Response to the OFT’s decision to take action over surcharges following Which? super-complaint

“We are delighted that today the OFT has sent out a very clear warning to companies who have been misleading customers with excessive surcharges for using their cards. They should not generate profit by imposing inflated surcharges when their actual card processing costs are substantially lower. We supported Which? when it launched its super-complaint as the cards industry has been calling on the Government to take action on this issue since before the last election.

“We welcome the OFT’s recommendation that the Government provides clarity and prohibits all surcharging on debit cards as well as requiring improved transparency around any surcharges for paying by credit card. This reflects the fact that debit cards are increasingly becoming the nation’s favourite way to pay. There are costs to every business for accepting payments but the vast majority don’t charge us for paying in different ways. Why would a business choose to charge customers more for choosing the card they most want to use?”