no credit card fee refund anymore if you can't use POLi?

[quick_dry]

I booked a SYD-BNE return the website via my ipad - POLi would not work on it, so had to use the CC and be charged the fee.

In the past with mobile or Mac you could ring up and have the CC fee refunded - I have done it once before.
This time, I had 3 operators from the Plat GCC tell me it wasn't possible at all, that the fee wasn't something that could ever be refunded since it was charged by the CC company.

I was under the impression that the refunds in the past were really due to legality of (Or ACCC looking into) drip pricing, displaying prices that couldn't actually be purchased without necessarily extra fees etc. Was this just a courtesy they did in the past, or should I have been able to get a refund of the CC fee?

 

[bullerdude]

This time, I had 3 operators from the Plat GCC tell me it wasn't possible at all, that the fee wasn't something that could ever be refunded since it was charged by the CC company.

Well for the start the call centre people don't know what they are talking about. It is not a CC fee - it is a Booking and Service Fee levied by VA so they can totally refund it if they choose.

 

[pat25d]

I booked a SYD-BNE return the website via my iphone - POLi would not work on it, so had to use the CC and be charged the fee.

In the past with mobile or Mac you could ring up and have the CC fee refunded - I have done it once before.
This time, I had 3 operators from the Plat GCC tell me it wasn't possible at all, that the fee wasn't something that could ever be refunded since it was charged by the CC company.

I was under the impression that the refunds in the past were really due to legality of (Or ACCC looking into) drip pricing, displaying prices that couldn't actually be purchased without necessarily extra fees etc. Was this just a courtesy they did in the past, or should I have been able to get a refund of the CC fee?

IIRC (and I haven't made a booking on my phone for a while) - the prices displayed on the mobile app/site include the CC/booking surcharge as part of the fare.

For example, if the fare for SYD-BNE is $100, then when you book online it would be shown as $100 and then give you multiple ways to pay (including at least one way with $0 surcharge).

However when you go to book the same flight on your iPhone the price displayed would be $106 ($100 fare + $6 or whatever the CC surcharge is now) because the only way to pay is by CC.

Because they are being upfront and displaying the total cost of the flight+surcharge as one total - they are abiding by the CCA Act and I don't believe they would be required to refund the CC fee.

 

[quick_dry]

IIRC (and I haven't made a booking on my phone for a while) - the prices displayed on the mobile app/site include the CC/booking surcharge as part of the fare.

I agree and wouldn't question if that was how the pricing was presented, but just going there from iPad (I said iPhone in original post, but meant iPad) it gives you the regular site, with the prices as if you could do POLi at the end and avoid the CC fee. (no tricks or user-agent changes needed, iPhone gives you the mobile site, iPad gives you the regular site - presumably because the screen is large so the normal interface would work)

 

[b_adger]

POLi has been an issue for some time, my bank specifically forbids me to use it as handing my banking details over to a third party violates their T&C. After some discussion about this with Virgin they basically said "Too bad, we don't care". I have no choice but to pay the extra fee, although I now use my CC that provides local travel insurance.