Welcome to Mugsville: The Hidden Fees Costing Brits £126 a Year
Ever looked at the final price of something and wondered how on earth it ended up costing you so much?
The booking fee. The service charge. The airport drop-off fee. The extra charge to sit next to the person you’re actually travelling with. And, of course, the product that costs exactly the same as it did before — only somehow there’s less of it.
Welcome to Mugsville.
New research from iD Mobile suggests these everyday “mug offs” are costing Brits an estimated £126 per person every year, while 78% of us regularly pay charges we think are unfair simply because there isn’t a practical alternative.
And apparently we’re getting pretty fed up with it.
More than three in five people (65%) say they feel “mugged off” by the issue, while 72% believe hidden fees, add-ons, and unclear price rises have become worse over the past five years.
So where is our money actually going?
Britain’s Biggest ‘Mug Offs’
As part of the research, 2,000 UK adults were asked which everyday charges make them feel most ripped off.
The top ten were:
- Energy standing charges — 39%
- Shrinkflation — 33%
- Airport drop-off charges — 30%
- TV licence — 30%
- Council tax — 29%
- Car parking charges — 25%
- Insurance auto-renewal price hikes — 20%
- Concert and sports ticket booking fees — 20%
- Train tickets — 19%
- Paying to sit next to friends or family on flights — 18%
It’s probably no surprise to see energy standing charges at number one. It’s the daily charge households pay for being connected to their energy supply, regardless of how much energy they actually use.
Shrinkflation came second — that particularly irritating phenomenon where the packet gets smaller while the price somehow doesn’t.
Airport drop-off charges were another major bugbear, alongside parking fees, ticket booking fees, and having to pay extra on a flight simply to guarantee sitting next to the person you’re travelling with.
Individually, some of these charges might not seem enormous. Add them together over a year, though, and suddenly we’re talking real money.
The £126 ‘Mugsville Tax’
According to the research, hidden fees, unexpected price rises, and other unwanted charges are costing the average Brit around £126 a year.
Perhaps more worrying is how normal all of this has become.
More than one in five people (22%) say they encounter hidden fees so regularly that they don’t even surprise them anymore, while 31% have simply become resigned to unexpected charges because they feel impossible to avoid.
The research also found:
- 72% think hidden fees and price hikes have become worse over the past five years.
- 40% believe businesses have become better at disguising price increases and extra charges.
- 37% say it’s harder than ever to know whether they’re getting good value for money.
- 38% have abandoned an online purchase after encountering an unexpected fee at checkout.
- Only 23% always read the terms and conditions closely enough to spot potential charges beforehand.
- 18% admit they don’t know what half the charges appearing on their bills actually mean.
- 52% think hidden fees and everyday “mug offs” have simply become part of life in Britain.
That last point is perhaps the most interesting.
It’s not necessarily that we don’t notice these charges. Often, we know perfectly well we’re paying them. We just don’t feel as though there’s much we can do about it.
When a £3.50 Dessert Becomes a £12 Order
Some of the examples shared in the research will sound painfully familiar.
One respondent booked a hotel room for £90 a night, only to discover an additional £25-per-night “resort amenity fee” at checkout.
Another ordered a £3.50 dessert through a food-delivery app and watched the final bill climb beyond £12 after delivery, service, and small-order fees were added.
Someone else highlighted ticket booking fees that ended up costing almost as much as the tickets themselves.
And that’s the problem with many of these charges.
The price that catches your attention isn’t necessarily the price you ultimately pay.
What About Our Mobile Bills?
Mobile networks didn’t escape the criticism either.
More than a quarter (26%) of those surveyed named mobile networks as one of the industries most guilty of hidden fees and unexpected charges, behind ticketing companies (37%), energy companies (33%), and insurance providers (28%).
More than half of mobile customers surveyed (55%) said they’d been surprised by an unexpected charge on their bill, while almost a third (32%) weren’t confident they understood everything they were paying for, including roaming and additional costs.
The research was commissioned by iD Mobile to launch its new Mugsville advertising campaign, which takes these everyday frustrations and turns them into a fictional town where overpriced contracts, hidden fees, and ridiculous charges are simply a way of life.
The network says its customers save an average of £310 a year compared with the UK’s four largest mobile networks.*
Whether or not you’re looking to change networks, though, there’s a useful reminder here: loyalty doesn’t always pay.
Checking what you’re paying — and what you’re actually getting for that money — can be worth doing across everything from your mobile and broadband to insurance and subscriptions.
Where Gets Mugged Off the Most?
Apparently, some parts of Britain are feeling the “Mugsville tax” more than others.
Scotland came out as Britain’s most “mugged off” region in the research, with people estimating they lose around £146.70 a year to these kinds of charges.
London wasn’t far behind at £139.30 a year.
At the other end of the table, those in the North West of England get off lightest, paying £19.40 less than the average Brit.
Lewis Henry, Director of Customer & Marketing at iD Mobile, said: “Hidden fees and surprise charges have become something many of us simply expect to encounter, whether we’re booking travel, paying household bills, or shopping online. Our research shows consumers feel increasingly resigned to paying more and getting less in return, and most of us have simply stopped questioning it.
That’s exactly the world we’re exposing with Mugsville: a place where hidden fees or high prices are just ‘the norm’. At iD Mobile, we believe Britain deserves better, which is why we ensure our plans aren’t just great value for money, but also come with added benefits you’ll actually use – like Inclusive Roaming in 50 destinations, free Data Rollover, and 5G with no speed limitations as standard on all our monthly plans
Research commissioned by iD Mobile among 2,000 UK adults.
Broke Girl Top Tip 💛
Look at what you’re actually paying — not what you thought you were paying.
Hidden fees have a habit of becoming background noise, especially on bills and subscriptions we’ve had for years. Take ten minutes to check your mobile, insurance, energy, streaming, and other regular payments for add-ons, price increases, or services you don’t use.
When you’re booking tickets, flights, hotels, or deliveries, compare the final checkout price, not just the headline price that first caught your eye.
A £5 saving isn’t a saving if another £8 in fees appears before you hit pay.
You don’t need to overhaul everything at once. Catching even a couple of unnecessary charges means more money stays where it belongs — with you.
