MSE News: Government to ban debit and credit card surcharges

JimmyTheWig

BoGoF wrote: »

Those deluded people who applauded this 'ruling' thinking people would somehow pay less will have a rude awakening. In fact Easyjet are now getting more as they now also charge for Visa Electron.

I think we will end up paying less, on average, in the long run.

Obviously those previously able, by luck or skill, to jump through the hoops will pay more than previously. And I appreciate that for now the average price will have gone up because of this.

But if now they are all going to be quoting their prices from the start, it makes it easier to compare one airline to another.
It is this competition that I believe will bring average prices down.

dzug1

jonesMUFCforever wrote: »

By the time the law is applied here the airlines will apply a nil surcharge for all cards but will levy an administration fee instead therefore bypassing the law.

But they will at least have to include it in their headline price rather than hiding it away as an 'optional' extra.

NFH

BoGoF wrote: »

Those deluded people who applauded this 'ruling' thinking people would somehow pay less will have a rude awakening. In fact Easyjet are now getting more as they now also charge for Visa Electron.

No, the deluded people are those who think this issue is about paying less; it's not about paying less but about including all surcharges in the headline advertised price. The issue is not about reducing the final price but about increasing the advertised price to reflect the true final price.

jonesMUFCforever

dzug1 wrote: »

But they will at least have to include it in their headline price rather than hiding it away as an 'optional' extra.

I don't see how the headline price will change at all - the admin fee will be added on at the end as now - nothing will change unless we consumers don't book with them.

dzug1

jonesMUFCforever wrote: »

I don't see how the headline price will change at all - the admin fee will be added on at the end as now - nothing will change unless we consumers don't book with them.

Unless there is a way of avoiding the admin fee they will have to include it in the headline price - see NFH's post

The way these surcharges developed was primarily to get round the advertising regulations. They then got out of hand.

BoGoF

Can you clarify what you mean by 'headline price' - the advertised price?

If so are you saying the budged airlines, for example, can no loger advertise flights at £9.99 if there is an admin fee chargeable on top of this?

JimmyTheWig

Yes, that's certainly the rule as I understand it, BoGoF.

If there are fees that are unavoidable then they have to include them in the advertised price.
That's why they picked rare cards for no booking fee. So, apparently, the charges were avoidable and regardless of the fact that most people payed them they didn't have to include them in the advertised price.

So the ruling means that things should become clearer from the start, and so easier to compare.

Cmason1982

I just noticed a pending £1 transaction on my online credit card statement which I didn't recognise. After calling Santander, they say it is a charge imposed by Morrisons for using a credit card to fill up at their self-service pump! The charge for the fuel itself has already gone on to my statement (£59.50)

There was no sign to say there would be a charge for using my credit card nor any prompts on the display to give any sort of warning! Has anyone else come across this problem and assuming they have failed to make me aware of the charge, can I claim this back?. I know it's only a £1 we're talking an but it's the principle. Does the charge apply if I had paid in the kiosk?

Any info would be of interest!

NFH

Cmason1982 wrote: »

I just noticed a pending £1 transaction on my online credit card statement which I didn't recognise. After calling Santander, they say it is a charge imposed by Morrisons for using a credit card to fill up at their self-service pump! The charge for the fuel itself has already gone on to my statement (£59.50)

I think you'll find this was just a test transaction that Morrisons put through on your card to verify that your card was valid before you started putting fuel in your tank. Given that it's a pending charge and not a full transaction, it will soon disappear. This is common practice in such scenarios.

samalbrow

Interestingly this thread is highlighting the awful deals some merchant services providers are charging small businesses.

I am am member of booker cash and carry and noticed an offer through Elavon for small retailers of 1.1% for credit and 11p for debit (based on all customer present transactions) along with low monthly terminal costs.

It is a very good deal, so I went to card save and pretty much halved the cost they were charging me, which was already discounted based on what they charge new customers. It may well be worth all retailers shopping around more if it will make them more competitive and get better value for consumers.