Call it “fee creep.”

We’re paying fees for a lot of things that once were free. In the automotive, electronics, banking, telecommunications and other industries, services that once were provided as a courtesy are now raking in millions of dollars.

For years, credit-card companies have been imposing an “over-limit fee” when customers exceed their credit lines. But other fees have the acrid tang of novelty. Some credit unions charge $15 for a copy of a disputed check. A few companies have actually penalized customers for paying bills early.

Some banks these days charge customers who exchange rolled coins for paper money.

“I don’t get that one,” a woman in the bank line complained the other day. “It’s all American money, yet we’re being penalized. It may not be a big charge, but they add up.” Charges for bank checks, money orders, statement printouts, check costs, returned checks and “failure to maintain a minimum balance” all help reduce customer account balances. Fees imposed on consumers who pay bills online bring banks an estimated $2 billion annually. Checks returned for “insufficient funds” are practically an industry unto themselves, bringing in billions each year.

Airlines today impose a range of bizarre charges. Several airlines routinely charge for meals once included in the price of a ticket. Northwest Airlines is testing a program called “Choice Coach,” for which 5 percent of coach passengers are charged an extra $15 for seats with additional leg room.

Martin DeLeon, a spokesman for Continental Airlines, told me, however, that Continental is proud it has been able to hold the line. “We still charge only $5 for an alcoholic drink, and soft drinks remain free,” DeLeon said. Meanwhile, in the last couple of years, Continental has increased its luggage fees, so passengers are now saddled by new weight restrictions.

At your auto-parts store and elsewhere, if you buy an item and return it later, you must pay a “restocking fee.”

Surcharges for once-gratis services such as housekeeping generated more than $100 million for the hotel industry last year, PricewaterhouseCooper says.

Politicians know this. Rather than risk raising taxes, they hit us with a dizzying array of penalties and fees, hoping we won’t notice. State governments are in on the take. They will pull in $2.6 billion in new revenue this fiscal year by raising more than 200 fees on everything from driving and fishing licenses to fingerprint processing.

Fee creep has made it nearly impossible for consumers to tell the price for the forest of fees. All they know is that they pay, pay and pay some more. Customers who fail to read their bills carefully have almost no idea how many sneaky charges are included.

Where it will end is anybody’s guess. A new take has been added to that old bromide that “Nothing is certain except death and taxes.” Now, we can safely add: “and hidden fees.”