Credit card and debit card purchases are no longer yielding profits for the consumers as they are paying close to double of the product price
. It has been revealed that consumers could find they end up paying 200 per cent more on an item when they purchase the object using a debit or credit card. According to Which? Money, consumers can be affected by hidden charges when they pay by card.
These charges could add an extra 200 per cent onto the price of an item such as a train ticket. It could cost just 1.70 but the customer may end up paying 3.50 due to the hidden charges. Most of the consumers aren't aware of these charges while purchasing their tickets and know about these only when they see their statements.
These extra charges are usually added as a surcharge or flat fee and the providers claim that these extra costs are put on top of the purchase price because of administration fees. What adds to the woes of the customers is the high interest rates in the United Kingdom which forces them to shell out as much as double of their original expenditure.
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."
Consumers should be especially cautious when buying flight tickets using a debit or credit card as airlines have included a surcharge since 2009. The Payments Council recently revealed that debit card use had increased by 12.4 per cent over the past year and consumers lost 144 million in charges. This amount is huge considering it came during the financial crisis.