Budget airlines pocketing £265,000 a DAY in rip off debit and credit card fees

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Budget airlines pocketing £265,000 a DAY in rip off debit and credit card fees

February 21st, 2012

FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda

By
David Baker

Last updated at 3:22 PM on 20th February 2012

Fees: Budget airlines have continued to add on huge charges for credit and debit card transactions despite upcoming changes in the law

Budget airlines are pocketing a staggering £265,000 a day in rip off debit and credit card charges – despite knowing a change in law will soon make it illegal.

Consumer watchdogs who helped force the
law change say the airlines are cashing in while they can as they know a
ban is on its way.

Ryanair is among the worst offenders, charging an eye-watering £48 in fees for return flights for a family of four booked using credit and debit cards.

The low budget carrier charges for every passenger and for every leg of a
journey, even if everything is paid for in one transaction – and the fee levied for paying by card is often more expensive than the flight itself.

Following a ‘super complaint’ from
consumers to outlaw the exorbitant fees, the government announced last
June that it would act to outlaw the wallet busting charges.

But, because the law may not change until
the end of
the this year, as it progresses through parliament, firms
continue to profit from the delay and have made an estimated £65million
since a change in regulation was mooted, said Which? magazine.

Although many businesses – from cinema chains
to train companies – charge customers if they want to pay by plastic, airlines have
been singled out as the worst culprits for levying high fees.

Rip off: Ryanair is one of the worst culprits when it comes to transaction fees, charging £48 on both credit and debit cards for a return flight for a family of four

This is despite experts agreeing that it costs a company around 8-20p to process a transaction on a credit or debit card.

RIP OFF FEES: WHAT EACH AIRLINE CHARGES IN CREDIT AND DEBIT CARD FEES FOR A RETURN FLIGHT FOR A FAMILY OF FOUR

In future, airlines and other companies
will not be allowed to do this. Instead, if they want to charge more,
they must add it to the headline price of the flight.

Some airlines have changed their policies already. easyJet has added an extra £9 to their ticket price but doesn’t charge an admin fee.

But Ryanair, Flybe, Bmibaby and Jet2 have all put UP their surcharges since the June announcement, said Which?

But it is not just budget airlines that cash in. Swissair, Lufthansa and even British Airways all charge £4.50 per passenger for credit card payments and only on fares under a certain amount.

Some companies have a sliding scale of charges so the more that is spent, the more the credit or debit card charge. And they often charge more for credit card transactions than those made using a debit card.

Jet2 charges a 3.6 per cent basic booking fee – so fares costing a total of £500 would incur an additional £18 if paid for by debit card or £72 for fares costing a total of £2,000.

It charges an additional 3.6 per cent for booking by credit card, so fares costing £500 would incur an extra £36.65 while an incredible £146 extra would be added on for flights costing a basic £2,000.

Expensive: Holiday makers are having to content with huge transaction fees on their flights and even additional charges once they arrive at the airport

WHAT OTHER EXTRAS ARE HOLIDAY MAKERS FORKING OUT FOR?

Some of the budget airlines have come under major scrutiny from watchdogs for a host of additional optional charges and hidden fees.

At Ryanair passengers can expect to fork out £5 for priority boarding and a £10 for reserved seating, while taking sports equipment or a musical instrument can cost £50 (£60 if you don’t book this online.) The budget airline also charge £60 for boarding card reissue – if you turn up at the airport without printing your boarding card.

Travelers using EasyJet are faced with a £30 charge if they arrive with more than one bag, while you will be charged an additional £40 for every extra bag. Speedy boarding will set you back £23 while packing sports equipment will cost an additional £25

Those boarding flights with Bmibaby face rates starting at £13.99 to check in a bag while sports equipment or musical instruments and all other bulky equipment, will be charged at £17.99.

Ryanair charges a family of four £48 for paying using either credit or debit card and so does fellow Irish airline Aer Lingus.

Going by Wizz Air will cost an extra £56 on a credit card or £40 on a debit card.

Which? said ‘Following pressure from Which? the government has pledged to bring forward the Consumer Rights Directive (CRD).

‘Under the CRD companies must limit card charges to the costs actually incurred.

‘Unfortunately,
the legislative process is likely to take 12 months so the new rules
won’t come into force until the end of the year.

‘That gives companies 12 months to milk extra charges from customers.’

Which? money expert Martyn Saville said ‘If companies with to charge those who pay by credit card, the fees should reflect the true cost to the business, rather than being used to squeeze extra profits out of consumers while keeping headline prices low.’

He added that calling it an ‘administration fee is just semantics’ and added ‘We will be working to ensure the CRD tackles rip-off fees.

‘But we want companies to reduce or scrap their surcharges now, rather than wait until the new rules come in at the end of 2012.’

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Transaction fees are not the only extras that have come under criticism from holidaymakers and the majority of budget airline passengers can expect extra charges for sports equipment, choosing a seat, priority boarding, printing boarding passes and food and drink – even on long haul flights.

Here’s what other readers have said. Why not add your thoughts,
or debate this issue live on our message boards.

The comments below have not been moderated.

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Never have,never will fly with a budget airline

– moleman, plymouth, 21/2/2012 08:05

Easyjet have already anticipated the change in Law and now charge an £11.00 “Administration Fee” rather than the elevated credit and debit card fees – also daylight robbery.

– Debbie, Chicago, USA, 21/2/2012 07:16

This is plain theft. The budget airlines are exploiting the time it will take for the preventative regulations to pass through Parliament, much like a robber gets to the bank before it closes.

– David, Thailand, Chonburi, 21/2/2012 01:30

Ryanair – Robbing you every step of your journey.

– Lurch (ex-pat), Palma, Mallorca, 21/2/2012 01:13

The rip-off merchants are British Airways and their ilk. This October I am repeating a flight I took 40 years ago with British Airways, this time I am going with RYANAIR and the price this time round is cheaper than it was four decades ago. If you want to be ripped off fly BA – bigger fool you!!

– Jack, Aberdeen, 20/2/2012 23:32

It simply begs belief why anyone would ever think of flying with this airline. People only have themselves to blame if they are ripped off.
– Pip Waller, North Yorkshire, 20/2/2012 22:33
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At times you have to travel at short notice and have no choice at all, why should they hide behind card fees instead of showing the price upfront?

– Henry Williams, London, 20/2/2012 22:52

I just booked trip home with Ryanair – thought I was going to pay 81 euro (30 euro of which was for the privilege of checking a suitcase into the hold), by the time I finished it was 105 euro! 24 extra euro fee for using a visa debit to book flights for myself and my son. I do appreciate it is still cheap, but it makes my blood boil that right at the end of the transaction, suddenly your costs rocket because of outrageous “admin” fees. (And just as an aside, why, why, why don’t they make the booking in process like Aer Lingus and allow customers to book their own seats online? Surely that would stop the complete bunfight when everyone is boarding! Though suppose then they can’t make their extra money on charging for priority boarding – answer my own question…)

– Beckaroo, Ireland, 20/2/2012 22:36

It simply begs belief why anyone would ever think of flying with this airline. People only have themselves to blame if they are ripped off.

– Pip Waller, North Yorkshire, 20/2/2012 22:33

Well, the answer is to abandon Wizzair, Aer Lingus Ryanair, Flybe, Bmibaby and Jet 2 altogether and only
book flights with the others using a debit card. If no one were to use these carriers’ services how long do you think it would be before they dropped these prohibitive and exploitative charges?

– Kate, Epsom, 20/2/2012 21:29

Ryanair!!! Don´t get me started. I don´t know why people just don´t abandon using the horrid little leprechaun´s airline!
Let´s put a stop to this and just don´t fly with Ryanair, in particular. He´s a greedy little gimp!!!

– David, Barcelona, Spain, 20/2/2012 21:28

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