are unlikely to get a waiver on the grounds that you did not use any of the covered facilities if the minibar in your room has a sensor installed you need to be more careful it will automatically bill you for any item you remove even if only to see the brand name you would not even know about it unless you studied the final bill carefully at the time of checking out you also need to be on your guard for automatic gratuities particularly in the case of cruises though the amount is typically only 1020 of the room rate it does add to the final bill you are presented with and can affect your holiday budget unfortunately the only insurance against such hidden fees is asking pointed questions before you book your hotel room make sure you ask beforehand what the allinclusive rate does not include the answers you get should be the true room rate comparison benchmark not any rate that you see on booking engines retail goods the consumer goods mandatory printing of cost of production and maximum retail price act 2006 makes it mandatory for manufacturers to print the cost of production and the maximum retail price mrp on the pack along with other details the mrp is usually 1030 higher than the actual price of the product as the sellers margin is built into it given this difference a retailer is usually in a position to offer you a discount but he is not bound by law to do so however he certainly cannot charge more than the mrp in 2012 the district consumer disputes redressal forum chennai ordered reliance fresh to pay a consumer 7000 as compensation for charging a mere rupee more than the mrp of 12 for a packet of cookies so at least where retailed goods are concerned you dont need to worry about hidden charges popping up at the last minute remember however that the mrp need not be uniform across the country because of the different tax rates applicable in various states for commodities incurring centralised taxes the mrp would also be the same no matter where you make the purchase if a seller charges more than the mrp you can approach a consumer court the bad news is that the convenience of mrp completely excludes the service industry be it the hospitality sector or hospitals or hardware installationrepair in 2009 the kerala high court ruled that those in the service industry are not bound to sell goods at mrp even the supreme court clarified in state of himachal pradesh vs associated hotels of india that mrp was applicable only to sale of goods in retail stores so predictably you will find maximum incidences of hidden fees and grey charges in the services sector restaurants most of us know that a service tax of 1236 is levied when you eat at a restaurant but not all of us know that this tax is not to be