The consumer group Which? is poised to make a “super complaint” to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) about “excessive” debit and credit card charges customers are forced to pay when buying flights, cinema tickets and other goods and services.
The watchdog is calling on the OFT to investigate the charges, which it says are often “sprung” on customers at the last moment such as when they check out to pay for a purchase online, and says they are often far in excess of what it costs the retailer to process a transaction.
Budget airlines are among the worst offenders with some charging a card fee per leg of journey despite the fact that payments are processed in a single transaction.
A family of four booking a return flight with Ryanair would be charged a £5 card processing fee for each single flight bringing their total transaction fees to £40, which could be more than the cost of their flights.
A spokesman for the Stansted-based airline said: “Ryanair does not levy any credit or debit card payment ‘surcharges’. Even our administration fee is avoidable by passengers who use our recommended MasterCard Prepaid.”
Which? says that the actual cost of processing a debit card payment is 20 pence and never more than 2% of the transaction total if payment is made by credit card.
Peter Vicary-Smith, Which? chief executive, said: “There’s simply no justification for excessive card charges – paying by card should cost the consumer the same amount that it costs the retailer. Companies shouldn’t be using card processing costs as an excuse for boosting their profits.
“Low-cost airlines are some of the worst offenders when it comes to excessive card surcharges but this murky practice is becoming ever more widespread, from cinemas to hotels and even some local authorities.”
Estate agents, cinemas and even the DVLA are now beginning to levy excessive charges for paying by card, according to Which?.
The campaigning group wants retailers to tell customers about transaction fees upfront “in plain language” so as they can be factored into the overall purchase price. It says consumers should be charged no more than the retailer pays to process a transaction and suggests that large companies should absorb the costs involved in taking payments by debit card.
Prashant Vaze, head of fair markets at Consumer Focus, said: “Consumers are fed up with paying these surcharges. Often they have no other option, especially for internet transactions where there is no alternative to using cards. The worst offenders even ask for surcharges on a per person basis. Any debit or credit card charge should only be cost reflective. For far too long firms have made a quick buck through confusing and unfair card charges, which bear no relationship to the costs levied by payment agencies.
“We hope the Which? super-complaint forces the OFT to take further action against companies padding their profits with unfair excess charges.”
Gravatars are small images that can show your personality. You can get your gravatar for free today!
Posted in: 
0 comments:
Post a Comment