I have been on 2013 since I purchased a seat in that same year, 2013 pretty much does everything I need, the only reason for me to upgrade is so I can open new version file formats.

I have recently contacted my VAR to get a quote on upgrading, the upgrade cost seems reasonable but then they have added "back dating fees" on top which equates to the same amount as the actual upgrade. I find this incredibly offensive, and on principal I am not going to pay this. Not only do I have to pay for bug fixes (in the form of SPs) but if i dont upgrade each year I still get stung with "back dating fees".

Are these back dating fees something common with all VARs?