sick of never knowing what to expect at the gas station but when one considers that companies such as Exxon made their largest profits ever, I burn a slow burn. How can they be making such huge profits if they are simply passing on the increase in their costs on to the consumer?

Another recent scam that the author points out comes from third-party companies who offer ring tones and services such as “premium” text messages that can increase the cost of a text note from 15 cents to $2 each.

How do these companies get away with these hidden fees? Sullivan tells us that it is because the laws governing false advertising are seldom enforced and most have actually faded away since 1980.

So beware out there, folks. Look at fees tied to cell phone service, credit cards, and satellite TV. Look for sneaky “upgrade fees” and “premium text messages” or for charges attached to the purchase of a new phone. These charges may not show up on your first bill so look for them appear up to two months after the purchase, making it easy to overlook. One this Mr. Sullivan points out in his book is that consumers can secure a refund by complaining and pointing out the fee was not disclosed at the store.

The only negative I found in the book was the lack of an index to make the information easy to locate once you have read it. Other than that, Sullivan’s breezy no-nonsense style made the reading quick and enjoyable.

So, if you have found yourself a victim of consumer fraud due to hidden costs and fees, it is definitely worth the cost of Sullivan’s book to discover how to fight the system and recover your losses.