Well, if you called it a fee, then it could be just as easily misleading, depending on what you included in (or excluded from) that fee. In fact, it may confuse

Well, if you called it a fee, then it could be just as easily misleading, depending on what you included in (or excluded from) that fee. In fact, it may confuse things even more. That is, the real issue here is that the true rate/cost is not reflected clearly in the interest as currently presented. So, the real solution here is not to introduce a new, ambiguous term, but to use the traditional and well-understood term for conveying the true cost of a loan; that being "APR". Of course, by definition, you'd then necessarily include in that number the true costs of the loan.