Airlines to scrap debit charge surcharges

[Noxegon]

Looks like the OFT has some teeth after all.

Airlines to scrap debit card surcharges following OFT enforcement action - The Office of Fair Trading (http://www.oft.gov.uk/news-and-updates/press/2012/58-12)

[Tableview]

The article is not worth reading beyond the first paragraph :

Following OFT enforcement action, 12 airlines have agreed to include debit card surcharges in the headline price rather than surprise consumers at the end of the booking process. Any surcharges for paying by credit card will be easy to find when booking online.

They are not 'scrapping' the charges at all.

[Narrow Runway]

And the difference is?

Nothing.

The fees will form part of each carriers individual fare. They are being incorporated into the fare, not scrapped entirely!

I do agree however that it will be easier to assess the cheapest fares immediately.

[BigFrank]

Two comments:

i) I notice that Ryanair is in the "dragging its feet" or "dog in a manger" or "***** the customers again" group who have not made any changes yet.

ii) Globally "I'll believe it when I see it."

[davidjohnson6]

Easyjet is already deemed to be in compliance with the rules - even with their booking admin fee. Whay's the chance then that Ryanair dream up some other admin type fee (can be called anything you like) which doesn't differentiate between their cash passport and debit cards ?

I would be amazed if the combined brains of Dublin can't come up with some other alternate wheeze.

[ExXB]

Since the debit fee is included in the price, won't you pay that even if you pay with a credit card (which has it's own fee)? Or will they remove it before they add the other one on? (Fat chance)

Nice try OFT, but no cigar.

Advertised or headline prices should include all components. If there are different charges (for different credit cards, for example) they should include the most expensive one charged by that company.

Should any consumer be assessed anything more than the headline price on the payment page, there should be an automatic €1000 fine per passenger.

I'd make an exception for Government (not airport, even if owned by the government) imposed taxes - since these can vary by airport.

[PAXboy]

It is certainly true that they are not scrapping anything. I've just priced up a possible trip with Ezy (STN~MUC) and, if anything, I'd say it's worse! Before I give the example, I've not been on Ezy for a couple of years so am not familiar with their recent practise.

First, when you see the 'Final Price' they show you that there is an Admin charge of £9.00. THEN they show you that if you pay by Debit Card there is no more to pay (coz they just added it in the Admin charge) but if you use a Credit Card the cost goes up by £4.95 but I then realised that I had only checked for one seat. I repeated with two seats and all stayed the same EXCEPT that the fee for using a Credit Card increased by 0.44p for doing nothing more.

Fantastic. It just goes to prove that whatever rules govt make, legal ways around them will be found. I find it objectionable to see an 'admin fee' added to every transaction when it should be part of the basic seat cost.

Yes, of course, I understand that they have to make money and I have ALWAYS made my choices based on the last price before the 'Yes' and encouraged others in these forums to do the same. But admin fees are as bad as the theatres that charge you for making a booking - rather than including it in the base seat cost. It is not a stealth charge because you can see it but it sure as hell is not part of the 'headline' cost.

[mutt]

Aer Lingus have just turned it into an Admin Charge, but it still varies based on the type of credit card that you use. So what exactly has this new ruling achieved?

Mutt

[TSR2]

I find it objectionable to see an 'admin fee' added to every transaction when it should be part of the basic seat cost.

I totally agree. Whether it's called an Admin Fee or Booking Fee, it is a non-optional charge and should therefore be included in the basic fare as part of the cost of doing business.

[radeng]

BA charge £4-50, regardless of credit card type. But on a £3000 ticket, they'll pay at least £15 to the credit card company, and if you use Amex, more.

Some may remember when garages started imposing a surcharge on credit cards: Mrs Thatcher put a stop to that. Rightly, too - nobody will hold up a garage for the credit card bills!