Budget airlines are in the firing line as consumer body Which? revealed plans to launch a super-complaint against surcharges many companies impose when customers pay with a debit or credit card.
The watchdog attacked low-cost airlines as being among the worst offenders, with some charging a fee per passenger, per leg of the journey, in spite of the fact that they only have to process one transaction.
For example, a family of four booking a return flight with Ryanair would be charged £40 to pay by card when the cost to the airline would be around 20p to process a debit card payment and no more than 2% of the transaction value for a credit card, according to Which?
The same family would be charged £38 by Flybe and £5.50 by Easyjet for paying for return flights by card, the body said.
Which? also found that local authorities, estate agents, cinemas and the DVLA is beginning to levy “excessive” charges for paying by card.
The consumer champion is calling on the Office of Fair Trading to investigate card surcharges, which are often sprung on the customer at the point of payment and can be far in excess of what it costs the retailer to process the transaction.
Which? chief executive Peter Vicary-Smith said: “Low-cost airlines are some of the worst offenders when it comes to excessive card surcharges but this murky practice is becoming ever more widespread, from cinemas to hotels and even some local authorities.
“There’s simply no justification for excessive card charges – paying by card should cost the consumer the same amount that it costs the retailer. Companies shouldn’t be using card processing costs as an excuse for boosting their profits.”
The super-complaint to be made to the OFT by the end of March is the first by Which? since 2007 and kicks off a new campaign against rip-off charges.
Ferry company SeaFrance welcomed the move, saying: “SeaFrance believes that the customer should be quoted the actual fare applicable to their travel dates and times and should not incur hidden extra costs.
“Any merchant service charges are absorbed within the price of the ticket quoted to the customer, along with the port charges, providing a transparent booking process.”