BMIBaby charges Debit Card fee - IS THIS ALLOWED?

wacko911

HI all, I looking to pick the brains of all you Credit Card guru's. I know you all hang out here!

I just booked a couple of flights with BMI Baby and was rather bemused by the the 50p DEBIT card fee for paying by VISA DELTA.

It was my understanding which im assusming is wrong that companies cannot charge a fee for paying by debit card, if the item can be purchased for less by other payment means...

EG, A company that accepts cash, cannot charge a transaction fee for an item paid by debit card if you could purchase the same item for less by cash. However a company that ONLY accepts credit/debit card transcations CAN charge a fee eg 3.5% for Credit cards and 1% for Debit cards as the item cannot be purchased for less with cash or cheque etc.

Well BMI on thier site also accepts Visa Electron, which does NOT attract a handling fee of 50p. Surely this is in violation of the debit card rules as customers are being charged extra for paying by delta.

Anyone care to clarify this for me?

Cheers
Wacko911

inmypocketnottheirs

I don't know if this is the reason why, but it could be because delta cards actually carry the Visa logo, and you do have all the same protections with a Visa debit card as you would have with a Visa credit card. This protection does not apply to Switch or Electron cards.

Dazza.mk_2

can't clarify but the situation is the same for both Ryanair & Easyjet

King_Of_Fools

It could be that there is still an element of risk involved for the retailer in letting you pay by debit card (e.g. you may not have enough cleared funds to pay).

The Electron payment, however, is cleared and debited in real-time so has no risk attached.

wacko911

Cheers guys, Visa Delta AFAIK works the same way, it freezes the funds in you account before allowing the transcation to go ahead, it is after all a debit card. My point is again AFAIK they are NOT ALLOWED to charge this processing fee.

After a quick search on google: (American - but still applies)
Source: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/241548_wellspent21.html

Question: Can merchants add a surcharge to customers' bills for using a credit or debit card?

Answer: In most cases, no, because a majority of cards these days are Visa or MasterCard brands. Visa and MasterCard specifically prohibit merchants from levying any kind of surcharge for using one of their branded cards, credit or debit. American Express and Discover do not prohibit surcharges.

However, Visa and MasterCard say that merchants may offer an incentive, such as a discount, to customers who pay with cash.

For example, a deli cannot add a 25-cent fee to a $4 sandwich when a customer uses plastic. But the deli could charge $4.25 and tell customers that they could get 25 cents off for using cash, explained Visa International spokeswoman Rosetta Jones.

Consumers can enforce card policies through their banks, although it might take more time and effort than the surcharge is worth.

In response to Noren's question, Well Spent went out and paid for items with a Visa Checkcard at a couple of businesses charging fees. We warned the cashiers that they were violating Visa's policy, but they said they had no choice but to charge the fee.

Well Spent then called the bank to dispute the charges. The telephone banker tried to talk us out of it, but we insisted the claim be filed. Two days later, we got our $1.04 back.

Hmm, seems a wee e-mail might be in order to my bank, is no one else bothered we are being ripped off by millions of ££££'s with these 'small' fees? I wonder how many seats BMI fill in a year, 2 Million... 5 million @ 50p a go? And thats just one company. Also note that visa internation says no surcharge on Credit or Debit cards!!!!

Yes I do need a life.

King_Of_Fools

wacko911 wrote:

Cheers guys, Visa Delta AFAIK works the same way, it freezes the funds in you account before allowing the transcation to go ahead, it is after all a debit card. My point is again AFAIK they are NOT ALLOWED to charge this processing fee.

A Visa Delta card can be used in real-time but it does not have to be. AFAIK, it is perfectly acceptable to use a Visa Delta card in an old carbon-paper machine like any other Visa card (this is why Visa Delta cards have raised numbers but Visa Electron cards do not).

wacko911 wrote:

After a quick search on google: (American - but still applies)
Source: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/241548_wellspent21.html

Question: Can merchants add a surcharge to customers' bills for using a credit or debit card?

Answer: In most cases, no, because a majority of cards these days are Visa or MasterCard brands. Visa and MasterCard specifically prohibit merchants from levying any kind of surcharge for using one of their branded cards, credit or debit. American Express and Discover do not prohibit surcharges.

Yes Visa and Mastercard US have different policies to Visa and Mastercard in the UK. In the UK they are happy to let people surcharge for the use of their cards, Ikea even does it in-store!

AFAIK, there is no law or rule in the UK to prevent companies charging an "admin" fee to cover card operating costs. Yes, it is annoying and I wish companies did not do so but I merely factor the charge into what I am paying for comparission with other companies who may not charge.