UK bans excessive card fees/surcharges

[bushtuckerman]

Interesting article in BBC on-line world news 23Dec 2011.

Quote: "Excessive fees for using a debit or credit card to buy items such as travel or cinema tickets will be banned by the end of 2012, under government plans...The move comes amid complaints that airlines, booking agencies and even councils were imposing excessive charges for using a card."

According to the article, surcharges will be limited to the cost of doing business. These new rules, originally to commence in 2014, have been brought forward to June 2012.

BBC News - Excessive card surcharges will be banned, says Treasury

There is always considerable discussion about the imposition and level of credit card surcharges in Australia.

Cheers
Bush

 

[Kendall Roy]

Shame they won't ban excessive Robin Hood style departure taxes from LHR et al :!:

 

[Mal]

The real difficulty will be proving excessive. If I was an affected organisation, I would set up a company based in a foreign tax land as my credit card processor. Then have them process the charge, and charge me 6 pounds or 10% for processing my transactions.

 

[elbarto]

F Re: UK bans excessive card fees/surcharges

The sooner they do it here the better. $30 per pax on a QF intl sector hardly sounds like a reasonable charge to me. It should be per booking not per passenger.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Re: F Re: UK bans excessive card fees/surcharges

The sooner they do it here the better. $30 per pax on a QF intl sector hardly sounds like a reasonable charge to me. It should be per booking not per passenger.

book on zuji. same prices as qantas, and no credit card fees.

 

[DeKa]

book on zuji. same prices as qantas, and no credit card fees.

Do they use Zuji's merchant account, or Qantas'? (ie does it say Zuji on your credit card statement or Qantas?)

 

[Mal]

book on zuji. same prices as qantas, and no credit card fees.

And hope you don't need to change or cancel your flight, and that things run smoothly. The fee charged for intl change or cancel is $100 I believe.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

And hope you don't need to change or cancel your flight, and that things run smoothly. The fee charged for intl change or cancel is $100 I believe.

change fee $55, cancellation for international $110.

pretty competitive with qantas change fees if changing by telephone...

point is... if you are a leisure traveller, then changes not covered by insurance will not be that frequent.

people can't change school holidays, or easter, Chinese new year etc etc...

saving $120 per family of four makes Zuji a no brainer! and you get your credit card insurance! and credit card points!

 

[JohnK]

I wonder if the RBA will cotton on to the idea and investigate exhorbitant credit card surcharges in Australia especially by airlines? Somehow I don't think so....

 

[Cardinal]

I wonder if the RBA will cotton on to the idea and investigate exhorbitant credit card surcharges in Australia especially by airlines? Somehow I don't think so....

Not so sure about that - I'm sure the RBA and ACCC will leap at the opportunity to fix a situation they had a not so insignificant role in creating.

I always have an internal chuckle about the amounts other cosumers must be saving as I'm sure being gouging by companies charging excessive credit card surcharges - who could have possibly predicted it ?