British Telecom Payment Processing Fee and the Con...

Question

On April 6th, 2013 the government introduced the Consumer Rights (Payment Surcharges) Regulations 2012. Item 4 of the act states:
“A trader must not charge consumers, in respect of the use of a given means of payment, fees that exceed the cost borne by the trader for the use of that means.”
Irrespective of this British Telecom still insist on charging its customers a £6 “Payment Processing Fee” per quarter (£24 per year) for the privilege of paying their bill on time and in full by any other means than Direct Debit.
Martin

Answer 1

MartinWaller wrote:
It's interesting that. When our Government voted for the new regulations they voted on exactly that - the regulations - they didn't vote on the Guidance.
Yes, but the guidance is essentially a plain English description of the Regulations. It's Regulation 5(2)(k)&(l); as you need the full story, here goes:
An excluded contract is a contract—
(a)for social services, including social housing, childcare and support of families and persons permanently or temporarily in need, including long-term care;
(b)for health services provided, whether or not via healthcare facilities, by health professionals to patients to assess, maintain or restore their state of health, including the prescription, dispensation and provision of medicinal products and medical devices (and “health professionals” has the meaning given by Article 3(f) of Directive 2011/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on the application of patients’ rights in cross-border healthcare)(4);
(c)for gambling within the meaning of the Gambling Act 2005(5) (which includes gaming, betting and participating in a lottery);
(d)for services of a banking, credit, insurance, personal pension, investment or payment nature;
(e)for the creation of immovable property or of rights in immovable property;
(f)for rental of accommodation for residential purposes;
(g)for the construction of new buildings, or the construction of substantially new buildings by the conversion of existing buildings;
(h)which falls within the scope of Directive 2008/122/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of consumers in respect of certain aspects of timeshare, long–term holiday product, resale and exchange contracts(6);
(i)for the supply of foodstuffs, beverages or other goods intended for current consumption in the household, and which are supplied by a trader on frequent and regular rounds to the consumer’s home, residence or workplace;
(j)concluded by means of automatic vending machines or automated commercial premises;
(k)concluded with a telecommunications operator through a public telephone for the use of the telephone;
(l)concluded for the use of one single connection, by telephone, internet or fax, established by a consumer;
(m)under which goods are sold by way of execution or otherwise by authority of law.
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