OFT: Regulator must deal with surcharges, too
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) sums up its recommendations to the government in its report from June 2011 on surcharges:
"The OFT's view is that retailers should make headline prices meaningful for comparison purposes by not imposing surcharges for debit cards, which we consider are currently the standard online payment mechanism.
"Any costs the retailer incurs for processing debit card payments should be treated as part of the cost of doing business and should be included in the headline price.
"The OFT considers it is necessary to recommend both a regulatory solution and enforcement action under consumer protection regulations.
"This is to ensure a meaningful and consistent solution to the cross-economy issue of payment surcharges and to tackle individual retailers whose practices we consider are resulting in significant consumer detriment."
