Reclaiming cheque payment surcharges on utility bills

gloucesteroldspot

I noticed reports at the weekend that the EU (bless 'em) have ruled that excessive additional charges by utility companies on customers who prefer to pay by cheque are illegal, and that overpayment can be reclaimed for up to 4 years. (It was in the Sunday Times.) Apparently the extra costs of paying by cheque are a couple of quid per payment at most. I've been charged a tenner a quarter by telephone, gas and electricity companies for ages, so presumably I can now reclaim hundreds of pounds?

I can't find any reference to this on the site or the forum, although admittedly I am in a hurry to get off to work and may have missed it....but if it's not already hand, come on Martin, here's a new campaign to launch!

sarahblue_2

would this also apply to cash payments?

gloucesteroldspot

I don't know the details - it was a very short report, but I think that it mainly concerns the fact that the companies charge you MORE if you don't use their preferred payment methods, so if they charge you more for paying cash maybe that would be covered too. I am hoping that Martin's gang will give us the answers on all of these questions.