The Government must deliver on its commitment to banning rip off surcharges

The government must now act quickly to meet its promise to ban these excessive charges by the end of the year.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has today published a consultation on banning excessive credit and debit card surcharges, after Which? successfully lobbied the UK Government to introduce a ban by the end of 2012.

New Which? research reveals 84 per cent of those polled felt there shouldn’t be any extra fees charged to consumers for paying by credit or debit card. Over three quarters (77 per cent) of people polled thought these fees were unfair. In addition, 74 per cent of those who had encountered fees in the last year thought that any additional fees for paying by card should already be included in the price quoted before payment, up from 67 per cent in 2011.

Which? executive director Richard Lloyd said:

“Over 50,000 people supported our campaign to ban excessive fees so this well-overdue consultation is a step in the right direction.

“The Government must ensure that all businesses only charge the genuine cost they incur for processing the payment and that they are upfront, and make this clear to consumers. We also want to see a robust enforcement regime in place to make sure firms are held to account if they flout the ban.

“The government must now act quickly to meet its promise to ban these excessive charges by the end of the year.”

Notes to Editors:

1 In December 2011 Which? secured commitment from the Government to ban excessive surcharges by 2013.

2 Populus interviewed a random sample of 2052 GB adults aged 18+ from its online panel between 15th – 17th August 2012, on behalf of Which?.  Surveys were conducted across the country and the results have been weighted to the profile of all adults.  Populus is a founder member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules.  Further information at www.populus.co.uk.

The survey’s findings include:

  • 82 per cent of people believe the government should act without delay on the issue of hidden or unexpected fees for using a debit or credit card.
  • 84 per cent felt there shouldn’t be any extra fees charged to consumers for paying by credit or debit card.
  • 77 per cent thought these fees were unfair.
  • 43 per cent of people have encountered a fee for paying by credit card or debit card in the last year, a rise of eight percent on 2011. As in 2011, travel and event ticket sales were the two most common areas for these fees.

Of those polled who had encountered a fee for paying by credit card or debit card in the last year:

  • 69 per cent agreed that the fee charged made a significant difference to the advertised price of the goods or service.
  • 85 per cent felt there shouldn’t be any extra fees charged to consumers for paying by credit or debit card, compared to 79 per cent in 2011.
  • 79 per thought surcharges were unfair, compared to 70 percent in 2011.
  • 74 per cent thought that any additional fees for paying by card should already be included in the price quoted before payment, compared to 67 per cent in 2011.

Find out more about our campaign on credit and debit card surcharges.

 

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