Credit Card Transaction Fee

tryingtosavecash

Hi all,

I recently booked a flight with a well known airline over the phone. I had to book by phone since their website was not working.

The booking was completed in euros (the flight was originating for Germany) and I paid by credit card. I was then read out a breakdown of costs and taxes and agreed to pay.

When my confirmation receipt came through I saw that I had been charged £9 for paying be credit card. I am aware of airlines charging credit card fees however I was never told about it on the phone whilst booking and hence thought it wasn't applicable. If I had been told about this charge I would happily have paid by debit card.

After complaining to the airline they are refusing to refund the £9. My entire point is that I was not made aware of the card fees and I believe they took my money without consent. Is this legal and do I have a leg to stand on in the eyes of the law?

It is becoming a matter of principle now, not helped by the fact that they said in one of their emails that credit card fees were only applicable on flights originating from the UK. I pointed out my flight is originating from Germany and they quickly retracted their statement.

Any help/advice would be appreciated.

Aquamania

tryingtosavecash wrote: »

Hi all,

I recently booked a flight with a well known airline over the phone. I had to book by phone since their website was not working.

The booking was completed in euros (the flight was originating for Germany) and I paid by credit card. I was then read out a breakdown of costs and taxes and agreed to pay.

When my confirmation receipt came through I saw that I had been charged £9 for paying be credit card. I am aware of airlines charging credit card fees however I was never told about it on the phone whilst booking and hence thought it wasn't applicable. If I had been told about this charge I would happily have paid by debit card.

After complaining to the airline they are refusing to refund the £9. My entire point is that I was not made aware of the card fees and I believe they took my money without consent. Is this legal and do I have a leg to stand on in the eyes of the law?

It is becoming a matter of principle now, not helped by the fact that they said in one of their emails that credit card fees were only applicable on flights originating from the UK. I pointed out my flight is originating from Germany and they quickly retracted their statement.

Any help/advice would be appreciated.

Normally, whenever you pay by card, you are asked to confirm the amount you are authorising.

That applies whether in person at a retailer, online or by phone.
Otherwise how do you know what you are committing to?

If the amount collected was different to that which you authorised, of course that is not permitted and you should speak to your card provider accordingly.

If you mean you were informed of the amount, and you authorised that amount, but are now questioning the make up of the bill, then that is something you need to take up with the supplier.

Next time, ensure you ask for a breakdown of costs before you authorise payment.

eskbanker

Is this definitely a surcharge for using a credit card or is it possible that it's the non-sterling transaction fee for paying in euros? I presume it's the former if you're debating it with the airline as they'd have no control over the latter but best to be sure!