Garages must stop charging customers for credit and debit card payments with immediate effect, the Independent Garage Association (IGA) has said.
It follows new rules which were enforced on January 13, 2018 which state that all companies that take payment via credit and debit cards can no longer surcharge customers.
All surcharges for payments via credit or debit card are now banned – this includes PayPal and Apple Pay.
Previously, companies could only surcharge customers a reasonable amount to cover the processing costs of card payments.
However, according to the IGA, this proved to be almost impossible to police and many companies – including some government bodies such as the DVLA – have been accused of charging excessively and using it as an additional revenue stream.
In its newsletter for member garages, the IGA said: “This is the latest in a number of changes in the rules relating to how card payments must be processed which have been introduced over the last couple of years by the European Commission, Visa and Mastercard, and even the banks, which in some instances may have resulted in your card charges actually going up rather than down, and despite the regulations calling for greater transparency, your monthly statement may now be more complex than previously, making it difficult to work out what you are actually being charged.
“There is a service available to IGA members with specialist Payments Services Provider RSM 2000 Ltd. to provide a clear, simple, and cost-effective card services package.
“If you would like to find out more about this service, or even just get a sanity check on whether your current card services provider’s charges are reasonable, please call the IGA member helpline on 0845 305 4230.”
For further information about the IGA, click ‘more details’ below.
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