The European Union Consumer Rights Directive came into force a few weeks back on the 13th June.
It has been designed to achieve a high level of consumer protection when contracts are negotiated away from business premises (e.g. when guests book online or over the phone etc.). So if you own or manage self-catering accommodation or run a holiday letting agency, and you take online bookings and payments through your website and over the phone, this post is for you.
Here’s a quick recap
- You cannot charge your guests a surcharge which is higher than the cost to you to process their card payment.
- You must declare all costs (including any debit or credit card charges) a guest will be charged when they book online or over the phone.
- You cannot pre-tick boxes authorising additional purchases on behalf of your guests (e.g. options and extras). Your guest must ‘opt-in’ rather than ‘opt-out’.
What you can include in your surcharge
- The merchant service charge.
- Costs for IT and equipment used to process that payment method only (e.g. card terminal).
- Processing fees (e.g. charges or refunding costs).
To be safe just make sure that you only pass on the exact amount you are charged for processing the payment – no more.
