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End of Rip Off Credit Card Charges

Press Release
For Immediate Release
22 June 2011
 
MEPS SET TO OUTLAW RIP OFF CREDIT CARD FEES

On Thursday (23 June) the European Parliament is set to approve new consumer rights that will spell the end of rip-off credit card fees.
 
The new Consumer Rights Directive includes specific provisions to outlaw the practice of adding credit or debit card payment fees that bear no relation to the actual costs incurred when processing the transaction.
 
The issue is so serious that consumer body Which? has taken out a "super complaint" against the practice, with a ruling from the Office of Fair Trading expected in the coming weeks.
 
Thursday's European Parliament vote will require the government to take action to outlaw unfair charges.
 
Speaking ahead of the vote, Labour's European spokesperson on consumer affairs Catherine Stihler MEP said: "In most cases it costs just a few pence to process a credit card transaction, yet some companies are ripping their customers off.
 
"It's not uncommon for people to pay 10 times the actual cost of processing their credit card transaction, and in some cases people are paying far more. This is daylight robbery.
 
"It is completely misleading for consumers and damaging for the more respectable businesses that are up front about their real prices."
 
Catherine Stihler has called on the British government to ban the fees now rather than wait for the EU laws to come into force in 2014. She added:
 
"Companies have already started to improve their ways, having seen that the writing is on the wall for these rip-off fees.
 
"But we need to end this practice for good so the government shouldn't wait for the EU law to come into force. It should act now and ban outlandish credit card charges once and for all."

ENDS