pad the bill

pad the bill

To inflate the charges made to someone for some product, meal, or service by adding extra, typically unnecessary or unwanted items or fees. Their website is really easy to use, but I hate that they pad the bill with so many fees and charges right at the very end. Don't let them pad the bill with extra services you don't want or need.
See also: bill, pad
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

pad the bill

Fig. to put unnecessary or additional items on a bill to make the total cost higher. The plumber had padded the bill with things we didn't need. I was falsely accused of padding the bill.
See also: bill, pad
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • on the scrap heap
  • shut (one's) eyes and think of England
  • close (one's) eyes and think of England
  • England
  • lie back and think of England
  • throw (someone or something) on the scrap heap
  • rid of
  • go a-begging
  • kick (someone or something) to the curb
  • edit out of
References in periodicals archive
In order to make sure that Dyster and his city administrator, Donna Owens, didn't go hungry, a 100 percent "administrative fee" was added on to the cost of the actual mowing and a 20 percent charge for "disbursements"--whatever that means--was used to pad the bill further.
Elderly taxpayer targeted by Dyster's 'beautification police'
If these tactics fail to pad the bill enough, unnecessary work will be performed.
So a lawyer walks into a bar. Is he billing his hours?
The system gives patients no motive to pay attention to costs and providers every incentive to pad the bill. As for quality care, there are no incentives for that either.
Busting the safety net: the economic crisis hastens an entitlement crash
In December last year, the officials allegedly had a limousine taxi company pad the bill for charter contracts, receiving taxi tickets worth 12 million yen from the firm as kickbacks, according to the sources.
Police to grill 2 officials for suspected fraud
The two chartered limousines from a Tokyo-based limousine rental firm as part of their preparations for the G-8 event and allegedly asked the company to pad the bills by exaggerating the number of limousines hired.
Arrested official said 20 mil. yen of G-8 summit budget unused