It was just five lousy dollars.

But to Terri Sokoloff, the $5 "seat fee" on her AirTran ticket represented something much bigger -- yet another maddening fee.

The $144 round trip airfare from Pittsburgh to Orlando, Fla., seemed like a great deal when she booked it two weeks ago. But she was absolutely floored that the airline imposed a $5 fee for a seat assignment.

"It's a give-me-a-break-fee," said Mrs. Sokoloff, of McCandless. "I thought the plane ticket included the seat. I wonder if it includes the pilot. Does it include a seat belt or flotation device?"

Yes, it does, but you can understand why Mrs. Sokoloff would pose such preposterous questions. Almost everywhere you look these days, companies are tacking on a la carte fees, turning the price tag into a moving target.

Going to the Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers concert? Two tickets at $29.50 cost $59 -- until Ticketmaster spits out the $95.25 bill, adding on such things as convenience charges and facility fees.

Buying a new $44 tire at Sears? Cough up a $2 disposal fee, one of several add-ons if you have the garage put the tires on.

Spending some $12,000 for a year tuition at the University of Pittsburgh sounds straightforward enough. But throw in another $300 for computing and network services fee, according to the Web site. And for security, safety and transportation, that will be another $180, please.

The latest company to make fee news is US Airways, which will start charging $25 for a second piece of luggage starting in May.

The airlines and other service industries say the fees and subcharges enable them to charge customers for the items they use, instead of a "one-price-fits-all" approach. They also maintain the fees help them provide good service, offer extra amenities and offset rising fuel costs.

But Bob Sullivan calls them "gotcha fees."

The MSNBC consumer affairs reporter believes they are so sneaky that he has written a new book called "Gotcha Capitalism: How Hidden Fees Rip You Off Every Day -- and What You Can Do About It."

"I often open the mail with dread," he writes. "It makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, as if I were some primal creature readying for a fight. I walk into a cell-phone store, check my online statements or just turn on my television, and I feel like everyone is out to get me. ...

"They pad my TV bill with services I didn't ask for. They drain my bank account -- drip, drip, drip -- when I'm not watching. These hidden fees keep me up nights like the sound of a leaky faucet."

Paranoid? Crazy? Perhaps.

Or maybe, he says, he is just paying attention.

"Small-print rage," as he calls the backlash, is a growing phenomenon.

The good-old days of the price quoted being the price paid was as recent as 10 years ago, he said. Nowadays, fees keep popping up in new and surprising places: Hotel restock mini-bar fees. Talk-to-a-real-person fee. Concession recovery fee. Restocking fees. Technical support fees.

Some of the subcharges are cloaked in clever euphemisms.

Mr. Sullivan calls the fees on 401(k)'s one of the most egregious. "You are losing a third of your money in hidden fees," he said. "These hidden fees are not called hidden fees. They are called expense ratios. You won't find it on a normal 401(k) Web site."

The banking industry, known for ATM and checking fees that have frustrated consumers for years, now is offering overdraft protection that it says is aimed at helping consumers from bouncing checks. But this protection comes at a cost, too, said Ed Mierzwinski, consumer program director for Pennsylvania Public Interest Research Group.

While these banks may allow debit card users to deduct up to $300 beyond their zero balance, an amount called "available amount," they then hit them with a fee of about $30 to $35 for doing so. "They encourage you to overdraft. It is the worst bank fee."

Then there are cell phone bills, thick with hard-to-understand items such as regulatory charge and PA State Wireless E911 charges.

Joe Farren, spokesman for the industry trade group, CTIA - The Wireless Association, notes that 18 percent of the monthly bill in Pennsylvania is government-imposed taxes and fees, an amount he calls outrageous. "We want to err on the side of disclosure. We want consumers to know who has their hands in their pockets."

Of course, not everyone is combing through their bills, line item by item, and gritting their teeth. "I just pay it," said Jane Davis, a real estate agent in Mt. Lebanon. "I don't have time."

But Mrs. Sokoloff, president of Specialty Bar & Restaurant Brokers, is always on the lookout for fees.

She went to an upscale hair salon recently and paid $60 for color. Then the colorist stuck her with a $25 drying fee.

"My argument was, 'You got it wet. You need to restore it back,' " said Mrs. Sokoloff, who has switched salons. "But I had to pay it."

She was more alarmed to see a sign in her gynecologist's saying that patients with questions not related to the once-a-year visit would be charged the cost of an office visit.

"It's scary," said Mrs. Sokoloff, who nonetheless likes her doctor. "Whatever you do now, it's like, 'What is this really going to cost me?' You need an accountant to mind your fees."

HOW HIDDEN FEES RIP YOU OFF EVERY DAY