Card payment fees ban

I reload a Sainsbury gift card using my Boundless Members website (formerly Civil Service Motoring Assn) The transaction uses the services of SVM Global, the largest reseller and distributor of Corporate Gift Cards, E-Vouchers and Gift Vouchers.
As you, know ‘cos you told me so in the last of your fabulous emails, as from Saturday 13th companies can no longer charge a fee for opting to pay by credit or debit card – but companies will still be able to add booking or admin fees as long as they also apply to other forms of payment.
Well, the site did, before Saturday, offer payment via both credit cards (a fee applied) and debit cards (no fee).
On Saturday they announced that they were no longer allowing payment by personal credit cards making debit cards the only method of payment. However, along with this change they announced ‘Following a 2018 pricing review, a fee has been added to reload digital code orders. This fee is applied per code or reload ordered. This fee covers the cost of processing the order, i.e. sending the digital code and loading the gift card.’ And the fee applied is 25p per transaction
Now this may not sound much but when the discount for using the scheme is only 3%, the charge of 25p on, say, a £50 card reload reduces the discount to 2.5%!
As they no longer offer payment by credit card, can it be right and/or legal for them to impose a transaction fee on the only available method of payment, being debit cards when there has previously been no such charge for as long as the site has been operating?
It seems very strange that transactions by debit card suddenly raise a charge on the very day of the law changing!

Comments

  • They probably have misworded it but they can charge i as a admin charge similar to just eat etc.
  • Kim_13
    Kim_13 Posts: 2,314
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    Credit card fees may have been cross subsidising this expense previously. One of the unintended consequences of the change.

    I personally don't think it's right to charge fees in such a way, but I can't see anything illegal about it.
  • flower77g
    flower77g Posts: 146
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    Edenred offer a similar scheme (I have access to both their scheme and Boundless) and they've discontinued accepting credit cards, without introducing any 25p transaction charge on debit cards.
  • I'm sorry. I can't read that awful font.
  • Solitair Holidays have introduced a flat £25 fee for paying by card. It was just for credit cards but is now classed as a booking fee so all card payments are liable.
    They are unapologetic about this and told me I would be better off booking with someone else. Which I will.
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