Which? names high card-charging companies
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Which? has named and shamed the travel companies that are still charging high credit card fees despite a ban from set earlier this year.
Online travel agency eDreams was listed as the worst offender with some paying more than 18% to pay by a credit card, while easyBus, Vueling, Monarch, Jet2 and Germanwings were also charging “over the odds” between 2.5-3.5%.
A ban off the back of a Which? campaign was put in place by the government in April which means it is illegal for companies to charge more than what it costs for them to process a payment. This is estimated to be no more than 2% for credit cards, and pennies for debit card transactions.
First Choice, Thomson, easyJet and mytrainticket were also found to be charging more than the estimate but have now agreed to lower the charge to 2%.
“It’s disappointing that six months after the government banned rip-off surcharges, consumers are still being hit with high fees simply for paying with a card,” said Richard Lloyd, executive director at Which?.
“While some companies have reduced their surcharges, there should be a crackdown on rogue companies who continue to flout the ban. We’ll be passing on our findings to Trading Standards and asking them to enforce the rules,” he added.
More than 700 people sent in complaints to Which? about excessive card fees when approached by the organisation.
Its lobbying and research had led to a ban on high fees which came into force on 6 April.
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