Not sure if this should be in banking or consumer...

[Bookworm]

I have had a furious sister in law on the phone just now. This is what happened:

 

She went to the shop to get gas and electric on the keys. There is a Link machine there, but as they charge £1.75, she paid by chip and pin instead. The guy then said there would be a £1.50 charge for that. She was horrified. Then she said ok, but she wanted a receipt to show that she had paid £1.50 charge. The guy refused.

 

Questions:

Is it legal for the shop to charge for a chip & pin transaction? If not, who should she complain to? Surely, the very fact they wouldn't give her a receipt indicates how dodgy the whole thing is?

[Guest Lueeze]

Thats a disgrace! Im gonig to reasearch it now im so shocked!

[natalie]

Was it a credit or debit card?

 

I know they can charge for credit cards, and for any card if the transaction is less than £5

[Spiceskull]

I know that some shops have a 'minimum spend' for non-cash transactions, and the average is about £10. If your sis-in-law spent below this limit, then the charge covers the admin/card agent cost for the shop in question.

They are probably only making pennies on the transaction, so I would imagine there is no mileage in contesting the charge.

 

However, the receipt should definitely be given - supposing she got home and the key hadn't charged up? I am sure that all 'agents' are required to provide a receipt - they certainly do when I top up my mobile...

[Bookworm]

Debit.

 

Spent £20, 10 on gas, 10 on electric.

[natalie]

Was the charge for using the card or for getting the gas/electric on the keys. I know that if I pay my bills at a shop then they charge £1.50.

 

There's no excuse for not giving your sister-in-law a receipt though.

[Guest Lueeze]

if its a key meter they should be charging tho!

 

I checked the chip and pin site, and no where on the bussiness page does it mention chargeing the consumer...

[mechs]

:o we have never been charged when using chip & pin to charge our electric key!

but she wanted a receipt to show that she had paid £1.50 charge. The guy refused

I would say very dodgy!!

[Bovvered]

She should write to the manager of the shop and ask why she was charged. I have NEVER been charged for paying for electric key using chip and pin, or any other way, EVER...

 

If she writes, he will have to respond and it will be interesting to hear what the manager has to say about this...

[Bookworm]

Thanks for all the responses. I think we all agree there's something not right here. Incidentally, she confirmed that when paying cash, she doesn't get additional charges for topping-up her key, so it's definitely a card issue rather than a bill payment issue, if you know what I mean.

 

So, who does she complain to? Her own bank? The police? Tricky, innit?

 

Sorry, bovvered, we posted at the same time!

Thing is, while she was there, she insisted the staff calls the manager on the phone, which he did, twice, and the manager confirmed the charge.

[Guest Lueeze]

But if she swiped the card before chip and pin started I BET she wouldnt have had to pay a sausage!!! Some shops have to pay for their chip systems, and I wonder if its an underhanded way of clawing back their outlay??

[Guy]

Both myself and my partner have card machines in our businesses, the fees are automatically deducted by the card machine supplier (streamline in my case) an are either proportionate or percentage. Usually a credit card is a percentage of the total sale 1% for example whereas a switch or other debit card is 50p per transaction. This is why in convenience stores there is a minumum charge on a card sale as thier margings on groceries is so low.

 

If the bill was under £5 then a shop may charge you a fee to make it to the minimum BUT THEY WOULD HAVE TO SHOW THIS ON A RECIEPT. The machine only knows the amount to take the commission is done by streamline on a monthly basis.

 

It sounds like hes screwing you / your sister.

[thecornflake]

I woudl say that this possibly constitutes fraud which would mean contacting the police.

 

I would call them (record it if possible) and ask for a justification of the charge. If they give a reason, it's probably unlawful and if they don't then ask them to stop charging for nothing.

 

If they were able to charge for C&P transactions everywhere would do it.

[Bookworm]

This topic was closed on 10 March 2019.

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