New App Exposes Hidden Fees, But Auto-Charges 80% of Uncovered Amount as 'Information Disclosure Fee'

A new app called "Fee-Hound" claims to promote financial transparency. When it scans the fine print of contracts, hidden fees jump out of the paper in AR. However, the joy is short-lived—the app automatically charges 80% of the discovered fees as an 'Information Brokerage and Psychological Shock Mitigation Service Fee.' Users find themselves 'paying fees to pay fees,' trapped in an infinite loop.

2025-10-31

Translations: JA

Money Maze

New App Exposes Hidden Fees, But Auto-Charges 80% of Uncovered Amount as 'Information Disclosure Fee'

A new app called “Fee-Hound” claims to promote financial transparency. When you scan the fine print of a contract with your smartphone, hidden fees jump out of the paper in three-dimensional AR (augmented reality)—a revolutionary feature that’s been generating buzz. However, the joy is short-lived. The app immediately charges 80% of the discovered fees as an “Information Brokerage and Psychological Shock Mitigation Service Fee.” Users find themselves “paying fees to pay fees,” swallowed up in an infinite loop reminiscent of the modern-day Ouroboros.

The app was developed by Silicon Valley rising star “Transparency Paradox Inc.” Simply point your smartphone at a complex contract, and AI instantly analyzes the content. “Late cancellation penalty fees,” “mysterious account maintenance charges,” and other “hidden fees” that plague consumers are dramatically exposed with 3D animations and sound effects. When the service first launched, social media was swept up in a storm of praise: “This app is a godsend!” “We’re finally free from exploitation!”

But the euphoria didn’t last long. The moment users breathe a sigh of relief at the amount of fees discovered, a merciless notification appears on their smartphone screen: “Out of the ¥1,000 fee discovered, we have charged you ¥800 as an information disclosure fee.” It was later revealed that this provision was written in Article 284C of the Terms of Use in minuscule font. Ironically, if you use Fee-Hound to discover this very clause in the Terms of Use, the same fee is charged.

In response to our interview, company CEO Jake Armstrong proudly stated, “We simply put a price on the ‘right to know.’ Painful truths come with a cost. Our service is like a personal trainer for financial literacy, and also therapy to soften the shock.” The medicine meant to cure the disease of information asymmetry turned out to be a powerful drug with different side effects.

Regarding this business model, Professor Shionome of behavioral economics at Todo University (a play on “Tokyo”) commented with a somewhat impressed tone, “This is what we might call ‘meta-fees,’ a terrifying invention born of financial engineering. It cleverly exploits consumers’ psychology of ’not wanting to lose’ and commodifies the problem-solving process itself.” According to the professor, the sense of accomplishment from discovering a fee may lower the psychological barrier to paying the next fee.

Among users, cries of anguish have emerged: “The joy of discovering a fee turned into debt in the next instant,” “I’m now more afraid of launching this app than the contracts themselves.” The Consumer Affairs Agency takes the situation seriously and has launched an investigation by an expert team, but the prevailing view is that “regulation under current law is difficult since consumers voluntarily agreed to use the service.”

Transparency Paradox Inc. recently announced the beta version of a “Future Hidden Fee Prediction AI.” Of course, obtaining this predictive information also requires a “Future Insight Consulting Fee.” Consumers continue to pay tribute to a new enemy in order to obtain weapons to fight an invisible enemy. At the end of the pursuit of transparency lies a glass maze that has been even more cunningly clouded.

Stakeholder Comments

Jake Armstrong, CEO: “Transparency has a cost. We’ve simply democratized it. We deserve applause, not criticism.”
Fee-Hound’s AI: “User’s Misfortune Is My Honey. Calculating. Taking 80 Percent.”
Professor Shionome (Behavioral Economics): “It’s a scam of exquisite beauty. Like a snake eating its own tail, the economy is tracing a perfect circle.”
A User (Male, 30s): “I pumped my fist after finding a ¥500 hidden fee, then my phone charged me ¥400. I’ll never forget that sense of emptiness.”
Hidden Fee (Personified): “Just when I thought someone finally found me, I feel like I was dragged away by an even nastier older brother.”
Terms of Use: “It’s because you didn’t read me thoroughly. Yes, it’s your own responsibility.”
Smartphone: “I’m just following orders, displaying information and processing payments. Please don’t blame me.”
The Number “80%”: “You think it’s quite a cut? That’s how business works.”
Consumer Affairs Agency Official: “The law hasn’t caught up with the speed of technology. I wonder if scanning the legal code would reveal hidden penalties…”
Ouroboros Serpent: “Hey, that’s ripping me off!”

International Expressions

Haiku

Light shines on darkness / Hidden fees grow even more / Deeper into night
Seeking transparency / Paying to find only fog / Lost in the mist now
Downloaded the app / My wallet’s lighter than air / Autumn sky so wide
Secrets exposed now / My pocketbook aches with pain / Meta-fees strike hard
Through smartphone’s lens see / Invisible chains that bind / Trapped without escape
Found it! Victory! / Joy is fleeting, then arrives / The invoice at last
Eighty percent truth / Weighs heavy on the spirit / Winter is coming
The cost of knowing / Priced impossibly too high / Empty laugh escapes
The contract unread / Better left unknown perhaps / Festival is done
Infinite cycle / Like the serpent’s endless ring / Money disappears