barclays slaps fee increase on risky operators

OPERATORS and agents will be dealt a blow this week when Barclays slaps a fee increase on those it deems ‘at risk’ of collapse.

Barclaycard Merchant Services, the company that processes and clears credit-card transactions of most agents and operators, said it has suffered “considerable losses” from the travel industry due to the amount it has to pay out to credit-card holders if an agent or operator folds.

BMS has drawn up a hit list of agents and operators it feels are more at risk of collapse, and plans to charge an extra 25p per £100 – in addition to the fee it already charges for credit-card bookings.

Under ABTA preferred rates members pay a fee to BMS of between 1.34% and 1.59% of the cost of a holiday. This will impact all agents and operators despite the fact that the trade has a range of bonding schemes protecting customers.

BMS would not reveal the names of the agents or operators on its blacklist, but those at risk will receive a letter within the next 10 days informing them of the higher rate due from June 1.

One shocked Cheshire-based agent said: “This is the first I’ve heard of it and it’s a major step.”

Many agents already charge customers a fee for credit-card bookings and will be forced to pass the additional charge on to the customer.

“We have no choice but to pass on the cost to the customer,” said one independent operator.

The Association of Independent Operators has already taken the complaint to the Office of Fair Trading but had its case turned down.

AITO deputy chairman Noel Josephides said: “AITO has approached the OFT regarding the percentage of market share held by BMS, and its alternative called Streamline, but has been told there is no restriction on entering the credit-card clearing market.

“This will contribute to a rise in holiday prices.”

ABTA dismissed BMS’s plans as a commercial decision that it had no power to influence.