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2006-01-19 - 12:11 a.m.

One thing I've never understood, and which gets me mad, is joining fees.

I can't understand, for the life of me, why we have to pay to join something that we have to pay to use. It makes no sense to me. Surely these places that charge a joining fee are needing paying customers to keep them in business.

Golf clubs, tennis clubs, sailing clubs, gyms, video (now dvd) libraries, computer help desks, websites...an absolute plethora of places charge a joining fee to go along with a monthly or yearly fee. They give all sorts of bullshit for the reason why they charge a joining fee. Admin costs seems to be the favourite. Um, that's part of the costs of running a business, I would've thought.

But what really shits me is people just pay it blindly (and blithely). Why? Why pay money to join something that costs you money along the way?

And don't get me started on how businesses now charge to send out a bill if you won't agree to direct debit. Fuck me, you want the money from someone it should be at your cost to send out the bill. Administration fee my skinny arse.

What next? Phone and utilities companies charging you a percentage to pay your bill by credit card? Oh, too late.

So let me get this clear. If I don't want to pay by direct debit (and who the fuck would?) I'll get charged for you to send me a bill. Then, if I want to pay by credit card, you'll charge me a percentage of the bill? But I can't pay you by cash because you don't accept payments at your offices? (And not all of you have offices anymore.) So I'll get charged to pay a bill, no matter how I pay it?

The world's gone mad. Seriously.