‘‘rip-off’’ card SUrchargeS:
A which? super complaint 2011
coNSUMerS SpeaK oUT
airlines 3
HoliDaYs 9
eVents 16
otHer transport 20
motorinG 23
Finance 28
utilities 32
retail 36
HealtH anD BeautY 40
GoVernment 42
coNTeNTS
hen we announced
our intention to
submit a super-
complaint to the Office of Fair
Trading, we received over
1000 messages from Which?
members and the public, voicing
their support and to share their
experiences of unfair surcharges.
This dossier presents a selection
of the many comments we
received. Over a third of the
people getting in touch with us
referred to airlines in some way,
some telling us the amount they
have been charged per booking
– up to 33% of the ticket price in
one instance!
Many other examples were
shared about holiday operators,
buying tickets for the cinema,
theatre, music and sports events
and paying car tax. We were
also told about charges cropping
up in more unexpected places;
such as the dentists, shops and
even, from one respondent, burial
services.
In much of the feedback,
people understand that there
is a genuine processing
charge associated with using
cards, particularly credit
cards. However, people want
the charges to be fair and
proportionate to the cost incurred
by the company, not hugely
inflated as they so often are.
Many people objected to charges
being levied per ticket, and
for travel tickets, per leg of the
journey. Around one hundred
people also told us that they
objected to being told too late
in the transaction about these
charges.
Perhaps most tellingly, consumers
told us that they object to these
charges so strongly that they
have stopped using particular
companies as a result.
All the comments in this
document have been reproduced
verbatim.
W
“Well done Which? on tackling one of the dodgiest
practices currently afflicting a growing
number of British families and businesses.”
“I felt hood- winked and slightly cheated so will be
reluctant to use the companies
again.”
“ If I’m asked to pay a charge for using my card I just don’t buy!”
WHICH? “RIP-OFF” CARD SURCHARGES.2
cLicK oN a TiTLe aBoVe To JUMp direcTLY To ThaT SecTioN
airLiNeS
A which? super complaint 2011
STOP ‘RIP-OFF’ CH
AR
GES
● I am a regular flier with Ryanair who charge £6
each way for using a credit card. This is a £12
charge for using your card once. This includes their
own credit card.
John
● Booking Aer Arann flights from London to the
Isle of Man, there is now a surcharge of £5 for
debit cards. This has been introduced since the
New Year.
Bernard
● The credit card charge is an absolute rip-off.
There is no justification for charging every traveller
for every leg when only one transaction takes place.
It is virtually impossible to avoid the charge. You
need plastic to buy a ticket and they charge you for
it. The fare should include the fee. I don’t care if it
raises the base fare. It would be a more honest,
open and correct way to do business.
● I travel quite often for family reasons. In January,
with Virgin Atlantic, one transaction fee for paying
with a credit card was £17.60. This is exorbitant;
although the cost is only made known at the end
of the transaction the credit card payment is so
convenient that one is forced into paying the
amount - but with great grudge!
Bernard
● I book most weeks with easyJet for business and
the credit card charges are simply a means for them to
take what appears to be a cheap fare and add to their
profit. I won’t fly with Ryanair for that reason. I am an
American Express user and often have the card refused
airLiNeS
as retailers claim that they are charged excessively: I
often get quoted 4 or 5% to use that card.
alan
● We use easyJet and we’ve come to accept the
high charge for a credit card transaction comes
with the reasonable flight cost. We use the credit
card because of the ‘insurance’ aspect and you
could argue that’s the premium to be paid - not
that we appreciate that because there doesn’t
seem any justification for the percentage rate
used.
● I’m a regular flier with Virgin Atlantic. I also have a
Virgin credit card issued through Amex. The irony
is when I want to use my Virgin credit card to pay
for my Virgin flight I have to pay a fee of around £13
as a service charge!! I find this absolutely ridiculous.
ChiCkoo
● I believe that credit card charges are an
operational cost of doing business and should be
absorbed by the provider. Such charging will
become particularly anomalous in the future when
there is no cheque payment option.
randolph
● When I wanted to fly to Aberdeen the only airline
offering the flight did not have the facility to pay by
debit card and charged for the use of a credit card.
I was furious!
MiChael
● A number of airlines can only be accessed
online therefore you are obliged to pay by credit
We have just booked an easyJet flight to Paris costing just over £60 and they wanted to charge us over £10 for paying by Visa. This was a whopping 17% of the cost of the flight. We paid by debit card but that was still over £5, an extortionate cost considering that it costs them so little to process the payment. Especially as the only way to pay is by card.
WHICH? “RIP-OFF” CARD SURCHARGES.4
there is the possibility that the credit card
company will provide reimbursement. Using a
debit card provides no such protection.
● Just a general comment with regard charges. I
believe companies like easyJet and Ryanair take
the biscuit with the price they charge which is far
more than it costs them. If supermarkets can take
any cards and not charge anything then it shows
you the price is too high particularly as the net
margins of the supermarkets are quite low.
Another issue with credit cards is the charges
Amex make which puts a lot of retailers off of
accepting them at all.
alan
● Have had extra charge for payment by credit
card from easyJet, Thompson and Monarch in
the last 6 months. I now refuse to fly Ryanair
unless absolutely forced to because of their lack
of transparency over extra charges (despite what
they say). But they are all as bad as each other.
rod
● My concern is that BMI then cancelled my flight
and so I got nothing for the credit card charge I had
paid. Assuming they paid the credit card company a
2% fee, this still left them with around £2.78 for
providing me with nothing. The amount is small but
is better off in my pocket than theirs, particularly
since they provided no service. If it is right, then it
leaves consumers very vulnerable.
● These charges should be shown next to
the product/service cost at the beginning of the
or debit card. There was a get out clause in that if
you paid by debit card or Electron card there is
no fee. However most banks have now deleted
the Electron cards and the airlines are no longer
having a ‘no fee’ option. Even if you pay by debit
cards (i.e. guaranteed payment within 24 hours),
you are still being charged an exorbitant fee.
You can not get around it if you want to carry on
business with the cheaper airlines.
● I recently bought two separate tickets with Ryanair,
each charged at £10 per transaction, working out at
13.5% and 15.6% of the fare’s price.
Salvatore
● Yesterday I booked 2 flights to London with
easyJet. When paying with my credit card I was
charged £10. If I had paid by my Visa debit card I
would have also been charged £10. I use my credit
card when booking flights, hotels etc in case
anything goes wrong and I have the extra cover.
liSa
● Booking flights online almost always results in a
‘surcharge’ when paying by credit card, far in excess
of the cost to the airline. This is a way of making their
flights seem cheap but not offering any option of
avoiding this charge because you can’t avoid using it.
John
● I am always confronted with a surcharge for
using a credit card when I book a flight on an
aircraft. This is not reasonable as using a credit
card gives the added protection that in the event
of some sort of failure as happens occasionally,
transaction. If you buy online, how else can you pay
except by debit or credit card? Is there any other
way?
roSie
● Just booked a flight with Monarch from
Manchester to Mahon. Got charged a £19.60
“booking fee” after adding credit card details –
which suggests that this may be a synonym for
credit card fee. Thought this was a bit rich; if they
are going to charge a booking fee should be
included in the quote up front.
anita
● easyJet charged me £5.50 for using a Visa
debit card for a £150 return ticket to Venice in
August. Using a credit card would have incurred a
charge of over £10. Given that the transaction
charge for a debit card is 20p, and that for a credit
card, the cost is 2% (in this case this would have
worked out at £3), there is no excuse. And the
Recently flew to India with BA. I tried to book the tickets with them & when I realised that they wanted extra payments for the use of credit card I tried other providers & found that I could book BA flights with Expedia without paying the surcharge. BA lost out as they must have paid commission to Expedia.SureSh
WHICH? “RIP-OFF” CARD SURCHARGES.5
airLiNeS
charges only appear at the final stage of the
booking process. It should be outlawed and
exposed as disreputable business practice.
● I booked flights with Ryanair for December past
and I was charged £10 to pay with my visa debit
card. Every card had the same charge which is
ridiculous as a visa debit is like paying with cash.
Joe
● I purchased 2 tickets on a British Airways flight
and paid for them using a BA Amex card which
credits me miles. However, paying by even this BA
card cost me £9 just like any other card.
henry
● Obviously, the airlines use these payments fees
to produce profits. They tempt you in with low
fares, and then hope that by the time you get to the
“pay now” button you will just soldier on. The whole
thing is just cynical. I think as a minimum as soon as
you select a flight you should be alerted to the
payment costs. I know, the airlines will say they
cannot do this until you select a payment method,
but they could certainly show the cheapest and
dearest option.
● A single leg short flight on easyJet two days ago
for £30 charged over £10 for using a credit card.
That represents a 33% increase in the cost.
ChriS
● I think the point is with the likes of Ryanair they
charge per person, per flight. As far as I am aware,
any charge they may incur would be per
transaction only. Therefore I do not understand why
they are able to charge numerous times for what is
effectively one transaction.
● I have just booked with Flybe for a flight from
Newcastle to Gatwick. This not-so-cheap budget
airline charged £301 for two return tickets. I
booked online so had to pay with a card. They
said the cost to use the card would be £2. I was
therefore alarmed to see when the final figure
appeared that they had charged £321. On
checking this out, I found they had also charged a,
£18 “transaction fee”. I have no idea what this is
for, and have scoured their website to find out, but
there is no explanation. A total £20 charge to use
a credit card on tickets costing £300 looks like
sheer profiteering.
euniCe
● Ryanair keeps talking about avoidable fees.
Paying by Visa Electron used to be without costs,
but the fee free option has now moved to pre-paid
MasterCard. Probably when too many customers
start using that, it will become something else again.
Note also easyJet’s explanation that profits were
down, because not enough people were checking
in luggage any more. When too many customers
use the affordable option, the airlines will think of
something else. We will for ever be in a game of
hide-and-seek.
● My main complaints are about two airlines -
Ryanair and easyJet. The former has the biggest
charges. Neither tells you before you start the
purchase the cost of using a credit card. Ryanair’s
I paid a £4.50 surcharge when booking a flight with BMI. They then cancelled the flight and refunded the cost of the flight, but not the surcharge. My queries and challenges to BMI have met with no success. I am shocked that the surcharge is not refunded when they cancel the flight.
WHICH? “RIP-OFF” CARD SURCHARGES.6
airLiNeS
surcharge, ahem, booking fee. I detest Ryanair, but
sometimes don’t have any choice but to use them.
They charge £10 per leg which is quite outrageous,
with no realistic non-chargeable option.
Caroline
● I hate buying tickets for air travel from Ryanair or
easyJet because of the disgraceful debit card
charges. You only find out at the last moment and on
the journeys we want to make they are the only local
carriers. I would not object to paying the cost to them
of a card transaction but they charge what amounts
to theft.
● I am originally from Ireland and since moving to
the UK last year I have spent £100’s on excess credit
and debit card charges when using airlines to travel
home. Ryanair particularly charge me over £10 each
return trip more if there is more than one passenger.
They provide a cheap service but it would make me
much happier if the advertised prices were slightly
higher and our credit card charges reasonable.
Julie
● Flying with Ryanair I used to use credit card then
changed to Halifax Electron card to avoid “admin”
charges. Then with minimal warning they dropped
this card and had to use my credit card to cover a
flight Perugia last year, this incurred “admin” charge
of £20 for two us. It appears to me that Ryanair
encourages the use of one form of payment and
then changes the conditions to suit themselves and
to extract additional cash from its customers/mugs.
Given that have to book online and cannot pay by
cash or cheque, I think it’s sharp practice to offer
charges well outweigh the typical 2% or 3% add-on
that other companies charge for using a credit card.
A lot of the travel I do is on business and we are
encouraged to use the cheapest airline but I then
book using the credit card and the company picks
up the extra charges.
andrew Brown
● I am delighted to hear that Which? is launching a
super complaint into unfair charges. I was particularly
concerned by Flybe who charged me £18 for
booking a flight with their only charge-free option -
my Co-operative Visa Electron card. This was
particularly irksome as I only have this card to avoid
such charges.
adrian
● It’s not so much the fees charged as the
underhand method of applying them. All costs
should be stated BEFORE even considering making
a booking. After all if you are buying, say, a sofa,
you want to know what will be the total cost before
deciding to buy it.
● I have just booked a flight with Flybe from
Aberdeen to Birmingham for April who tells you that
you have saved £12 by booking on line. And then
they rip you of for £4.50 each way for using your
debit card.
harry
● I fairly regularly buy flights to Ireland. I have the
choice (sometimes depending on flight times) of
using Ryanair or Aer Lingus. I don’t think either of
them tells you until the point of payment about the
“cheap” seats then hit you with so called admin fees
on top.
roBert
● If a customer cannot avoid the charge, it should
be included in the headline rate for the goods or
services.
aliSon
● There is no doubt that flying is cheap particularly
if booking ahead. But it seems strange that one has
to pay £5 credit card fee each way unless paying
with a Visa electron card.
BoB
● Clearly the extra charges for using a card -
credit or debit - is actually part of the total air fare.
Just wish it was all added in at the outset.
tony
● Being told to pay not only a Credit Card
Surcharge but also a Debit Card Surcharge with no
real alternative, made me walk away from a booking
with Ryanair. Their petty penny-pinching lost them
my business. I accept that there ought to be an
admin fee to cover their costs of processing a card
payment but not at the usury rates they impose.
Hiding behind a front-loaded in-house card for “free”
is a disgrace. There is a card fee for that card and by
front-loading it you are also out of pocket sooner.
roger
● Once at Luton Airport, I was offered an easyJet
credit card, which I understood would enable me
to purchase easyJet tickets without extra charges.
WHICH? “RIP-OFF” CARD SURCHARGES.7
airLiNeS
However, that did not turn out to be the case and I
was charged the same as for other cards.
neil
● The worst culprit has to be Ryanair. First, we
acquired a Solo card to avoid the charges, then
Ryanair changed the only surcharge free card to a
prepaid MasterCard, so we acquired one of those -
anything but let them win! They only do it so that they
don’t have to include the charge in the advertised fare.
If they don’t accept the major cards without surcharge,
they should be forced to include the charge in the
advertised price.
paul
● I booked flights for four of us to Prague and
back with BMI Baby. I used a debit card as the charge
for this was going to be £3.00, what I would consider
to be the ‘normal rip-off’ level. The charge turned out
to be £24 as it was £3 per leg per person. As this was
a single transaction to purchase four tickets, I felt this
was a ‘Super rip-off.
igor
● Booking two return flights with BMI incurred a
debit card (not credit card) surcharge of £20 per
flight each way. A total of £80. The charge only
became apparent on finalising the on-line booking.
There is no alternative service provider on this
route. There is no alternative to booking on-line.
The only way to avoid the surcharge payment is if
the purchaser is able to use a Visa Electron card.
John
● bmibaby & Flybe both charge extra for using
credit cards and debit cards, but offer no free
alternative, so it must be a built part of the cost.
Both also refuse to accept my Amex card. I have
looked for alternative flights, but on the routes I
use I’ve had no alternative. I’m not sure how much
the fees were, but I think it was £5 per flight.
Craig
● My family have just booked peak time flights from
Heathrow to Barcelona with Iberia airlines, and were
delighted not to be charged a fee on the checkout
page for using our Amex card. We were
begrudgingly prepared to pay a surcharge – so we
had additional cover provided by payment through
a credit card – and will now look to fly with this
carrier again. It’s all about competition, so if
everyone votes with feet, airlines will ultimately have
to become more honest and open.
SiMon
● The ‘headline’ prices offered bear no
relationship at all to the true costs of the flight
ticket. We are all familiar with the ploy of
advertising a flight at £XX which you that have to
add on the taxes etc. To then add insult to the
process there is the little bit of wording that says
“By the way, if you wish to purchase the ticket
online then there is another surcharge”. Given that
there is no other way of paying for tickets on line
other than using a credit card or debit card then if
this surcharge is legitimate it should have already
been included in the headline price.
david
I recently bought 2 return air tickets from Heathrow to Belfast City in the BMI sale. The total cost of the tickets was £150. There was an indication that there would be a charge for use of credit card, but not the amount of the charge. This charge turned out to be £9 6% of the full price. As the cost was over £100 I did not want to use my debit card.Sue
WHICH? “RIP-OFF” CARD SURCHARGES.8
airLiNeS
hoLidaYS
A which? super complaint 2011
STOP ‘RIP-OFF’ CH
AR
GES
● A holiday home company I use charges 2.5% on
top of the amount I’m paying which has been a
charge of £37.50.
kay
● I’ve experienced a more unusual difficulty with
Saga cards because Saga Holidays give a reduced
fee if you pay by Saga card. BUT I’ve found Saga
cards give too low a credit limit to allow payment
by a Saga card!
Brett
● Two UK holidays: from Farm & Cottage Holidays
in 2010 (charge for card = £8.46) and Welcome
Cottages in 2011 (charge = £4.20). No mention of
charge for credit card (or obligatory booking fee
and insurance) despite this being normal method of
payment. Felt hood-winked and slightly cheated so
will be reluctant to use the companies again.
However, they all seem to be at it to some degree.
BruCe
● I paid with my credit card last year to Richardson
holidays and it was only when I queried my credit
card statement I found out that they had charged
extra for using it. Debit cards are free.
Margaret
● Booked holiday through First Choice online. Prior
to booking I had tried to compare prices for the
same holiday with different providers. First Choice
did not appear to be making any charge for using a
credit card. It was only when I had nearly
completed the booking procedure that this became
obvious and by then I could not put up with the
hoLidaYS
Recently booked a holiday with Voyages of Discovery and found that credit card use is 3%. As a single traveller the cost of a cruise is quite expensive and 3% seems an excessive amount on my holiday cost of £2,700 plus excursion fees. I am left with a choice of using a debit card thus forfeiting credit card rights.Mary
hassle of starting all over again. Charge for using
the card for a holiday costing approx £5,500 was in
the region of £80.00.
Steve
● Paying for a holiday at a branch of Co op Travel
we were only told at the end of the transaction
that a “penalty” would apply if I used my Amex
(which would have given me some “rewards”). We
paid by Debit card, then rushed home to transfer
the funds to our current a/c (thank goodness for
telephone banking). They were looking for 2% on
a Holiday at £2,000).
david
● The main culprits, as you are probably aware, are
holiday companies. Not only the international ones,
like Thomson, but companies which operate
holidays in Britain. I recently booked a holiday
cottage in the Lake District through an agent (part
of Hoseasons) and had to pay a surcharge. The
same applies when booking caravan holidays on
sites such as Parkdean. They also impose a credit
card surcharge which can add considerably for a
family booking a holiday caravan during the
summer school holidays.
Stuart
● Booked two holidays with the same company
Sunrise Holidays had to pay each holiday separate
and each time incurred a charge. Does not seem
fair or right.
Sandra
WHICH? “RIP-OFF” CARD SURCHARGES.10
When I pay the balance I will once again be charged
a premium for using my credit card. The travel
companies make a sufficient margin to absorb any
small costs of card usage.
John
● In 2009 I booked a cruise with Thomas Cook and
wanted to pay by credit card to get maximum
protection. The agent told me if I used my own credit
card Thomas Cook would charge me an extra 2.5%,
which I think added up to about an extra £50, which I
thought was extortionate. However, they said if I
took out their own Thomas Cook credit card I
wouldn’t have to pay the percentage fee. They also
said that I would earn “travel pounds” not only on
the holiday but also on any currency I bought with
the credit card. So I was particularly annoyed to find
when I bought the currency a couple of weeks later
that the travel pounds offer had expired. I really felt
conned over it and I had a lot of trouble getting any
sort of refund for my missing travel pounds.
liz
● All Travelodges now make a charge when using a
credit card. It is difficult to make a booking any other
way.
Booked accommodation with Premier Inn in
Birmingham and was charged £2 to use credit card.
Could not book any other way as cheques not
accepted.
Booking Travelodge rooms on line now has a £2
charge for credit card payments. Yes, I have been put
off making a purchase.
Club Med is charging 5% of any amount paid by credit
card – this is obscene. They make no charge for
● I recently bought a villa holiday with Thomas
Cook. If I paid by credit card there would be a
2.5% charge, so I used a debit card instead. It is
wrong to be deterred from gaining the benefits of
paying by credit card by the surcharge
demanded. This appears to be a way of
exploiting consumers.
ronald
● We cruise once or twice a year and for a long
time both the cruise lines or the travel
companies which sell the cruises impose extra
charges of final payments (not usually the
deposit). We found with Celebrity that debit
cards too attracted an extra charge; this is
usually 2%. But if Amex, it may go up to 33%. As
we are paying thousands of pounds for these
holidays it amounts to a sizeable amount so we
pay by cheque, thereby reducing the length of
time we have to save up. Some ordinary holiday
companies such as Saga impose these charges
too but at a reduced rate if paying with a Saga
card. For long haul flights we book with
Trailfinders who do not charge for credit cards,
even Amex.
Margaret
● I booked my summer holiday with Thomson
Travel for my wife and myself and had a
significant charge added to the cost of the
deposit, for using my MasterCard. I complained to
the travel agent but told that if I wished to use a
credit card to pay, I would have to accept the
charge. If I paid by cheque I would forfeit the
protection offered by the credit card company.
I paid £5,363 for flights, hotel and transfers to lowcostholidays by telephone. When the time came to pay they said there was a £24 charge for using my Visa debit card. I have never paid a charge for using my debit card before. I wanted to scrap the deal and go else where but it was for our grandchildren and they were with us so against my better judgement I booked it and paid the charge.
edward
WHICH? “RIP-OFF” CARD SURCHARGES.11
hoLidaYS
was wrong. The assistant said that I should take
into account the amount I has saved as that should
more than compensate for the charge. I think this is
wrong: the assistant was made fully aware of my
budget prior to looking for me
viCki
● Only today I booked a flight with lastminute.com.
The airfare was £808 and the credit card charge
was £15 which is almost 2% of the cost. This charge
was not mentioned until the final page after I had
put in my credit card details. I cannot believe the
card costs the company anything like £15. This is
the highest credit card charge I have ever paid.
John
● We have just booked our family holiday to Turkey
and decided better to pay by debit card as they
usually sting you for credit card surcharges. I was
shocked that lowcostholidays still charged us
£10.15 when paying the initial deposit and a further
£32 when paying the balance. That’s over £42 in
surcharges! However on my invoice it states
‘Credit card charge’. I am disgusted and have
never been charged a fee for using my debit card
before. A big rip off!
I am being charged 2.95% in fees by On The
beach to pay for my holiday with my Visa debit
card. I am very angry about this but it seems there
is nothing I can do but pay it. I have used this firm
many times before and this has not happened
before.
ChriStine
● Almost all holiday companies charge when using a
credit card - I have yet to find one who does not.
The average charge is 2% although some have
charged more and this can add on quite a lot to
what is already an expensive holiday. Also, Jet2
puts on a surcharge per person when using a credit
card even if they are all part of the same booking. I
am not sure how much as I have stopped using
them because of their ridiculous charges.
I recently booked a holiday for 6 people with Co-op
Travel. I expected to pay a few hundred pounds
deposit which I would have done using a cheque or
debit card. However as it was a tailor-made trip I
was required to pay for flights up front so the
deposit was £3,649 which was more than I had in
my current account. I paid by credit card to give me
time to transfer money from various savings
accounts. I was informed and agreed to the credit
card surcharge, I think that the amount of 3% far
exceeds the administrative costs.
geoffrey
BACS payments or payment with debit cards.
I recently part-purchased a holiday at Thomas
Cook by credit card. They charged a 2.5% fee.
Subsequently they cancelled the holiday due to
insufficient numbers and refunded all but the credit
card fee, which they absolutely refused to do; they
suggested I recover it from the card company. I
spoke to the card company who said as the refund
was made to the card the fee would have been
refunded to Thomas Cook and they should have, in
turn, refunded it to me. I’ve complained to Thomas
Cook HQ (no response) and Trading Standards
We have saved for a holiday in Florida and wanted
to pay by credit card to ensure protection of our
purchase in case there was any last minute
disruption – we were charged 8% by Virgin Atlantic
holidays – this equated to over £100 just for the
privilege of paying the bill.
SaMantha
● Went to Thomas Cook to book a holiday. Told
the assistant that I had a £2,000 budget. After
in-depth searching found a holiday for £2,175.00
which was £175.00 over my budge but with careful
juggling decided that I could manage this. I paid
£1,000.00 cash and handed the assistant my credit
card. It was at this stage that I was told that I would
be charged £29.00 cost for using my card to pay
the balance. I asked if I could be the difference by
cheque but was told no as I had purchased a
holiday on a special deal which was due to expire
at 4pm that day. Basically if I wanted the holiday I
had no choice but to pay the charge. I told the
assistant and manager that I felt that I had been
hood winked into paying this charge and that it
If I pay for a SAGA holiday with my SAGA credit card, they will charge me 1% of the cost, which for the full amount will amount to approx £23.00. If I did not have a SAGA cc then the charge would be 2.5% or, if I paid by cheque, there would be a £3.00 administration charge.peter
WHICH? “RIP-OFF” CARD SURCHARGES.12
hoLidaYS
● The travel company ‘Real Africa’ demands a 4%
surcharge for using a credit card to purchase a
travel holiday. We are buying a holiday from them
but will have to use an internet transfer as they
even demand a 2% surcharge for a debit card. They
claim that the credit card companies demand an
additional insurance fee from them because of the
high number of fraudulent holiday purchases.
CharleS
● I recently booked a cruise through Thomas Cook.
At the point of payment it became clear that the
charge for using a credit card would be £50. I paid
by debit card without the protection offered by
using a credit card.
I was buying a holiday from Virgin Holidays and I
was going to pay with my Virgin credit card until I
was told at the point of sale that I would be
charged an extra charge for paying with a credit
card. I found this particularly galling as it was their
own credit card. The credit card charges were high
so I thought that I would pay with my debit card
which you are not usually charged for doing and I
was told that there was a charge for using this
card - albeit less. I regard it as sharp practice as I
had no other way of paying since this was all being
done on the phone and by choosing another form
of payment I was also forfeiting my protection
using a credit card. I will avoid anywhere that
charges me what I regard as a superfluous fee on
top. It is the cost of a business doing business and
should be absorbed into the overall price
structure. By charging an extra fee at the end of a
transaction it makes it hard to compare prices for
value for money.
● In two cases when buying package holidays I was
permitted to use my credit card without surcharge
for the deposit, but would have been charged 3.5%
for the final settlement of the bill. In each case I paid
the major part with a debit cad to avoid this
excessive charge.
Joan
● Saga holidays impose a significant additional
charge when paying by credit card. For example
on a recent booking for an Italian holiday, after we
had paid the £240 deposit by debit card without
surcharge, the balance due was £1,5700 for
payment by debit card, whereas by credit card the
cost was £1609.25,a surcharge of 2.5%. Needless
to say we paid by debit card.
Thomson holidays wanted to impose a charge for
using my credit card to pay my holiday balance.
This charge would have been 2.5% of the balance
outstanding. I therefore paid by debit card at no
additional cost to myself. With Thomson’s huge
volume of high value transactions I doubt whether
they are charged more than 1%.
John
● We had booked a holiday to Australia. Having
completed the booking and paid by credit card for
the said amount, we were then told by the travel
agent that we had to pay over £70 for the pleasure
of using our card. The travel agents did not tell us
before we booked but insisted that we paid nearly
the full amount for our holiday, which meant that
the only way we could pay was by credit card.
I booked a holiday in Florida for three people. The cost was in excess of £3,000. Thompson travel agents accepted the 10% deposit by credit card with no surcharge but when I went to pay the final payment I was told there would be a 2% or 3% charge for paying by credit card. I refused to pay the surcharge and instead drew out the money from my bank and paid in cash. deniS
WHICH? “RIP-OFF” CARD SURCHARGES.13
hoLidaYS
credit card, but at a cost of £44.90, which
equates to 2.5%. Paying by debit card would
cost nothing. In order to give me extra
protection, I have paid a low cost deposit of
£150.00, but with a charge of £3.75, on my credit
card, but will pay the balance when due on a
debit card.
grahaM
● I pay for my annual holidays at Thomas Cook
travel agents by credit card and get charged a
fee of 2% on top of the cost of my holiday. I use
my credit card so that I m also covered by
Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. If I had
paid by cheque or cash I would not have paid a
fee at all. As the firm would get charged by its
bank for paying in either cash or cheques I feel
that the travel agents should either not charge
or charge the difference between paying by
cash/cheques and paying by credit card.
John
● It has happened too many times for me to
remember, but I will now make a record. Many
holiday companies now charge on all cards unless
paying by debit card. SAGA for example clearly
state that for a cheque, debit card or Maestro there
is no additional charge. For the SAGA credit card:
“due to charges imposed on us, we have to add a
1% transaction fee to the balance”. For any other
credit card: “due to charges imposed on us, we
have to add 2.5% transaction fee to the balance”.
david
● We have travelled with the same travel operator
since 2004 (Carrier). Last year they introduced a 2
per cent credit card surcharge. I wasn’t happy as I
had booked prioe to the introduction of the fee -
received a reduction in the holiday price to
compensate. However, this year we will have to
pay it. I know that I could save the 2% by paying by
debit card but I like the extra protection provided
when paying by credit card. This year they will
charge us about £200 for the privilege of paying
by credit card.
Booking with Travelodge it was not until the
payment page that charges were made known. If I
use debit card to avoid the charge there’s then no
protection from the card company.
Premier Inn charged £2 for paying by credit card.
Only told me when booking in. Whenever you
book a holiday with travel agents they always
charge a percentage when paying by credit card.
Have just booked a holiday with Shearings and
they charge £2 per person when paying deposit
and will do same again when paying final bill.
hedley
● Holiday companies invariable charging for use of
credit cards, which deters users from taking
advantage of the protection offered by credit card
sales.
Martin
● It is holiday companies that are the main
culprits here. Especially when booking holidays
online or on the telephone as they charge an extra
2 to 3% for the privilege. I personally think I am
owed hundreds of pounds for booking these
I regularly book holidays with Noble Caledonia.
They charge for payments made by credit card, 1%
or 2% of cost of the holiday. So to keep this charge
to a minimum, while retaining the benefits of
paying by credit card, I pay the deposit with my
card and the balance by cheque. Irritating and
unnecessary I feel as the holidays are quite
expensive enough.
Annually we have a cruise holiday which we
generally purchase from Thomsons. As we pay by
credit card we have to pay a surcharge. On the
final bill we end up paying the maximum charge:
last time it was £65. The only good thing is it does
give you some insurance in case you holiday
company fails but that is really not going to
happen with P&O Cruises. It is a little off putting
but as we want the holiday we reluctantly pay it.
harry
● I have just booked a holiday with First Choice on
the internet, total cost £1795.95, for a half board
hotel in Corfu in June, for 2 people. I was offered
the privilege of paying the whole amount on my
Just booked a holiday with lowcostholidays at approx £1,000. I paid by debit card and was charged approx £15. Why am I charged a percentage of my spend when the company is charged a fixed fee per transaction by the bank?gary
WHICH? “RIP-OFF” CARD SURCHARGES.14
hoLidaYS
my local branch of Thomsons, because they offered
the best local rate of exchange at the time. I paid
using a debit card, assuming that it was the
equivalent of a cash transaction and that I would not
be charged for using, for example, a credit card.
When the bank statement came through the
following month, I noticed an extra charge of £4.50
had been levied by the bank. When I queried this,
RBS said that they always charged this if foreign
currency was purchased from the Post Office, or
from Thomsons. They said that I could have obtained
the money charge free from themselves. When I
pointed out that they were offering an inferior rate of
exchange and that I felt that what they were doing
was at least sharp practice and possibly illegal, in
that they were being discriminatory in how I spent
my money, they said that they had no plans to
change their practices, despite some complaints
which they had received.
riChard
● Really annoying when you’ve agreed a price
and then they add a credit card surcharge. This
applies to holiday companies as well as airlines.
Highest charge was £11 per booking with Ryanair,
as compared with £4.50 each transaction with
Cantabria holidays. If you booked ski hire separate
from main holiday, it was charged per transaction.
Also really annoying to be charged by Flybe,
EasyJet and Ryanair for using a debit card, quite
unjustified.
CharleS
holidays online or by phone over the years. It’s
another instance of being ripped of by companies
that are not properly regulated for these abuses.
John
● On our recent holiday with Kuoni, I paid the deposit
by debit card and the balance by credit card and
was charged the sum of £95 for the privilege. What
a rip off.
● Unfair card surcharges are not just found with
airlines. I was going to book a holiday with
alpharooms and only at the end did they tell me
they’d charge £33.16 for paying with a Mastercard
and £21.79 for Visa - the sooner this is stopped the
better.
● I booked a holiday to Israel in April 2010 and
paid a deposit of £250. This incurred a £7.50 (3%)
charge for using a credit card. I wouldn’t normally it
was just convenient, as I booked it over the phone.
I was supposed to pay the balance of about £4,000
on 15 August (even though the flight didn’t leave
until October). I phoned to find out who to make
the cheque payable to and where to send it. They
told me that it had been paid. In fact, they had
taken the payment from my credit card (which I’d
used to pay the £250 deposit) and added a 3%
charge for using the card (about £120). I sent them
a cheque and asked them to refund the card
charge (which they did). The booking form did say
that the payment was due on 15 August and that
there was 3% for using a credit card. It did not say
that payment would be taken without asking.
In December I purchased £500 worth of Euros from
Recently booked a 2011 holiday through Preferred Travel Services. They state on their booking form that they will add £8.00 per person for credit card payments. I query (a) the excessive charge of £8 and (b) why this is per person and not per booking.frank
WHICH? “RIP-OFF” CARD SURCHARGES.15
hoLidaYS
eVeNTS
A which? super complaint 2011
STOP ‘RIP-OFF’ CH
AR
GES
● Cinema tickets from Odeon. Charge only came
up at the end. Thomas cook wanted a handling
charge for booking with a Credit card (not debit),
holiday was over £7,000 so the deposit was almost
£800 - still wanted to charge 2%.
grahaM
● I bought tickets for the cinema online
for a film at the odeon union st bristol. they cost
£50.00 and I was asked to pay £4.50 “handling
charge”. I thought that was an excessive markup
ann
● We were about to purchase 2 tickets on line for
the local independent Little Theatre Cinema in Bath
and for 2 pensioners’ tickets @ £3.90 each total cost
£11.80 a booking fee of £1.60 was added to the basic
cost so we declined to proceed. This fee is over 13%
and in our opinion unreasonable. This is excessive
even allowing for the credit card company fees of 2%
or so to commercial outlets. The fee is included at
the point of sale but it would be possible to proceed
and inadvertently pay it as there is no big flag saying
there is a fee. So we think more could be done to
highlight the payment, and better still to reduce it.
● When purchasing tickets online for the local Vue
Cinema there is a 70p per ticket card handling fee.
The surcharge is always 70p, no matter what type of
ticket one buys. For a family of four ticket for regular
seats (£21.60) the fee is just under 3.25% of the
ticket price but for a bean bag (£5.40) the fee is just
under 13% of the ticket price.
graeMe
eVeNTS
● It’s mostly London theatre and Odeon cinema
tickets which tend to charge a few pounds per
booking. I buy very little on line but sometimes there
is a charge for credit cards but not debit cards -this
means you are not entitled to any protection if
anything goes wrong-I lost £75 when a wedding
present company went bust.
MauriCe
● Booking a cinema seat, a 70p convenience charge,
parking a car in Westminster where telephone is
only option, a 10-20p convenience, charge and
Ryanair a £5 card fee for processing
laurie
● Handling charge on cinema tickets from Vue and
Odeon booked on-line, which add £1.50 to a pair of
£7 tickets! Then on arriving at the cinema to find
that the automatic ticket dispensing machine isn’t
working and having to queue anyway to collect
tickets. Needless to say, no refund of the booking
fee offered. I was also surcharged for paying utility
bills and subscriptions in cash rather than by direct
debit (EDF Energy and the CSMA)
roBert
● I think it’s a racket, particularly when the charge is
added per ticket in one credit card traansaction (cf
Odeon cinama tickets) The amount of the charge
should be shown clearly before you request tickets,
otherwise you are are psychologically forced to
complete the purchase (cf Odeon cinema) Free
tickets, but a £1.40 CC charge for each
Booking six tickets with Vue Cinema, Newcastle-Under-Lyme. Each ticket cost £5.50p when I saw that there was a card handling fee of £4.20p (70p per ticket) I terminated the transaction. In their favour what I believe are excessive and unfair charges were clearly stated prior to making the purchase.
WHICH? “RIP-OFF” CARD SURCHARGES.17
My dentist charges 2.5% for credit cards, nothing for
debit. The Grand Hotel Brighton 2.5% for credit cards
NCP Car parks 2.5% for credit cards
And as for Ryanair...
paul
● Buying from the website Getmein - over £15
handling on a £89 ticket, Order Total, subtotal:
£ 88.19, Processing fees (inc 20.0% Vat): £ 15.96
wendy
● Cineworld charge 70p per person on any cinema
booking made on line. It makes me cross every time I
do it!! So do Eastbourne Theatres, in fact, I believe
many of the Theatre booking lines do.
andrea
● Why do you pay and additional charge of £1.50
per seat when booking a cinema ticket Ticket £8.50
cost using Debit card £10.00 each. Not a credit card
just a Debit card so transaction is instant funds,
booking assured and days before viewing.
JiM
● Buying cinema tickets from the Odeon online.
They charge 75p for each ticket even though it’s only
one CC transaction. Although they advise of the
charge, it’s not at the start of the transaction, and
there is no alternative cheaper way of paying.
Brian
● I recently bought tickets from the Leicester
Square Theatre, and the ‘booking fee’ for both credit
and debit cards was £7.50 for £12 tickets - what a joke!
Miranda
Odeon Cinemas impose a card fee of £2.25 per
transaction to pick up cinema tickets ordered on line.
As a percentage of the cost of even 2 tickets, this is
extremely high.
● Every time I book to see my football club play
football (Queens Park Rangers) I am charged a
booking fee of £3.50, This in spite of the fact that I
pay £30 a year to be a club member to get a £2
discount for every match I see.
On top of this I do not get issued with a ticket, my
entrance is electronically made possible by using the
membership card that I get with my membership
pack (alternatively I could print off a ticket at my own
expense if I do not want to use my membership
card).
paul
● Cineworld charges 70p per ticket [up to a maximum
of £4.20 per transaction]. Why do they charge 70p for
EACH ticket when there is only one transaction?
● Most recently at the Odean cinema I think they
wanted £1.50 per ticket. We refused and bought
them at the cinema that same evening instead.
freny
● Just today I was charged £3 for buying tickets online
from Odean Cinemas. I have also been charged for
the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton.
ChriS
● My grievance is with theatre tickets when on top
of a credit card charge, there is a booking fee,
normally per ticket and then postage on top!!!
● I was interested in the Neil Diamond concerts at
the O2. I found that the cost of tickets was quite
high at £65 and £75. However this was shown in
light writing. In bold the total cost was shown with
£8.25 and £9.25 added as “fees”. However badly I
wanted to go to the show I was not prepared to pay
this unjustified premium.
● When buying tickets from Tottenham Hotspurs, I
hold 5 season tickets, and therefore have all my
details registered with the club, but when buying
extra tickets for Cup Matches, I still have to pay a
handling fee, and card charge for every ticket, even
though they are all requested using one format/
action. Costs are normally £6.00 per ticket, or £30.00
in total. All for one transaction, that does not involve
any human action.
It’s a disgrace.
John
The Theater Royal Bath charges an extra £3 for booking seats by phone. We were told this after we had chosen our seats and were about to give card details. The worst offenders otherwise are travel agents who add a percentage which can amount to a substantial sum. ian
WHICH? “RIP-OFF” CARD SURCHARGES.18
eVeNTS
● The worst fee I have seen is the £26 surcharge
from UEFA for the Champions League final - it’s
a joke!
● Buying tickets for gigs and for football matches
both incur charges. For football matches at
Southampton FC whether ordered on-line or over
the phone the charge is £3, against a ticket of face
value £20. There is a statement warning of this
charge but it is rather cursory. As I have wanted to
attend events it hasn’t put me off but it is very
irritating. I have contacted Southampton FC but
have not had a satisfactory reply as to why the
charge is being levied. The charge is against debit
and credit cards although some organisations only
charge against a credit card.
Mike
● If you try and book tickets for any event that is at
the NEC or NIA + other venues, if you order on line
there is a booking and transaction fee. You are
informed of the fees at the time of commencing the
booking process but not how much. It is only when
you have placed the order for tickets at a specific
price do you find out how much will be added to
the total
derek
● The Palladium in London wanted to charge
£6.00 per ticket admin charge when purchasing
tickets for the Wizard of OZ. It was cheaper for me
to take the train to London and buy the tickets
directly saving myslef £30 on seven tickets.
● Every time you book tickets for theatres etc with
websites such as Ticketweb, there is a hefty
“service charge” well above face value - if you
query this, you will be told that this is largely
because of servicing the credit card payment.
Bernard
● Using ents24.com I went on line to book ticket for
Crosby and Nash at the Bridgewater Hall; the tickets
were priced at £55 and on one of the early screens
it said there would be a transaction fee of £2.75,
which did not seem too bad, however when I had
chosen the seats and got to the payment stage
there was another booking fee of £6.60 per ticket!!
grahaM
● I was purchasing theatre tickets for the Kings
Theatre in Glasgow. I tried to buy them by phone
and online but was going to have to pay almost £10
extra to pay by card. I refused to do so, on
principle, and had to travel into Glasgow to
purchase the tickets at the theatre.
● When buying ‘gig’ tickets for my daughter
through ‘ticket master’ we are always charged a fee
on top of the ticket price. if we opt to pay for
theatre, cinema or other events by credit as
opposed to debit card, there is always an extra
charge. paying for various services by credit card
nearly always adds to the bill
Just bought a ticket to the Watercolour exhibition at Tate Britain for £10.90 with a debit card from their own website, only to find I paid an unexpected extra £1.50 “transaction charge”. That’s an extra 14%. Surely it’s cheaper for them if I buy online, saving their labour costs at the box office. adrian
WHICH? “RIP-OFF” CARD SURCHARGES.19
eVeNTS
oTher TraNSporT
A which? super complaint 2011
STOP ‘RIP-OFF’ CH
AR
GES
● Buying rail travel tickets online. This is a new
development as I seem to remember many
inducements to go online. I now terminate the
connection if a card charge appears & phone a travel
agent & get ticket sent to my email address without
extra charges.
paula
● Rail tickets from TheTrainLine costing £42. I think
the charge was £1.50 and I was not informed until
right at the end. So had to go back to the beginning
of paying by debit card. There was no warning at the
beginning of paying for the fares.
kenneth
● Purchase of two 1st class tickets. Total cost £269.
Cost of using master card payment £3.50. No charge
levied if debit card used.
JereMy
● I was charged £190 by Great Rail Journeys for a
£9.5k holiday (for four). That was 2% which might be
normal but is substantial. I’d paid £22 on the deposit
but was shocked that there was going to be nearly
another £170 charge when it came to paying the
remainder.
trevor
● I used to buy rail tickets via TheTrainLine website
until they started charging for credit card transactions.
None of the train operators charge so I use the East
Coast website now. The Virgin website has lost my
business for good. I no longer pay off holiday
balances with credit card now as tour operators tend
to charge 2%, which on a £1,000 - £,4000 payment is
oTher TraNSporT
I often buy from KLM and Eurostar, and find it annoying to be charged for paying with a credit card. Of course, customers are given the choice of paying with a debit card and not be charged, but as a consumer I know I am better protected by my credit card in case something goes wrong, so there really is no choice, and I’m afraid the company knows it.gaBriela
a hefty fee (£20-80), which must be way in excess of
the cost to the operator. I refuse to pay credit card
fees so I either use debit card or seek another
company that does not charge a fee.
lyn
● Great Rail Journeys charge an automatic 2% when
you pay by credit card. This can add a large amount
to the holiday cost. This now seems to be common
practice among travel companies especially.
penny
● The trainline want £3.50 for Mastercard usage on
£8.80 of tickets.
gray
● On TheTrainLine you only find out about it very late
in the process. Aware of it I use the operating
companies, e.g. Arriva, Pennine. I can afford not to
use the credit card so avoid them where possible if
I am to be charged.
tiMothy
● Trainline charges £3.50 for using a credit card.
Virgin cruises were going to charge 2.5% for cc use.
Mike
● I use TheTrainLine a lot and it can charge you
£3.50 for using a card plus a booking fee. It does make
you aware when you book BUT when you collect your
tickets at the station and get a receipt it doesn’t include
the fee. Net result my expenses didn’t include the fees
for years. Until 2011 in fact. You book a ticket X weeks
ago, you are not going to remember what its costs.
gary
WHICH? “RIP-OFF” CARD SURCHARGES.21
reached the paying screen. Realising that I had
insufficient money in my current account and did
not want to loose the booking I decided to pay by
credit card. I knew this would cost more but did not
realize that it was a percentage of the total until it
was too late. This cost me around £17.50. I was
extremely angry with myself and had I known this I
would have exited their web site and gone to my
bank account and transferred some money
electronically, butr of course I would have had to
start all the booking procedure again. It is a pity that
you cannot save your booking details while you sort
out any problems. I realize that the fault was mine
but I don’t usually get caught out like that and I felt
duped. I will not book with DFDS again.
Margaret
● It always seems to be payments that involve
travel, train, coach and holiday companies. It’s
usually 2%, so I pay with a debit card which for
some reason does not attract an extra charge.
P&O charge £4.00 for an online channel crossing
with a credit card.
MiChael
● Just booked a car for the weekend with EasyCar.
Not bad at £38. But the unavoidable £3.99 or £4.99
card charge adds more than 10% to the cost.
When I hired a van from Brisco Swansea and went
to pay with a credit card I was told there was a
charge of £2. I used my debit card which didn’t have
a charge.
grahaM
when booking on their web site. If travelling one-way
this could be more than 7% of the fare. The web site
clearly states the charge. Generally, if any company
makes a charge for the use of a credit card I will use a
debit card or cash.
anthony
● Booking channel ferry crossing, very economic
fare of £48 but then charged £4.50 for using credit
card. There was even a charge for using a debit
card!
gordon
● P&O ferry charges Hull/Zeebrugge where they give
a percentage charge if using a credit card and a £1
surcharge if using direct debit.
Used direct debit as ‘least cost’ thereby waving any
benefits from using credit card. Brittany Ferries
charge £5 when you use a card (6.5% on a single foot
passenger fare). I would suggest that a very large
number of bookings are done on line, and you have
no option, therefore, but to used your credit card.
nigel
● Brittany Ferries wanted £5 to pay by credit card;
last year it was £3, an extra 66% increase in 12mths
I paid by Debit Card.
John
● I was booking a return sea trip, with cabins, from
Newcastle to Amsterdam plus two nights
accommodation in a hotel, from DFDS Seaways. I
had spent more than an hour choosing dates,
comparing cabin prices and then choosing hotels
from a number of choices. Having decided all this I
● We cannot now travel without paying to pay.
Legislation has ensured that travel costs now include
all taxes; they should also include any payment
transaction costs. As far as I am aware this only
applies to the UK.
alBinSon
● This January I bought 7 multi-trip crossings from
Norfolk Lines Ferries as I have done for the past
three years. These bookings have to be purchased
over the phone. This last purchase there was an
extra charge of £1 for using my debit card. Is there
any other way of paying over the phone?
williaM
● Always try to avoid charges by using a debit card.
Brittany Ferries charge £5 per booking, even if the
fare (on one of their special offers) is as little as £45.
No charge for debit card. But Norfolkline Ferries
charge £1 per booking, even for a debit card. This
charge is clearly stated at the end of the booking
process but is unavoidable.
Booked a ferry and campsite vouchers total bill £1,100
PLUS 2% credit card fee i.e. £22. Will not be doing
that again.
Steve
● I bought a return ferry crossing from Britain to
France with Brittany Ferries and was charged £5 for
paying by credit card which I was not told about in
advance.
Martyn
● Travelling from Holyhead to Dublin via Irish ferries
incurs a £5 charge for the use of credit or debit cards
WHICH? “RIP-OFF” CARD SURCHARGES.22
oTher TraNSporT
MoToriNg
A which? super complaint 2011
STOP ‘RIP-OFF’ CH
AR
GES
● Advised from the start of the transaction that
there is a £2:50 charge for Credit card by DVLA for
buying road tax. Needless to say I did not use my
credit card.
dJ
● I have to pay £2.50 extra to pay my £125 vehicle
license fee (car tax) with a credit card, but paying my
£145.50 television license doesn’t cost any different
no matter how I pay it. How does this make sense?
One of the worst offenders I have come across is
the DVLA who make this extra charge easy to miss
on their website.
hal
● Purchasing a motorcycle in 2009 I had to pay by debit
card to avoid a surcharge of 2% on £4,000 total price.
Barry
● The most common charge is made by DVLA. We
are encouraged to purchase car tax discs on line
and get charged £2.50 for the privilege.
keith
● I was taxing the car online - a Government
department! The additional charge for using a credit
card was not mentioned till the end.
angela
● The DVLA impose a Credit Card surcharge on
Vehicle Tax renewal. Although they state at the
beginning that it will cost 1.5% extra using a Credit
Card, the fact is that using a Debit Card (cash) does
not incur a charge. All cards should be treated
MoToriNg
Renewing one’s car tax disc online is an excellent facility. However, the government make an extra charge if a credit card is used [£2.50]. If the government can make a charge is it any wonder the rest of service providers are getting in on the actCharleS
equally! Imposing a charge on a credit card in this
way may mean some people will not be able to
drive at all until they raise the cash, or will be
penalised to by Vehicle Tax on a Credit Card which
they then have to pay interest on also. So the
surcharge is indirectly, but effectively, putting people
more into more debt using this payment method.
dean
● Perhaps the worst is actually the annual car tax
disc via the government site. This is very convenient,
but why do we have to pay a fee to use a credit
card? After all we are helping to reduce government
costs by not sending by mail to the office or to a
local car tax office.
When I bought my last car, from a reputable dealer, I
paid the deposit by credit card but it was not
volunteered to me that I would not be able to pay
the balance by crdit card even though I have a large
enough limit, impeccable credit history and clear my
credit card balance monthly. Paying by credit card
was required by me for convenience. When I wished
to pay by credit card I was told that this was not
allowed as “the charges by the bank are much too
high and are set against the business amount not
per transaction”. I was not allowed to pay by cheque
and a bankers draft would not be issued on the spot
by my bank. Apparently the bank issued bankers
drafts centrally and sent by post, meaning yet more
delay. I finally had to pay by direct bank transfer into
the car business account and pick up the car the
following day. I do not blame the car business but I
do question why businesses are charge a
percentage of the cost of the item rather than a fixed
or stepped fee by the credit card supplier.
WHICH? “RIP-OFF” CARD SURCHARGES.24
Aberdeen airport short stay car park, payment by
credit card is subject to an additional 50p processing
fee on displayed tariffs up to & including 1 hour &
£1.50 processing fee on all displayed tariffs
thereafter. So for a simple pick-up from airport by a
family member - unless it can be planned to the
minute, cost me £4.40 (this made up from £3.90
+50p extra to pay by credit card). This is assuming
my lift was at the airport over 30 minutes but less
than 1 hour before flight arrived, which is not
unreasonable given the time to disembark & for
luggage to be offloaded & available to collect before
returning to the car park. As a business traveller, my
employer requires me to pay (as much as possible)
by corporate credit card - as such I consider this a
major rip-off as those picking someone up from the
airport have little choice.
george
● Purchased a car from Skoda, paid by credit card
and they added on a charge for doing this.
Cynthia
● DVLA charges £2.50 to renew your tax disc
online by credit card. Government agencies are
equally culpable.
DVLA Vehicle licensing online is the only provider in
my experience where a charge of £2.50 is made if a
credit card is used to pay for a licence. I always use a
debit card.
Even the DVLA charge for using a credit card.
Amazon would be out of business if they did!
Martin
● Why stop at companies? I have to pay an
additional charge to the DVLA if I use my VISA card
to renew my road fund licence. It is not safe to use
debit cards online, as you don’t get the same
protection against fraud, so there is no real option
but to pay an additional charge - or queue at the
post office.
dainiS
● I renewed my car tax yesterday using the
internet… £155. The fee for credit card payment
was £2.50, for debit card zero. This is a small
amount in comparison with some airlines but
nevertheless annoying!.
MarJorie
● We need to start with Government agencies! The
DVLA place a surcharge if you us a credit card to
pay for vehicle licence renewal; although they do
not charge for debit card.
david
● We have an ‘energy efficient’ hybrid car [Honda
Insight]. The Road Tax for such vehicles is £10 per
annum. Renewal of our Road Tax last week via the
DVLA website was £10 PLUS £2.50 charge for
using a credit card. The road tax office are
charging 25% for customers using a credit card!
JiM
● When seeking to renew my Car tax earlier this
week, I was told that using a credit card would cost
an additional £2.50 but there would be no charge
for using a debit card. I cannot see that a tax disc
costing £180 justifies a charge of £2.50?
I saw on the website for Road Fund Licence that there was a surcharge for credit cards so used my Visa debit card, it refused to recognise the card as a debit card and still charged me the surcharge. If there is a surcharge then I look at whether I have the cash to hand to use a debit card or whether the cost will outweigh the credit card surcharge.ian
WHICH? “RIP-OFF” CARD SURCHARGES.25
MoToriNg
● I settled a finance deal early from Toyota finance
on a car purchase, the debt was settled using a
debit card and I was charged an additional fee. I
was told that a charge was levied on all card
transactions, debit or credit. I complained to Toyota
and the finance ombudsman, but had had no
redress. I just didn’t understand why the debit card,
as good as cash, carried a fee, but a cheque didn’t. I
was unable to wait for cheque clearing process,
during subsequent car purchase.
alan
● I went to buy a 1300cc Suzuki motorcycle for
£9,000. With trade-in for other bike it left me with
£7000 to pay. I wanted to pay with my credit card
and the company wanted to charge me 2.5% for
doing so. I politley told them to get lost. They told
me that the bank charges them for the transaction.
Barry
● NCP parking now adds 2.5% to fees if a credit
card is used. This is a deterrent to use of their
service, and adds risk by requiring customers to
carry cash.
● In October 2010 I decided to replace the exhaust.
When I emailed for a quote, I was told “this will
cost £344.99. This is fully inclusive of fuel discount
(£25), VAT & fitting”. There was no mention of a
credit card surcharge. I drove the 135 miles to have
the exhaust fitted. After the work was done, I read
the notice on the wall about what payment
methods they accepted - no mention of a
surcharge. I was then told that they had added
2.5% surcharge for paying by a credit card. I
protested that I had not been warned of this and it
was unfair. They said it was in their quote - it
wasn’t. I pointed out there was nothing on their
payment method sign. The employee said it was
on a sign on the front of the counter. He then came
round and lifted up an A4 piece of paper
advertising a deal on an MOT that was taped along
the top edge and there it was - hidden underneath.
I laughed and told him he must be joking as that
did not constitute a legal notice. He pleaded that
he had to pass the cost on to the customer. If I had
not driven so far I would have told them to remove
the new exhaust and put my old one back on!
Ieventually paid 50% of the charge and told them I
was most disappointed in their practice.
david
● Recently tried to buy a used car and was told that
to use a credit card which gives me more protection
than a debit card, would cost me 2% of the
purchase price.
● Wanting to pay the Congestion Charge in
advance at my local corner shop ‘Pay Point’ a
couple of years ago, I proffered my credit card
and was told that I would be surcharged two and
a half percent extra for using it. Naturally I paid
cash!
Brian
● I was picking up some family members from
Luton. I researched the charges before I left home
and decided on the short term car park which was
£3 for 15 mins. Because there was no room near
the entrance, I had to run to and from the terminal
to collect my brother in law and his wife, and then
hurry back to the car park (it is almost impossible to
get there and back in the 15 mins parking time). I
got to the exit after 14 mins but I could see
nowhere to deposit money, only a slot for a credit
card. I therefore had to use the card and then
found that I had been charged £4.50 - £3 for
parking plus a £1.50 credit card fee - an extra 50%!
I had tried to book in advance but the website
would not let me do so for such a short period.
John
● Manchester airport car park: why do they need
to charge £1.50 credit card charge on £39.99? 2%
would be 80p.
East Midlands airport charges £1.50 for the use of
credit cards for parking whatever the fee but not
for debit cards. This could double the charge.
adrian
Last July I part exchanged my car for a 3-year-old Toyota. The balance to pay after part exchange was £5,000. I decided to pay by credit card and was charged £75 extra for using it and told that this is what the bank would charge.terry
WHICH? “RIP-OFF” CARD SURCHARGES.26
MoToriNg
by which we can pay, why does there need to be a
handling charge? Is there a discount or facility for
paying by cash or cheque which would
circumnavigate the need for a handling charge?
Even the DVLA charge when you want to pay your
car tax on line.
I also object to variable charge rates or refusal to
accept certain cards such as American Express.
Where ever possible I go out of my way not to give
business to those who refuse to take my American
Express card.
peter
● The government do it when you pay your car road
tax by E-mail. In fact they actively encourage it.
I don’t like using my debit card over the Internet so
when I renewed my road tax I had to pay over £2
more.
norMan
● Clover Leaf Honda in Reading charge 1% extra to
buy a car, spares or servicing on a credit card rather
than a debit card. Yes it does put me off buying
from this firm.
Mark
● I recently bought a new car. I said that I
would be paying by debit card but would have to
delay collection for another week until I had
another £7k in my current account to cover the
cost. The salesman said not to worry as I could
pay this additional amount by credit card. It was
not until I went to collect the car that I was told
there would be a £70 charge for using a credit
card. This amount was reduced to £50 after I
complained but I did not expect any additional
charges after paying £17k in part exchange.
John
● We recently traded in our car to buy a newer
one. Part of the balance was paid by credit card.
We were told the day before we had to pay that
there would be a 1% transaction fee: i.e. £30 added
to our £3,000 bill!
A Honda garage in Reading charge 1% extra to buy
a car, spares or servicing on a credit card rather
than a debit card. Yes it does put me off buying
from this firm.
Mark
● For me it was the shock of booking the car park
at Manchester Airport. After getting to the final
page I am told that the fee of £27.99 would once
I’d put my card number in make Total Price:
£29.49 “Including a £1.50 handling charge”. I was
staggered (maybe a little naively). Following an
email drawing their attention to inadequate notice
or information in FAQs I received the reply: ‘Please
be advised the handling charges applies to all
bookings whether paid by debit or credit card’. My
response was that as these are the only methods
I wanted to buy a car with my credit card and I would have the cash ready to pay it off when due. But the dealers said that I could only pay £500 off with the credit card and the rest had to be cash or debit card. Is there any point of trying to make large purchases with a credit card? Steven
WHICH? “RIP-OFF” CARD SURCHARGES.27
MoToriNg
fiNaNce
A which? super complaint 2011
STOP ‘RIP-OFF’ CH
AR
GES
● I was charged £3 extra by Saga for paying by
cheque for car insurance
ken
● I only use my credit card if there are no charges
imposed, but I recently came up against a strange
demand for payment by either credit or debit cards.
When re insuring my historic vehicles which I own
the firm I had changed to said, payment by credit or
debit cards would involve a 2% charge, so I said,
can I pay by cheque in the post? Yes they said no
charges to pay by CHEQUE, Hurrah! for cheques
once more.
● Recently renewed Home Emergency response
insurance with Automobile Association Insurance
services. Charged a fee for payment by credit card.
The “methods of payment” clearly state a fee of up
to 2% of your payment is charged if a credit card is
used. alan
● My house and contents insurance provider,
50plus Insurance Services, charges £5 for the using
a credit card in addition to their £5 administration
fee. There is no such charge for using a debit card.
Their renewal information however does clearly
state the options. I would never pay a surcharge for
using a credit card.
david
● I recently had quote for a car insurance quotation.
The quote was for £693.00. The car insurance
company is Admiral. When I was requested
payment, I wanted to pay by Visa credit card, and
was told it would cost me £5.99 I had to ask the call
fiNaNce
handler to ring back, while I transferred money
between accounts so I could use a debit card, which
has a free cost.
lee
● I was asked to pay a charge for using a credit
card by an insurance company, but not if I used
a debit card. So I paid by debit card.
● I phoned to buy travel insurance from ETA and
was told the price was £50 for my age group (68).
Fine. Then she said I must pay by direct debit or a
credit card would have a £10 fee! I asked why, and
she said that was what it cost the company. and I
remarked that it did not - but she said the card
supplier plus their admin was £10. The direct debit
would be renewed each year. This survey is timely
because I was going to report this to you anyway.
Janet
● I was going to pay for my car insurance over the
telephone from Swinton recently. I had a choice of
debit or credit card. However, the credit card would
have attracted a huge 2.5% surcharge, so I opted
for the debit card method, which for this supplier
had no surcharge. I also booked a room at
Travelodge by internet. Use of a credit card would
have attracted a 2% fee, but fortunately I was able
to use a debit card free from surcharge. alan
● In the past Saga would charge for credit cards but
not for their own credit card. Then they started
charging for their own card as well. Now they even
charge if you pay by cheque.
House and contents Insurance from Saga - told at end of quote wanted 9.7% (22.9% APR) to pay monthly by Direct Debit this was on top of them hiking their prices 24.8% . Result was we moved to AXA at a better price and no charge for monthly DD. DD’s cost the company virtually nothing to process in the 21st century.Martyn
WHICH? “RIP-OFF” SURCHARGES.29
● Withdrawing cash from Nationwide Bank within
Europe! For Hungary it charges you £1.00 GBP
AND 2% of your withdrawal amount!!! As a student
I withdraw money to pay rent and it costs me 2%
more rent now!!! My withdrawal limit is about
£210.00 GBP so it costs me £5.20/month extra!
That’s £65.00/year JUST for rent! It puts me off, but
I have no other choice! As ALL UK banks charge for
withdrawing money abroad!
Last May I bought foreign currency from the Post
Office using my LloydsTSB DEBIT card. The Post
Office did not make a charge but LloydsTSB
charged me £4.50. After complaining LloydsTSB
pointed out their small print showing there would
be a charge.
peter
● On 30 April 2010 I used an online currency dealer
(ICE) - NOT MY BANK - to buy Euros and travellers’
cheques amounting to £2532.66 including the
dealer’s charges. I used my Debit card issued by my
bank Alliance & Leicester (now Santander) and they
charged me £50.66 simply to pay the dealer. The
bank was not providing anything other than to pay the
money just the same as paying any other retailer with
a debit card. Indeed, I have paid for a new car
(around £26,000) using a debit card without incurring
a charge. This appears to be a cartel type of
arrangement between financial organisations. Note
that putting a statement in the bank’s terms and
conditions stating that such a charge would be made
does not make it a reasonable charge, but is the
evidence needed that such an unjustified charge
exists.
terenCe
● I’ve just reinsured my Volvo & on line I have to
pay a £2.50 surcharge for using a credit card.
Why?
niCk
● Recently took out a new car insurance policy with
Marks and Spencer with two payment options - pay
monthly with the usual added interest, or pay the
whole premium by card. Opted for the latter and
discovered at the very last minute that there is a £5
charge for paying by card. So in fact the premium
you have agreed to pay for the policy is not the
actual cost at all!
● When paying for my car insurance with
Swinton they wanted 2.5% extra if I paid with a
credit card, but not if I paid with a debit card
John
● Most recent - searching for car insurance. Paying
in full, on card, to avoid increased premium
charges for paying monthly. Then noticed that I’d
have to pay a fee for paying on a card. Chose
another company!
franCeS
● The most recent charge I had to pay was
withdrawing £40.00 {or any amount} from a Lloyd’s
cash machine using a Lloyd’s credit card; although
I had already discussed this withdrawal with them
they did not warn me about this charge. No
wonder they have just made a profit AND get
about 1800 complaints a day.
eriC
● I was buying Euros from the post office and
paying by debit card. The cost of the Euros (in
£s) was given to me and I inserted the debit card.
The payment slip confirmed the exchange rate
and the amount I had been told. When looking
at my on line bank statement some days later. I
noticed a charge of £3.50, directly after the euro
cost, marked ‘cash cost (or charge)’. I went back
to the post office, told the story and said ‘I never
authorised that charge on my debit card’! The
lady said ‘this is a standard charge when cards
are used’! To which I replied ‘firstly you never
told me, and secondly, if I had know there would
be a charge I would have used you as a bank to
withdraw money and then paid for the Euros with
that’! The lady made no comment.
Brian
● Buying Euros from Travelex at Gatwick £679.36
was charged to my Barclaycard, the handling
charge was £16.36 – this is the most I have paid in
charges.
John
● For years I have used my “Maestro” card to buy
foreign currency and had no surcharge. Nat West
have now replaced my debit card with a “Visa”
one. They make a charge for buying foreign
currency but not other items. So if I buy a shirt from
Swinton insurance wanted to charge £36.00 to pay by credit card on a £550.00 car insurance.roBert
WHICH? “RIP-OFF” CARD SURCHARGES.30
fiNaNce
M&S I pay the price on the label but if I buy Euros I
get an extra charge!! There is no charge if I buy the
currency from Nat West but the exchange rate is
poorer!! Hmmm
roBert
● I object to paying an extra charge to the bank to
buy foreign currency with a debit card when If I go
and get the cash and use that to pay there is no
extra charge. How does that work?
franCeS
● NatWest changed debit cards from Maestro to
Visa-Debit about 15 months ago. Last summer
when I bought Euros for a foreign trip, I found (too
late) that I had to pay extra because Visa chooses
to treat this as a “cash advance” (or something like
that) just as though it were a credit card purchase. I
am still looking for a way to order foreign currency
online without paying this Visa commission.
Paying for foreign currency cash in sterling with a
debit card should not carry a 2.5% levy. How is it
different from any other sterling transaction.
paul
● When I first took out cards, retailers were not
allowed to charge. If one was reported they could
be struck off. Now even to use a debit card there is
a charge at M&S travel money. But if I go to next till
and get Cashback I can use that. Travel agents
charged for holiday but I used card for protection.
● It is well known that, if you use your credit card
(CC) to draw cash abroad you are loaded with
charges. What never seems to get publicity is that,
if you order currency on the internet from (say) The
Post Office or Travelex, you are charged by your
CC as if your CC provider has supplied the cash.
All they are doing is settling a CC debt - the same
as if I had bought a TV online. On two occasions in
the last two years (Lloyds and Nationwide) I have
bought currency this way. I have been charged
interest at 27% from the date of the transaction
plus a “Cash Advance Handling Charge” even
though they have not advanced me cash. Their
argument is that it is the “equivalent of drawing
cash or a loan”. This is true of all CC transactions
until settled and they are looking at what you are
buying to justify the fee and not their transaction
with the customer. Each time I challenged this and,
after threatening to take it all the way to court, they
immediately refund the charges. The last
conversation I had with someone from head office
at Nationwide, was quite illuminating. When I
asked how he justified charging 27.9% for a cash
advance they had not made, he admitted he could
not justify the rate and admitted they had not
advanced me any cash. My last reply to Lloyds,
when they refunded me the charges, was that I
regretted the fact they had as this needs to be
tested in the courts. Lloyds actually suggested
settling the Travelex bill was the same as settling a
gambling debt !! The banks always give in quickly
on this because they know, legally, they have no
case. They then state that, if I try to do the same
again, they will charge me again. When I wrote to
Nationwide, they phoned me rather than reply in
writing because they don’t want any response or
admission of fault in writing. You can’t use a debit
card to settle a currency transaction online
because of the £200 limit so the good rates online
are effectively blocked by the cartel unless you pay
all the unjustified charges. My first experience was
actually buying currency to pick up at a future date
from the airport so it was not even drawing cash
from a third party immediately. In their attempt to
charge me for a service they had not provided,
Lloyds was charging me on guesswork of what the
transaction represented. This must be stopped as I
am sure it is illegal in law to charge for a cash
advance you have not made
ken
● I attempted to purchase some Euros at Thomas
Cook and presented my Lloyds Visa debit to make
payment. I was told that Lloyds would charge me for
this transaction using my debit card to pay for
currency from my own (Lloyds) current account.
You suggest that the true cost to the card issuer of
processesing a card transaction would be 2% of the
value of the goods. Surely the processing cost are
the same no matter what the value of the goods?
tony
● To get Travel Insurance with my credit card I
obviously have to use it to pay the Balance of a
holiday. The Charge is usually 2% which on 3
holidays per year, say £8,000 is £160.
peter
WHICH? “RIP-OFF” CARD SURCHARGES.31
fiNaNce
UTiLiTieS
A which? super complaint 2011
STOP ‘RIP-OFF’ CH
AR
GES
● I entered into an 18month contract with AOL for
Phone and broadband. After about 12 months
they unilaterally imposed a £1.99/month charge
(albeit after notice) for payment by credit card
which I had been doing by direct charge since I
took the contract out. I complained that I did not
think it reasonable to add this charge midway
through a contract they referred me to their terms
and conditions which do allow them to change
payment method but unclear whether a charge is
actually valid though.
howard
● I was charged an extra £4 for using a debit card
by energy supplier First Utility on a bill of £77. I
wasn’t told about the charge beforehand.
Brian
● Southern Electric and many others. Not told
about charge early on. I think it was 2.5%. Charges
have put me off making a purchase many times.
What do we do when there are no cheques
around!!!???
eSMond
● I think you should also go for BT who charge for
not paying by direct debit
fred
● BT charges me £18 per year because I won’t
sign up to pay by direct debit.
Carl
UTiLiTieS
I object strongly to being charged £4.50 extra by British Telecom because I wish to pay my quarterly accounts by cheque rather than setting up a direct debit. penelope
● BT encourage you to use an online service to
view you bill an become paperless but then charge
you £4.50 + vat to pay your bill
tony
● I rang around for quotes for central heating oil.
The lowest quote was from Cranfield Oil Company
so rang them back to place the order but when I
asked to pay by credit card they said there would
be a 1.5% surcharge! They were no longer the
lowest quote so I placed the order elsewhere. I’ve
bought oil from this company before with no
surcharge so was a bit surprised by their omitting
to tell me when they originally quoted of the
surcharge.
keith
● Suffolk Coastal charged an additional £4.26 on
£213 Council Tax when I paid on line by Mastercard
in error. Bearing in mind this payment is made in
advance I feel it’s excessive. I phoned straight away
but was told I couldn’t change to Switch payment.
John
● I was purchasing Central Heating Oil from Sivey
Ltd. At the checkout stage I was notified that there
would be a 3% charge for using my credit card on
a purchase of over £1000. I have also experienced
a similar problem when paying for holidays with
Newmarket Ltd. When faced with this charge I
tend to pay by debit card which I dislike doing as it
does not provide me with the same level of
security.
When my broadband was with Tiscali the slight
penalty for paying monthly by credit card was that
WHICH? “RIP-OFF” CARD SURCHARGES.33
● Dear Sir
This is not a specific example of the problem but I
hope my comments might help. I remember in the
early 1980’s that when the price of petrol started to
increase and more people started to pay using credit
cards the petrol stations started to charge extra to
use a credit card to pay for fuel. This caused an
uproar and I remember that a law was introduced to
stop petrol stations charging extra for the use of a
credit card. My observation is does this law still exist
and if so does it cover other transactions other than
the purchase of fuel?
Kind regards
John
● Heating oil for c/htg chandlers oil & gas charged
£5.00 for using credit card approx cost of oil was
£630.00 NO charge for a debit card which don’t
have.
Mr roBert
● I buy heating oil for a dozen or so houses locally and
we individually get charged 2% if we pay by credit
card but nothing by debit card.
I signed up for an AOL Phone/Broadband package
and they started charging £2 per month to pay by
credit card.
Stuart
● BT raises a charge of £4.50 if you pay by card, BT
IS TRYING TO FORCE customers to have direct
debit or use the bt credit card to pay bills.
keith
I paid a few days earlier than if I had paid by bank
debit card. Now Talk Talk has taken over Tiscali
they have introduced a monthly charge of £1.99
for using credit card. My monthly bill is about £30,
so I am paying about 6.6%. I shall probably switch
to a debit card for which they do not charge.
keith
● Southern Electric charge me an extra 1.5% of my
bill to pay by Master Card on line.
Have been with Tiscali for Broadband for 6 years,
paying by credit card monthly with no charge. Talk
Talk recently took them over and have introduced
a monthly charge of £1.99 for paying by debit or
credit card. No reason for the new charge has
been given.
Mike
● BT hold my card details & debit the required
amount for my quarterly phone bill, but charge me
about £5 for this, I even get charged VAT on it
apparently!
Jayn
● Talktalk have now introduced a £1.99 monthly
charge for paying your bill by Credit/Debit Card. I
don’t like Direct Debit, so what choice do I have?
neSta
● Another industry who rip people off for the
convenience of using a credit card to pay a bill are
the utility companies, the company I have just left,
Southern Elec/Gas, charge 1.5% to pay online by
card - 1.5% TAX to pay a bill Scandalous!
Barry
● TalkTalk have just started to charge a whopping
£1.99 a month for payments made by credit card.
This was the normal way to pay when a customer of
Tiscali.
Within the last few days I have received a bill from
Talk Talk which is imposing a £2 annual fee for using
a credit card to pay the monthly rental for broadband.
As a customer of Tiscali originally, I do not recall such
a charge ever being made. Consequently, it must be
an easy way of raising extra revenue.
grahaM
During the December freeze the unregulated heating oil companies cashed in on demand by increasing their prices for 1000 litres of heating oil from £450 (November) to over £700 in December (yes there are some of us in rural areas who don’t have gas mains or a choice). Some people were forced to choose between heating their homes and eating. When I phoned a heating oil company in January to order some oil as prices were slowly recovering, they slapped on a £9 credit card surcharge. This has never happened before. alan
WHICH? “RIP-OFF” CARD SURCHARGES.34
UTiLiTieS
● My partner and I received our Electricity Bill for the
balance of £701.35 from Southern Electric a few
days ago and I wanted to pay the whole amount
with my credit card and was informed there would
be an additional charge of £10.50. I asked why this
charge was applied and was informed “he wasn’t
sure but thought it was because it was considered a
cash transfer!!! I then asked who was applying the
charge i.e. Southern Electric or Mastercard, he said
he didn’t know. My parter and I decided to pay with
our debit card instead. We were only told about the
charge after completing all the details with their
customer services person and had to start over
again with all our details, etc. I use my creadit card
to pay for everything (loyalty points being the
reason for this practice) and pay the entire balance
avoiding any charges. However, I begrudge using
my credit card if it means I have to pay a surcharge
for anything other than bookings holidays or hotels
rooms. The most recent are as follows:-
1. Laterooms.com £2.50 transaction fee was
charged against my credit card and the website did
inform me that this charge would apply.
2. Page & Moy holidays, a £4.10 has been applied
against our depost of £209.10. Their telesales
person informed me that this charge applied only
when it came to actually paying the deposit over
the phone, however, on receipt of the invoice it
does state in “small print” a 2.1/2% handling fee will
be included on any balance payments made by an
American Express credit card and a 2% handling
fee will be included on any balance payments made
by any other credit card. The norm for me is to pay
with my debit card if it means I would incurr an
additional charge for using my credit card.
However, with holiday bookings I only pay the
deposit with my credit card, because I am able to
make any claim through my credit card company
(being a third party) should anything go wrong with
the tour company. I would not, therefore, consider
paying a 2% charge on the balance. The most I
recall ever making for using a credit card is 2.1/2%
but cannot produce an evidence of this now.
JaCky
● I am personally far more concerned by the
charges applied by telephone and other utilities for
not paying by direct debit. These bear no relation
to their costs. They are a pressure to use direct
debit and are all about stopping the user looking at
how much they are paying and perhaps going on
to check other suppliers charges.
Regarding the costs of processing debit card
payments. There is NO excuse for any charge for
using a debit card. The cost of processing a debit
card payment is far less than the costs involved in
handling a cash payment.
Matt
Solar PV installation by EVO Energy deposit of £3,875 paid by Credit card incurred a 3% surcharge of £116.25. david
WHICH? “RIP-OFF” CARD SURCHARGES.35
UTiLiTieS
reTaiL
A which? super complaint 2011
STOP ‘RIP-OFF’ CH
AR
GES
● I think Credit card issuers make huge profits as it
is - and that in spite of the high level of fraud they
allow to proliferate - ultimately charged to the C.C.
user in the form of unjustifiably high interest rates.
alan
● I occasionally buy items like jewellery, glass,
porcelain etc from a shop in Stratford upon Avon.
They do charge extra for using a credit card, but
both prices are always clearly marked and the
difference is probably about 2 1/2 %. Having said
that, I have shopped there for a number of years
and so they usually waive the extra charge, even
if I use a credit card. I think a small charge is
acceptable, provided that the customer is made
aware of it at an early stage. I do not think a large
percentage should be charged.
nina
● A couple of months ago I purchased flat-pack
furniture from IKEA. After queuing at a checkout
for some time I reached my turn and only then
became aware that I could ONLY pay with a credit
card AND I would be charged extra for that
privilege. I then found a sign to that effect which
was only on view from side-on to the queues
having reached the checkout!
tone
● My wife wished to purchase new curtains for
our lounge. A company called Plumbs (of Preston)
measured everything and worked out a price. The
rep asked for a deposit of £250 which I wished to
pay by Credit card. The rep asked for £4 extra for
payment by credit card. I would have cancelled the
reTaiL
IKEA in Thurrock, last time I bought furniture from them (6 months ago), charged extra for using the credit card. Interestingly, I was not charged extra for a similar purchase around the same date in Manchester. kaSh
order but my wife wished to proceed, so we used a
debit card.
derek
● When I first applied for a Credit Card I was told
that charges were NOT to be applied & were to be
reported to the Company. This has gradually
changed to all retailers charging for credit cards.
In recent years they are also charging for Debit
cards. With the Banks withdrawing Cheque
facilities and reducing cash transactions this is a
very unfair Bank driven levy on the public. I have
on occasion booked theatre tickets only to be told
that a charge applies to each ticket instead of the
one financial transaction. Charges for both Credit
and Debit cards DO put me off making a
purchase. I would prefer to deal with someone
who does not charge.
ian
● A builder’s merchant I visited refused to take
certain credit cards because they said the charges
were too high and it took too long for them to
receive their money. He then charged me 1% for
using one of their approved credit cards. A travel
agent I have used charges 2.5% for the use of any
credit card and £1 per transaction for the use of a
debit card. Another travel agent that I have used
only accepts debit cards for which he charges a
flat fee of £2.50 for each transaction. In all cases
the charges were divulged at the time of payment.
I would not object to a small fee for the use of a
credit card (say £1) to cover the cost of processing
the transaction (which used to cost less than 12p)
after all I am having an interest free loan for one
WHICH? “RIP-OFF” CARD SURCHARGES.37
● Why is it that Costa Coffee does not charge for
items purchased with a card? They are all small
amounts and presumably more expensive in
percentage terms. If Costa can do it there is no
excuse for others to charge.
● We all know about booking tickets etc online
but I was staggered the other day to be ordering
something on the Internet and when I got to the
final paying stage the “agency” that were acting as
the money handlers for this company put an extra
£3 onto the bill as a surcharge with absolutely no
warning. Needless to say I baled out.
riChard
● Main problem is on-line when ordering items and
the surcharge for using credit card doesn’t appear
until the last window.
ken
● In any case where I find credit card charges, I
use my debit card, which carries no charge. I do
agree that some charges are greater than I think
necessary, but I can’t remember which companies
do this – I always ask, and refuse if the charge is
high. Good luck with the campaign.
John
● I have simply given up paying by credit card
when I feel that the surcharge for using a credit card
is more than I think reasonable. This now applies to
Rail tickets, as well as airline and ferry companies.
ronald
to fifty six days for the cost of the goods that I
am buying. However, I strongly object to paying
anything for the use of a debit card as the money
is removed from my account within 24 hours and
the processing of the transaction is a part of the
cost of doing business for the banks. If we accept
debit card charges then soon all suppliers will start
charging for using a cheque and then for having to
take their day’s takings to the bank each day or for
having “Securicor” collect their day’s takings and
take it to the bank for them.
alan
● IKEA and Thomson holiday both charge for a
credit card but not for debit - as for Ryan air!
elaine
● Makro have now applied a charge of £1 to use a
credit card for any purchase. David Madden
Netto and Lidle charge extra if one uses a credit
card but ok with a debit card.
k roCk
● I believe that all retailers should factor in card
acceptance fees in their normal business costs
and price their goods and service to include that
(including accepting American Express and Diners
Club). After all, as an operator of a small business I
know it’s not free for retailers to pay in cash or
cheques because cash has a transport pick-up/
delivery cost even assuming there are no other
cuts taken by the bank, and cheques delay money
receipt as well as soon becoming non-guaranteed
so open to fraud for retailers that will still take
them after 30th June.
● I support the action you are taking because the
unaware are being taken for a ride. This is what
offends me. However to be truthful, I rarely buy
with a card (credit or debit) that is going to cost
me extra money. I have rarely found times when
you are not aware in advance so I have time to
make a decision - charge or convenience.
Nonetheless, I am angry when the buyer is
actually being made to pay more for the privilege
than it actually costs the trader.
ewan
On a couple of occasions I have purchased foreign currency from Travelex, and used my Barclays debit card. I am amazed that Barclays had the nerve to charge me for this - it was a sterling transaction between me and Travelex. It was Travelex that provided the currency service, not Barclays. This type of charge should be illegal.
WHICH? “RIP-OFF” CARD SURCHARGES.38
reTaiL
● This is not an additional experience, simply a
comment you might wish to take on board. Given
that debit and credit cards are the more typical
method of payment for most things these days;
I agree that there should be no surcharges for
using them, especially now that many retailers are
phasing out payments by cheque. Also, internet
shopping increases week by week, making card
payments even more necessary. However, as we
know, the credit card companies not only charge
high interest rates to their customers who use the
credit facility, but they also charge businesses high
fees for enabling credit card payments. I suspect
that businesses factor such costs into their product
prices, meaning that the consumer pays more in
the end, whichever payment method they use. I
would say that card surcharges are unethical in
today’s society, but then certain companies could
be regarded as unethical in their pricing policies
anyway (e.g. a certain Irish airline) and if surcharges
are outlawed, they will use other methods to
charge their customers more. Whether businesses
can afford to absorb the costs or not, most won’t
and are likely to pass on the cost to customers,
either through other charges, or raising prices. In
the end, it will be the end user, the customer, who
will pay and we are unable to escape this reality.
I still favour an end to these surcharges in order
to bring transparency, clarity and fairness into the
purchasing process, but I won’t hold my breath on
any cost savings overall.
alan
● All my card payments are generally made using
a Debit Card as I have never been asked to make
extra payments; it only seems to occur when using
my Credit Card which I now very rarely use
because of this.
ian
● Simple things like the on-line purchase of a Road
Fund Licence does not attract an added charge
IF a debit card is used, but does if a credit card is
used; but I feel much safer using a credit card for
internet transactions.
There is no reason whatsoever for levying a charge
for credit card payments as banks charge for all
credits to Business Accounts, including cash and
cheques.
philip
● Times when I choose to pay with credit card, even
though it costs extra, from £5 to a % of the total,
because (a) I get better cover against anything
going wrong and (b) I dislike the idea of someone
whipping money off my bank account without the
additional “gate” of a credit card bill which I can
question - and get the credit card company on my
side if necessary.
Sandra
I have on a few occasions beenmade aware that there is a charge for using a card. I will not accept this so I send a cheque or find an alternative supplier. I regard the practice as illegal and anti-customer and I support your approaching the Office of Fair Trading. I was charged £1 extra to send flowers through Interflora to my daughter in America. I didn’t know right until the end and I just accepted it, but I didn’t like it Brenda
WHICH? “RIP-OFF” CARD SURCHARGES.39
reTaiL
heaLTh & BeaUTY
A which? super complaint 2011
STOP ‘RIP-OFF’ CH
AR
GES
● When I paid Parkwood Leisure Services for a years
swimming pass I was told there was a charge if I paid
monthly - £30 to set up a DD on card. I chose to pay
by debit card as I thought this would not incur
charges. I was told the total amount, but this was not
broken down. I subsequently learned that £5 had
been added to the annual charge as I had paid by
card. I asked about paying with a cheque and was
told this was not possible. I rang trading standards as
I had never been charged to use my card before, and
was told that as long as I had been told the full
amount, the company were not breaking the law.
peter
● When attempting to pay my bill in the hairdressers,
I was told that an extra charge would be made
although I only ever use a debit card, and there is no
risk of non payment. I only ever pay cash now.
● My dentist charges for using a Debit Card. I take
a cheque book, but after dental treatment you can be
a bit shakey, and it would be much easier to just hand
over a card.
Colin
● I recently visited the Botleigh Grange Hotel & Spa,
near Southampton. The spa day was good value,
but I paid cash for our lunch when I saw the notice
to advise that every credit card transaction was
subject to a fixed fee of £3.95!!! Not so bad if paying
a large hotel account, but would have been around
a 30% addition to our bill.
Stephen
● I had a private consultation with a Doctor
and when I went to pay by Amex I was told there was
a 2.5% surcharge if I paid by Amex, but no surcharge
if I paid by Master Card
roBert
● I was paying for exercise classes at a private
clinic called the Sherwood Clinic in South Harrow,
the amount being £120. There was an unexpected
fee for paying by credit card so I paid using my debit
card.
Sheila
● The Hospital Group charges: No charge for the
first £1,000; then with AMEX it is 7% and
Mastercard?Visa 3%. My bill would have come to
£172 extra on Mastercard. Is it fair?
katie
● I went to pay my bill at my dentist’s surgery.
I wanted to pay by credit card and I was charged £3
for this. Is this a fair amount or is it in fact legal? I
know that it does not cost £3 to process a
transaction.
● I cannot believe how many are jumping on
this bandwagon, my dentist charged me a surcharge
of £15 on a £250 bill last week and that was a debit
card. Fee for credit card was £30!!!
Falltricks hair salon, Romford, have started imposing 3% surcharge for payment by credit card. I do resent paying surcharges, unless for small independent shops, and use debit card instead. Sarah
heaLTh & BeaUTY
WHICH? “RIP-OFF” CARD SURCHARGES.41
goVerNMeNT
A which? super complaint 2011
STOP ‘RIP-OFF’ CH
AR
GES
● I was charged online by HMRC for paying my tax
with a credit card.
patriCk
● Charged by HMRC for paying my tax with a
credit card.
Janet
● Check out the billpay system on the
HMRC website- a charge for paying your tax by
credit card!
● Government Departments do this Tax by Phone or
online by credit card and 2.5 % added.
● How about the Government HMRC charging a
fee for paying taxes by credit card - so who is
poacher and who is gamekeeper?
Jane
● It is not just companies making unreasonable
charges for the use of credit cards, it is the
government itself. When you renew your car tax
online (which is the easiest way), they charge
£2.50 for the pleasure of paying by credit card.
grahaM
● Taxing you card on line using a credit card costs
£2:50 free if you use a debit card this is a
government department. I used the Post Office
until I had a debit card a holiday company wanted
to charge 2% of the cost of my holiday (over
£5000) but accepted a cheque for free.
peter
goVerNMeNT
One of the worst culprits is the government. It should cost far less to tax a vehicle on line than if one stands in line for ages at the Post Office, yet it costs more to do it on line. If you want to pay your income tax on line, the Revenue charge a fee of 1.25% if paying by card.riChard
● What about HMRC itself? The Government Tax
Collector. Do a Self Employed online return, which
is nice and easy. And then if you want to pay by
the easy method of a Credit Card, Santander nails
you for a percentage of your tax return!! That
could be huge amount of money. Especially bad
for people who are paying a lot of tax. Why on
EARTH do they think they have the right to that
much money? Is the tax office not paying them
enough already to take the payments? Or is this a
Spanish tax on the UK tax payer?
Mark
● I have had to pay HM Revenue and Customs
£2.21 to settle seld assessment tax bill.
● Arun District Council delegate garden waste
collection to Verdant Group Ltd who charge
£58.21 a year for renewal by direct debit or online
but £66.38 for renewal by post or telephone.
Verdant’s telephone number is 01903734520. I
appreciate that this is not simply a charge for
using plastic but I find it more offensive than a
requirement to pay £2 for using a credit card for a
hotel booking.
doug
● South Somerset District Council / Somerset
Waste partnership Renewal Form 2011/2012 for
Garden Waste Collection Service.(£42,50 pa) ...
(please note that if you wish to pay by credit card
you will incur of 2.26%) An odd method of
encouraging recycling and green credentials!
harry
WHICH? “RIP-OFF” CARD SURCHARGES.43
for more information contact:[email protected] 7770 7353www.which.co.uk/ripoff
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