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Airlines face legal action over misleading debit card charges
AIRLINES and travel companies were warned yesterday that they face punishment over their “hidden” credit and debit charges.
An investigation by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), found evidence of companies using “drip pricing” tactics – where surcharges are added to the full price only after consumers have filled in a number of web pages.
The OFT estimates that consumers spent £300m on payment surcharges during 2009 in the airline sector.
Its report showed that easyJet charges £8 per card transaction after customers pass through eight web pages while Ryanair adds £6 after four pages.
Ryanair has shrugged off the statement by the OFT, saying that it is “unaffected” and denied levying any credit card charges.