Charges terrible rates (5)
I believe the answer is:
tears
'charges' is the definition.
('tear' can be a synonym of 'charge')
'terrible rates' is the wordplay.
'terrible' indicates anagramming the letters.
'rates' anagrammed gives 'TEARS'.
(Other definitions for tears that I've seen before include "Rends" , "Show of emotion" , "See 1" , "See 12" , "Globules of ocular moisture" .)