Merchants passing CC fees back to the purchaser????

filbyglade

Has anybody else experienced a merchant charging the vendor (me) an additional 3% for fees that the CC companies charge merchants for processing their money? I've just booked a holiday and was charged 3% extra if I wanted to pay by card, this was the travel agent has no fees to pay the cc company.
I thought those charges couldn't be passed back, it's like having a fee for using your card.
Does anybody know the legal position, can merchants just do that?:mad:

lesley1960

Yes they can , we have just started to charge a fee for using a credit card .

We get charged 2.2% everytime a customer uses a CC , we cannot afford to lose that money

( you also have to remember a merchant does not have to sell you his goods / services )

jenchin66

Most travel agents have been doing this for some years. Ryanair are also charging for using debit cards.

BANNEDfromTV

Yes every holiday I have booked has incured a % charge for using a credit card. Some holiday companies don't charge an extra fee if you use a debit card though.

I don't see an issue with it so long as the % charge isn't inflated. What I mean by this is that the company adding the charge on is charging 3% when in fact they only pay 1.5% to the credit card company.

However you can't prove it either way so you just have to run with it.

inmypocketnottheirs

BANNEDfromTV wrote: »

I don't see an issue with it so long as the % charge isn't inflated. What I mean by this is that the company adding the charge on is charging 3% when in fact they only pay 1.5% to the credit card company.

However you can't prove it either way so you just have to run with it.

You do not know what fee the company is paying the CC. There is no way of knowing if it is 1.5%, as rates vary business to business and CC to CC.

RDA

lesley1960 wrote: »

Yes they can , we have just started to charge a fee for using a credit card .

We get charged 2.2% everytime a customer uses a CC , we cannot afford to lose that money

( you also have to remember a merchant does not have to sell you his goods / services )

But can you afford to lose the business when a customer decides to shop elsewhere ?

CC transaction charges are one of the costs of doing business and are no different to rent, electricity or wages.

How many high street stores pass the charge back to the customer ? None I can think of.

BANNEDfromTV

inmypocketnottheirs wrote: »

You do not know what fee the company is paying the CC. There is no way of knowing if it is 1.5%, as rates vary business to business and CC to CC.

Err, isn't that what I said

Lavendyr

RDA wrote: »

How many high street stores pass the charge back to the customer ? None I can think of.

Just because it's not specifically stated in the transaction doesn't mean they're not passing the charges back, just means they hike the prices of the products to cover their costs.

Anyway, Boots is one of several I can think of who remark on the receipt that 2.5% of the total transaction cost is to cover credit card charges (if you pay by card).

And yes, merchant fees vary from company to company. Some pay more than others per transaction but no monthly fee, others pay a monthly fee to keep their transaction charges down, some hand over a hefty deposit as guarantee...lots of different ways of doing it.

oldagetraveller

Focus DIY also state on their receipts that x% is included in the total to cover their costs for card transactions. However, it's included even if you pay cash.

KTF

filbyglade wrote: »

it's like having a fee for using your card.

Thats exactly what it is. Credit cards charge the merchant for using their services. The majority of merchants soak this cost up but in an industry where margins are thin (such as travel) then will pass this cost on to you instead. If you dont like this fee then you sould always pay by cheque or debit card as these usually have no fee involved.

inmypocketnottheirs

Remember, when making purchases of £100+then you do gain considerable protection from the CC. In the case of a holiday, what I generally do is pay £100 deposit by CC and then the balance by debit cards. In most cases debit cards are free, the typical transaction cost is 30p regardless of the amount.