Over the years, passengers have been complaining more and more as airlines add on baggage fees and take away complimentary meals. Guess what? That complaint might soon cost you, too. On August 21, it was revealed that several U.K. airlines would start charging passengers £25 ($33) to file a grievance.

Though fliers can still write a letter of complaint without paying a cent (though who writes a letter?), airlines have changed their approach to protracted claims: Earlier in August, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announced that it would hand off the task of dealing with complaints to dispute resolution companies. Previously, the CAA was in charge of mediating between customers and airlines for a variety of issues—flight cancellations, missing luggage, and how much disgruntled travelers should be compensated. But those rulings were not legally binding, and passengers would often turn to the court if the airline refused to pay. With this new third-party system, the decision will be legally binding—and keep cases from landing in court. Some of the companies charge for their services, which means airlines may now pass on the costs to customers if the disputes can't be solved internally.

"This seems to me more about dispute resolution for a major issue rather than merely making a complaint," George Hobica, head of Airfarewatchdog, tells Condé Nast Traveler. "When you think that filing in small claims court in the U.S. involves a fee, it's not entirely surprising that the U.K. is farming out this task of settling with an airline when it comes to similar cases."

British Airways, easyJet, Thomson, and Thomas Cook have all signed with the London-based mediation body called Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR). The other primary resolution bodies include NetNeutrals, which charges £10 ($13), and Retail Ombudsman, which does not charge. Turkish Airlines, Ryanair, and Wizz Air opted for the latter, while no airlines have signed up for NetNeutrals. About 20 major airlines have signed up to outsource their complaints. (Lufthansa and Swiss have signed up with Germany company Söp, which does not charge claimants any fees.)

Despite the new fee, there is something of a silver lining: If you do end up having to pay, it would be refunded in full if the claim turned out to be successful. “The £25 fee is payable if there is no merit in the claim," a spokesman for the CEDR told The Guardian. "But if the passenger’s claim is found to have any merit at all, then they are entitled to 100 percent of the compensation due.”