Consumers should be aware of hidden charges on credit cards
Consumers should be aware of hidden charges on credit cards
- Tuesday, 28 September 2010Consumers need to be aware of the hidden charges that can be added when purchasing items such as cinema tickets by credit card.
According to Which? Money, paying by card can increase costs by up to 200 per cent, which could easily lead people into
debt problems.
This extra cost tends to occur when a consumer purchases a flight or train ticket using their credit card as a surcharge or flat fee could be added.
For example, if a consumer purchases a train ticket for £1.70 on their card they will be charged an extra £3.50, which is a 200 per cent increase.
Peter Vicary-Smith, chief executive of the firm, said: "People don't like card surcharges and it's no surprise when the costs they pay don't match those incurred by the retailer.
"There can be no justification for high card surcharges as all too often they just seem to be an excuse for ramping up costs."
These charges tend to apply more to companies in the travel industry so consumers need to be aware of this before using their cards to ensure they avoid
debt problems.
Barclaycard found that credit and debt card use increased by 9.2 per cent in August compared to the same period last year.

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