Cinema chains in the UK are coming under
fire for continuing to levy “misleading and unfair” surcharges on
online card payments, a practice which is gaining increasing
popularity within the entertainment sector.
Despite an earlier ruling by the Office of
Fair trading (OFT) that dismissed surcharges as being detrimental
to consumers, new research by consumer watchdog Which? has
revealed that as well as tourist attractions, the practice of
adding inflated card surcharges is also popular among cinema
chains like Vue and Odeon.
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According to the research findings, Merlin
Entertainments-owned Alton Towers, Chessington World of Adventures,
Thorpe Park and Warwick Castle, charge customers a fee of £1
($1.63) to £2.50 for online payments on debit and credit cards
and cinema chains Vue and Odeon charge 70p and 75p respectively per
ticket.
“We think card surcharges are completely
misleading and unfair, and make it hard for consumers to see the
true cost of their purchase. The Treasury must act quickly to put
an end to debit card charges for good,” said Richard Lloyd,
executive director of Which?
“While budget airlines may be the worst
offenders, excessive card surcharges are widespread, with everyone
from cinemas and visitor attractions through to train companies
getting in on the act.”
The treasury has yet to respond to
recommendations by the OFT that debit card surcharging should be
ended for good.
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By GlobalData
