Credit card charges

According to the news, credit card charges are to be banned from January next year. Hopefully this will include travel agents and Cunard.

Consumers are no longer to be charged extra for paying by debit or credit card, the government has said.

From January next year, businesses will not be allowed to add any surcharges for card payments.

However...

The change in the law is likely to mean some companies will simply put up their prices, to cover the extra costs they bear with card payments.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40648641

The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) advised its members in May that the new rule would have “a significant impact on members’ businesses” and advised them to start planning in advance for the changes by taking preemptive action such as increasing headline prices and offering incentives to customers to use payments methods other than cards.

http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/personal-finance/charges-on-paying-by-debit-or-credit-card-to-be-scrapped-in-2018-1-4507609

I don't think it's likely that many people booking a Cunard cruise have actually paid the rip off 1.5% charge. Most would pay by debit card when they realised the extra cost. In fact Cunard have ignored the directive which has been in force for some time that traders are only permitted to apply the actual cost to them of processing the charge, in reality pennys.

It will be interesting to see if they obey this time.

David.

With fluid pricing a feature of the travel industry in general not just Carnival UK, l don't see immediately how this can be policed. Will they just lump on an increase to fares which will cover those paying by credit card or otherwise?

I may be in a minority of one, but l like to know what l am paying for, so to have the credit card charge prominently and openly detailed on my quote or mentioned by the vendor l can then make the personal decision to pay, try to negotiate it away or go elsewhere.

If the Scotsman article is true ABTA has advised members to increase prices, in other words that means the recognised industry body is advising members to drive the issue underground.

The consumers' lot is not an easy one.

M-AR

With fluid pricing a feature of the travel industry in general not just Carnival UK, l don't see immediately how this can be policed. Will they just lump on an increase to fares which will cover those paying by credit card or otherwise?

 

I may be in a minority of one, but l like to know what l am paying for, so to have the credit card charge prominently and openly detailed on my quote or mentioned by the vendor l can then make the personal decision to pay, try to negotiate it away or go elsewhere.

 

If the Scotsman article is true ABTA has advised members to increase prices, in other words that means the recognised industry body is advising members to drive the issue underground.

 

The consumers' lot is not an easy one.

 

M-AR

"With fluid pricing a feature of the travel industry in general not just Carnival UK, l don't see immediately how this can be policed. Will they just lump on an increase to fares which will cover those paying by credit card or otherwise?"

Easy to navigate around surely.

Get your quote, preferably sent by email, go back to TA and confirm quote still valid, pay with credit card.

I don't think it's likely that many people booking a Cunard cruise have actually paid the rip off 1.5% charge. Most would pay by debit card when they realised the extra cost. In fact Cunard have ignored the directive which has been in force for some time that traders are only permitted to apply the actual cost to them of processing the charge, in reality pennys.

 

It will be interesting to see if they obey this time.

 

David.

I seem to remember a high street travel agent we used for a land based holiday brought in credit card charges for booking a holiday some time in the late 1990’s.

We booked cruises through Cunard and an online travel agent in 2010 using a credit card with no charge but after that we have used a debit card so the c.c. charges from them must have come in around 2011.

"With fluid pricing a feature of the travel industry in general not just Carnival UK, l don't see immediately how this can be policed. Will they just lump on an increase to fares which will cover those paying by credit card or otherwise?"

 

Easy to navigate around surely.

 

Get your quote, preferably sent by email, go back to TA and confirm quote still valid, pay with credit card.

Yes but when you pay the TA will tell you there is extra to pay for using cc. It would be interesting to hear from any poster here who has paid for a cruise with Cunard and paid the surcharge. Of course if the charge is waived there is no problem, but it's another big chunk out of their profits.

David.

"With fluid pricing a feature of the travel industry in general not just Carnival UK, l don't see immediately how this can be policed. Will they just lump on an increase to fares which will cover those paying by credit card or otherwise?"

 

Easy to navigate around surely.

 

Get your quote, preferably sent by email, go back to TA and confirm quote still valid, pay with credit card.

Yes but when you pay the TA will tell you there is extra to pay for using cc. It would be interesting to hear from any poster here who has paid for a cruise with Cunard and paid the surcharge. Of course if the charge is waived there is no problem, but it's another big chunk out of their profits.

 

David.

Good afternoon David.

The response you have quoted was in fact a response I made to Mid-Atlantic Ridge and laid out how I would play a Travel Agent booking once the 'new' rules were in force i.e.. January 2018

Yes but when you pay the TA will tell you there is extra to pay for using cc. It would be interesting to hear from any poster here who has paid for a cruise with Cunard and paid the surcharge. Of course if the charge is waived there is no problem, but it's another big chunk out of their profits.

 

David.

I paid for the cruise on Cunard's website with my Amex card and paid the surcharge. I intend to convert my Amex reward points to air miles with a particular airline, and the benefit of this outweighs the surcharge.

Also, the section 75 protection might not cover fees paid via a TA as the credit card company can argue that the TA is not the party supplying the goods/services. Paying Cunard directly eliminates this grey area.

I don't think it's likely that many people booking a Cunard cruise have actually paid the rip off 1.5% charge.

Unless you have an Amex card which gives you 2% back on travel.

Just a thought, if Cunard up the prices to cover the credit card cost then that is hitting those of us who pay by debit card and currently don't pay a surcharge.

Also, from memory when booking a future cruise on board there is no surcharge applied to pay deposit by credit card, However, when paying the balance through our TA there is a surcharge, so this suggests that's it is the TA who is applying the surcharge not Cunard. Am open for correction on this one, my memory maybe not as good as I think on how we paid our deposit.

Just a thought, if Cunard up the prices to cover the credit card cost then that is hitting those of us who pay by debit card and currently don't pay a surcharge.

 

Also, from memory when booking a future cruise on board there is no surcharge applied to pay deposit by credit card, However, when paying the balance through our TA there is a surcharge, so this suggests that's it is the TA who is applying the surcharge not Cunard. Am open for correction on this one, my memory maybe not as good as I think on how we paid our deposit.

Good morning.

You are correct, no surcharge when booking onboard.

It is also a known fact that a number of TAs in the UK pass the credit card through to the cruise line for payment to be taken.

This particularly is the case with Celebrity. I caught one large UK online agent abusing this system and attempting to levy its customers a charge.

One other point. Have you considered that, from next January it will be illegal to charge a fee for a credit card payment, no mention has been made of the possibility of offering some form of a discount/ additional OBC for a debit card payment.

Food for thought 'eh what'. :evilsmile:

Is that a pig I see flying overhead!

Good morning.

 

You are correct, no surcharge when booking onboard.

 

It is also a known fact that a number of TAs in the UK pass the credit card through to the cruise line for payment to be taken.

 

This particularly is the case with Celebrity. I caught one large UK online agent abusing this system and attempting to levy its customers a charge.

 

One other point. Have you considered that, from next January it will be illegal to charge a fee for a credit card payment, no mention has been made of the possibility of offering some form of a discount/ additional OBC for a debit card payment.

 

Food for thought 'eh what'. :evilsmile:

Why would they do that.

David

Why would they do that.

 

David

To save themselves paying the their credit card provider the fees that they cannot now recharge to us.

Good business practice.

One other point. Have you considered that, from next January it will be illegal to charge a fee for a credit card payment, no mention has been made of the possibility of offering some form of a discount/ additional OBC for a debit card payment.

That is a very good point.

So instead of adding a "charge" for using a CC, they give you a "discount" for not using a CC.

You can bet your pension that plenty of marketing people in all sorts of companies have spotted that one as well (but the Government will not have done !)

Alternatively they could refuse to accept payment by credit card.

David.

I don't know about the UK, but in the US any retail establishment that isn't miniscule and doesn't accept a credit card is commuting suicide.

A merchant that only considers the cost of accepting cards without considering the cost and risk of handling cash doesn't understand their expenses.

One difference I can see is that in the US we don't have the "bank draft" as a viable means of payment. In its place we still have checks (paper or electronic) or debit cards (but debit cards are processed as credit cards for the most part).