Partner Article

Cut online hoilday charges say Council

Trading standards experts at Middlesbrough Council have voiced their support for plans to clampdown on online travel charges.

According the Office of Fair Trading, UK consumers spent £300 million on payment surcharges in 2009. This has led the watchdog to call for debit card charges to be scrapped and for credit card charges to be made clearer.

Jane Dent, Manager of the Middlesbrough advice centre said: “With our household budgets under mounting pressure, members of the public quite rightly object to hidden or misleading costs – if they are quoted a price, they like to know that’s what they will be paying.

“Most traders want to treat their customers fairly and customers want clear pricing information so they know exactly what they will be paying – in a competitive market it also enables them to shop around for the best fares.”

It is hoped that more companies will now follow the lead of British Airways, Virgin Airlines and Eurostar, who have all scrapped fees for online debit card transactions.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .