MSE News: Government to ban debit and credit card surcharges

NFH

chattychappy wrote: »

I agree with this part - the pricing should be clear and upfront. But if it is, I don't see the problem of charging what they like for the CC surcharge.

If it costs an airline 1% to accept a credit card payment, then do you really think it is reasonable for the airline to levy a surcharge of 50%? Many consumers prefer to pay by credit card for flights, for example for travel insurance benefits or for Section 75 protection.

Gromitt

zagfles wrote: »

Well that is what these proposals are about!!

I've just been on the Ryanair website to book a trip to Sweden for 4 of us - bargain at £80 return. You go through the entire booking process, adding the passenger names, declining baggage etc, and right at the end you're told there's an additional £48 to pay in "admin fees" as I haven't got a RyanAir MasterCard. Over 50% increase in fare.

All I want is a bit more honesty - what you said was fine - the fare is £128 with a £48 discount with a RyainAir mastercard.

I know someone who got stung by BT for something similar. Agreed an installation charge, had the line installed, didn't make any calls, 3 months later got the bill. "Additional charges: £5.50 - for processing your payment.". Rang up to complain, doesn't matter how you pay the bill, there's now a charge for processing the bill as it's part of the bill that is now already printed and in the system. Apparently had to sign up for directdebit when the line was installed to avoid the charge. Is this fair? For the bill in question, this was basically 10% of the bill value.

chattychappy

NFH wrote: »

If it costs an airline 1% to accept a credit card payment, then do you really think it is reasonable for the airline to levy a surcharge of 50%?

Yes, I think it's fine for the airline to charge 50% if they wish. It's the opposite side of the coin to a "buy one, get one free". My view is that it's up to the consumer to look at the overall deal.

Where reasonableness comes in is the way these deals are promoted. So if there is a 50% surcharge, then this should be clear at the point the base price is promoted.

NFH wrote: »

Many consumers prefer to pay by credit card for flights, for example for travel insurance benefits or for Section 75 protection.

Yep - and they should expect to pay for this protection. For some merchants, the use of chargeback effectively uplifts the cost of credit card acceptance well above the simple fee they are charged by the CC.

jezza2412

I wish they would extend this to the outrageous 'booking fees' charged on just about every sport and entertainment ticket bought online. Why do we have to pay a fee for booking a ticket? Shops don't charge a 'shopping fee'...

zagfles

chattychappy wrote: »

Because they will be in the privileged position of having their component passed through to a consumer without being marked up.



I agree with this part - the pricing should be clear and upfront. But if it is, I don't see the problem of charging what they like for the CC surcharge.

But the whole point of using excessive card surcharges is so they don't need to be upfront with the true cost. In this way the true price can be hidden until you have gone through the entire process, entered all the passenger details, selected all your options etc, until the moment you are actually paying, with the excuse that if you use <insert obscure card which hardly anyone has and keep changing it in case people cotton on and get it> there is no charge.

inicholson

From the 1990 act:

"On and after 7th March 1991, this Order makes it unlawful for any person to make or carry out any agreement relating to credit cards to the extent that it imposes or requires the imposition of a “no discrimination rule”. A “no discrimination rule” prohibits merchants from charging different prices to those who pay by credit card rather than by another means of payment. All such existing agreements must be terminated before 7th March 1991.

The Order does not make unlawful a requirement to limit differences in price to the amount of the merchant service charge imposed with respect to the reimbursement for supplies made on the production of a credit card."

So if we're being charged more than the 2% or so that credit card companies charge the retailer then it's the credit card companies fault for allowing Ryanair, etc. to charge us ridiculous amounts. We should have been pressuring the CC companies to withdraw their business from companies who overcharge and/or aren't up front about their charges.

What we need is a simple act that says prices must be honest and upfront including any fees. In the UK we have a tradition that VAT is included in the price displayed (in the US there's Sales Tax to add to the displayed price) so consumers expect the price you see to be the price you pay - discounts may be available.

What irritates me more than Ryanair (which everybody knows about and regular fliers can get around) is charges for concert tickets. Last time I bought one I could print it myself (for a fee per ticket), have it posted out to me (for an identical fee) or collect it from the venue (but they would charge an identical fee to print the ticket). It was clear that they were lying about the ticket price which should be illegal.

wizk1

I wonder if they're going to apply this to buying your tax disc with a credit card too?

zagfles

wizk1 wrote: »

I wonder if they're going to apply this to buying your tax disc with a credit card too?

How much do DVLA charge? As I remember it's only about £2-3 ie 1-2%. Which is probably what it costs them to process so this will still be allowed.

It's the 50%+ charge that the likes of RyanAir use that this is aimed at.

wizk1

zagfles wrote: »

How much do DVLA charge? As I remember it's only about £2-3 ie 1-2%. Which is probably what it costs them to process so this will still be allowed.

It's the 50%+ charge that the likes of RyanAir use that this is aimed at.

It's a fixed £2.50 surcharge. So the rate could vary depending on how much you pay for your tax in the first place. If you've a "green" car, you'd end up paying about 14%, or about 1-2% if you tend to measure your fuel economy in gallons per mile.

But surely, isn't the whole aim of this to charge a proportionate amount to the costs incurred by the retailer? A fixed figure isn't proportional.

almost_there

I really hope that this acts as a message to all the companies with multiple charges and fees.


Go Back to inclusive costs ie as in the past

Example Aberdeen to London £ 180

Not Fare £100 Tax £25 Baggage £30 Check in fee £15 Priority Boarding £10


Include everthing even a coffee, if the customer doesnt want a cuppa they are on a winner.

Makes Sense to me!