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Consumers still paying card surcharges, says Which?

By Martin Fagan - news@consumerchoices.co.uk

Consumer watchdog says the government’s failure to act costs consumers £265,000 a day.

The inability of the government to act and the ban charges airlines impose on debit cards is costing consumers £265,000 a day, says self-styled consumer champion Which?.

In March 2011, the watchdog submitted a super complaint to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) asking the regulator to investigate excessive credit and debit card surcharges by airlines.

The OFT found that Ryanair charged a fee of £6 per journey for both credit and debit card users and that easyJet charged a surcharge of £8 for payments by debit card, and £8 plus 2.5% of the total transaction for credit card users.

The regulator said that travellers spent £300million on card surcharges in the airline industry alone in 2010.

On 28 June, the OFT proposed that charges for paying by debit card should be banned and Which? recommended that a simple amendment to existing Payment Services Regulations by the Treasury would achieve this.

However, the government still has not taken action and consumers continue to be hit by excessive card fees. Since 28 June, when the OFT recommended the practice cease, Which? estimates that consumers have collectively paid £18 million in airline debit card surcharges.

"With most airlines yet to drop these card surcharges and some introducing new fees, it's time for the government to put a stop to this,” said Richard Lloyd, executive director at Which?.

“A minor change to the law is all it would take to ban the charges on debit cards that you only find out about at the end of a lengthy online booking process.

"Thousands of people have complained to Which? that these hidden card fees are unfair. The government must act so that consumers can easily compare the cost of their flights."

In light of the OFT’s decision, Which? described the recent decision by two airlines to start charging customers for using debit and credit cards as “unbelievable”. Lufthansa and Swiss say they are planning to charge a £4.50 fee on all card payment bookings from 2 November.