Credit Card Transaction Fees / Supplementary Charges

lazyhead

The company that I want to book a holiday with have a "supplementary charge" of 2.5% when booking with a credit card. Obviously I want the protection of using a CC but don't want the holiday to cost an extra £100 (yes it is a 'special' holiday!). I don't mind paying a fee if a credit card payment costs them extra but this seems unreasonable.

Is the company ripping me off or do they genuinely pay a percentage to the credit card payment processing company? I would have thought that the fee that they pay would have been either fixed or a percentage with a cap

PNPSUKNET

dependant on the card depends on the fee, when I had my merchant account we were charged 35p + 2% for debit cards, 50p + 3% amex, +2% + 40p for credit cards

opinions4u

Pay the first £100 on the credit card and the rest on the debit card.

You're still protected for the full value of the holiday.

(apparently this also works if you only pay £1 on the credit card as well!).

Linky

The law’s very specific, you get the protection for the whole thing even if you only pay for a part of it on the card, provided what you pay for costs more than £100 (and less than £30,000).
Here’s a quick example of how it works…

Savvy Salma spots the high tech TV she’s been planning to buy at half price for £500 including delivery in a high street sale. Yet she’s only got £10 left on her card limit (don’t worry, it’s a cashback card, she’s going to pay it off in full).
Salma pays £10 of the cost on her credit card and the rest on her debit card. Sadly the next day the store goes bust, before her telly is delivered. Yet she can claim the WHOLE £500 back from the credit card company, because she paid in part on the card.

Therefore if you want protection…

As long as it costs more than £100, pay for even a fraction on a credit card and you’re protected.

Also relevant is:

When you buy through third parties. Travel agents, paypal etc.
You’re usually unlikely to be covered when payments are made to a company that isn’t the one providing you with the good or service because the credit card company must have a direct relationship for them to be equally liable.
The first main area is paying via an online processer such as PayPal, WorldPay or Google Checkout. Though these can have their own refund systems, they aren't as strong as the legal protection of Section 75.
There have also been recent cases where people buying goods on Amazon through other suppliers, have been turned down for Section 75 claims by credit card companies. Much opinion is these SHOULD be covered by section 75, but it may be a fight to make it happen.
The other is buying through a Travel Agent, where it is simply directing you to get a flight from an airline or package holiday from a Tour Operator. You should have ATOL protection for package holidays anyway (see Cheap Package Holidays) but flights don’t usually have protection elsewhere. If you're not covered elsewhere, as many travel companies act as an agent of the tour operator, a claim against your card provider could be successful, so give it a try.

lazyhead

Thank you opinions4u, that is genius!

The holiday company is ATOL protected but I do want an extra layer of protection through my credit card and this looks like a great way of achieving that.

System

Hi, I am hoping that it's okay to pay £10 on a credit card towards a holiday and the rest of money on a debit card for a large holiday? I've looked at Martin's comments on section 75 and it looks like I can...

Fingers crossed as making a big payment today!

td_007

Summer01 wrote: »

Hi, I am hoping that it's okay to pay £10 on a credit card towards a holiday and the rest of money on a debit card for a large holiday? I've looked at Martin's comments on section 75 and it looks like I can...

Fingers crossed as making a big payment today!

Yes...you will be covered if anything goes wrong - hope not!

System

Thanks td_007, I hope so too!