I took the family away last month for my ‘big birthday’ celebrations. We had a fabulous time, having rented a property big enough for us all through a well-known online platform. I make no criticism of the hosts or the place we stayed at, but there was a sharp intake of breath as I was going through the booking process online.

The price quoted on the website was ‘top end’ of what I thought we should be paying for a couple of nights away, but it was a special occasion and I was quite happy therefore to press the button to start the booking. It was only when I got to about the halfway stage that the real price I was going to have to pay became evident.

I was told that there would be a cleaning fee added to the price. Not a small contribution to the cost of readying it for the next visitors, rather a charge equating to about two days’ contract cleaning costs. No sooner was I made aware of this charge than a booking fee appeared on the screen, another chunky figure rather than a nominal addition. Together they increased the cost by a further 60% over the advertised price.

So what should I do at this stage? We want to go ahead as a family – the grandchildren have probably packed and are ready to go, and the trip isn’t for another month yet! I can’t let them down, can I? I do what every grandad would like to do and press the ‘confirm’ button. We enjoyed ourselves thoroughly and I would do it again. But, as you can guess from the fact that I’m writing this article several weeks later, the ‘hidden charges’ element upset me.

The government should insist on the full cost appearing on the front page

The government of the day just over a year ago made a big splash about introducing new legislation to improve transparency regarding ‘hidden charges’. I’m sure it’s had some effect somewhere, but it’s clearly easy enough for an online vendor to proceed in the manner I experienced. It’s high time the government was strong enough to insist on the full cost of anything being sold online appearing on the front page.

This was optional spend. The company were banking on my emotional commitment to the purchase being sufficient to stop me backing out at the point I met the ‘hidden charges’. But what if it isn’t optional spend? What if it is a necessity and the price for something you need becomes unaffordable? It’s a flawed system and it should be fixed.