北京一项调查显示，16家烤肉店中有11家收取炭火费，收费标准从8元至20元不等[1]。这些费用以多种名目出现，包括"炭火费""烤炉费""能源费""燃料费"等[1]。消费者反映，炭火费在入座前就已自动生成为账单中的必选项，无法规避[1]。
消费者程先生的账单中包含20元炭火费和每人8元自助小料费，共52元[1]；消费者严女士则遭遇10元"山核桃炭"和每人6元"自制小料费"自动成为必选项[1]。对此做法的合理性引发质疑。
北京市京师律师事务所律师李宝莲指出，炭火、烤炉等是完成烤肉服务的基本条件，属于烤肉店的经营成本[1]。保障正常用餐所必须提供的基本服务不应强制单独收费[1]。李宝莲律师表示，烤肉店将自身应承担的服务义务和经营成本拆分转嫁给消费者，属不合理收费行为[1]。她进一步指出，如果消费者实际无法规避炭火使用，且炭火费定价远高于市场价格，这种行为可能被认定为强制交易[1]。
An investigation into sixteen barbecue establishments in Beijing found that eleven of them charge mandatory charcoal fees, ranging from 8 to 20 yuan [1]. The charges appear under various names including "charcoal fee," "grill fee," "energy fee," and "fuel fee," and are automatically added to customers' bills before they are seated, making them non-negotiable [1]. One diner reported being charged 20 yuan for charcoal plus 8 yuan per person for self-service condiments, totaling 52 yuan in mandatory additions [1], while another encountered a 10-yuan "mountain walnut charcoal" charge alongside a 6-yuan per-person "homemade condiment fee" that were preset as required items [1].
Legal experts have raised concerns about the practice. Li Baolian, an attorney at Beijing Jingshi Law Firm, argues that charcoal and grills—essential to completing a barbecue service—represent basic operational costs rather than separate services that should be billed independently [1]. According to Li, restaurants that separate and shift their service obligations and operational expenses onto consumers constitute unreasonable charges [1]. Furthermore, Li contends that if consumers cannot practically avoid using charcoal and the charcoal fee is substantially higher than market rates, such charges may be deemed as forced transaction practices [1].