topic Re: Dbit Card charges in Plusnet Feedback

Dbit Card charges

easypool1 — Mon, 09 Mar 2015 16:07:27 GMT

For a forward looking company I am surprised you make a charge when I pay by debit card.
Personally I think you are taking advantage and the last time I brought this debit card charge with yourselves my inquiry was treated with disdain.
Airlines and trainlines etc etc do not charge.
How do you justify this?
A few comments from others-
Marion King, Mastercard UK president, explains: ‘When you use your card there is a cost. If you use a debit card in this country you won’t pay for it.
Debit card: 8p per transaction. The shop gets £99.92
Barclays
Debit card purchases in the UK We will not charge you
UK Cards Association:
Debit cards do not usually have transaction fees associated with them – then in general in the UK, debit cards can cost nothing.

Re: Dbit Card charges

joclark — Mon, 09 Mar 2015 16:16:56 GMT

Good afternoon, although you are using a debit card to make the payments you are not using the actual direct debit details (sort code and account number). This is why you will be charge the surcharge if you look at the below link, this will give you some information on the charge.
http://www.plus.net/support/customer_service/billing/billing_guide.shtml
Under section 6. How can I pay for my Plusnet services?
Thanks
Jo

Re: Dbit Card charges

easypool1 — Mon, 09 Mar 2015 16:34:46 GMT

Thank you I have read the statement.
I am asking how you justify charging £1.50 for a debit card when as far as I can see no-one else does.
I am not talking about credit cards.
Please state whether it is your company policy to charge £1.50 for Debit card payments

Re: Dbit Card charges

Chris — Mon, 09 Mar 2015 16:39:07 GMT

Our policy is a £1.50 charge for non-direct debit payments, this may be credit card, debit card, cheque etc.

Re: Dbit Card charges

gswindale — Tue, 10 Mar 2015 20:47:48 GMT

BT Retail do the same; as do a fair few of the utility companies out there.
It is a little frustrating especially in cases such as is at work where Direct Debits are not really possible (clients monies and virtual bank accounts etc).

Re: Dbit Card charges

rongtw — Tue, 10 Mar 2015 21:39:28 GMT

i know its only a small amount , but over 12 month it adds up.
i pay several bill via recurring debit card and dont have charges its only PN who charge

Re: Dbit Card charges

plusnettony — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 19:41:23 GMT

We recommend direct debit as it generally works out better for everyone.
As well as the card transaction fee itself, we have to consider other costs such as chasing failed bills when cards expire etc.

Re: Dbit Card charges

chandu — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 19:53:01 GMT

Quote from: plusnettony
As well as the card transaction fee itself, we have to consider other costs such as chasing failed bills when cards expire etc.

Do the failed bills (when cards expire) occur that frequently? I would have expected PN to send an email (individually) as a reminder to update the card details well in advance of its expiry. Is it too much for PN to do this?

Re: Dbit Card charges

Chris — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 09:04:34 GMT

We do send an email when card details are getting close to expiring. The non-DD charge is a business decision based on a number of factors, and ultimately a DD offers more security for both parties due to the DD guarantee.

Re: Dbit Card charges

newagetraveller — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 09:21:54 GMT

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/cards/2015/03/eu-agrees-card-charges-shake-up-but-will-shoppers-actually-pay-less?_ga=1.130459149.342000886.1344431684
Third and fourth paragraphs are the relevant ones. Debit card transaction fee is typically 8p. So a nice little earner for Plusnet.

Re: Dbit Card charges

jelv — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 09:51:28 GMT

8p is the direct charge Plusnet have to pay. Before you can say it's a nice earner you have to know how much extra it costs for extra staff time etc. processing these and dealing with the failures!

Re: Dbit Card charges

Razorback — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 10:02:35 GMT

Quote from: Chris
The non-DD charge is a business decision based on a number of factors.

Re: Dbit Card charges

rongtw — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 10:12:57 GMT

There is also the punitive aspect. PlusNet probably prefer (as do a lot of companies) payments by direct debit. The charge levied is therefore not only there to cover the additional processing costs of cards but also to discourage their use.
well said,, Razorback
we have had several threads about this previously , and all have come to nowt
I pay every month with my debit card because it suits Me ! and i dont agree with paying the extra £1.50 to subside the Bad payers on PN service .
i can use any pay point machine and only get a 50p charge , i pay my 02 mobile with my debit card and dont get any charge .
but i cant see PN admitting the actual cost to them Here , but i would say its less than £1.50

Re: Dbit Card charges

Townman — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 11:33:17 GMT

Do not confuse the per transaction charges with the other (additional) service use and governance costs.
The IT system costs required to comply with the payment card industry procedures (PCI-DSS) are extremely punitive. The data separation, network separation, processing separation and annual audit requirements costs are substantial. Any IT component which "touches" the card details is subject to the PCI-DSS rules, including phone call recording systems. As if IT systems and their general security were not already complex enough, PCI-DSS makes matters mind bogglingly more complex. There is more than the alleged 8p per transaction charge to be considered.
There are numerous choices with associated costs. Make the choice over which suits you best and accept the associated cost and get on with life. If you don't like the cost, chose the free option. Simples!

Re: Dbit Card charges

Razorback — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 12:09:21 GMT

Reminds of when Ryanair used to say you could avoid their card fees by using a certain hard to get prepaid card of their choosing. Use any other card and you were hit with a hefty card fee for each person on a booking. In reality it meant that most people had to pay the “optional” surcharge.

Re: Dbit Card charges

AndyH — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 12:33:28 GMT

Businesses do not like continuous payments via debit card for a whole list of reasons:
- It costs a lot more than direct debit transactions
- People get new debit cards or they expire without updating their continuous authority (so the failure rate is high)
- You need the staff to manage the above
If you gave people the option to pay each month online, you would have a large number of people in arrears on their accounts.
There is an advantage also for consumers where direct debits offer a lot more protection. In the event of a human error with a debit card payment, it can be a nightmare to chase to get a refund.

Re: Dbit Card charges

rongtw — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 13:59:59 GMT

I dont see how using debit card expire makes fail rate high my card lasts 5 years , so a debit card payment wont fail until 2019
i pay a lot of bills Via debit card and am not in arrears
and it easier for me as a recurring debit is paid on the day my pension is paid into my account so it never misses , so this makes the only sensible way for me not to get Bank charges for failed DD

Re: Dbit Card charges

AndyH — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 14:40:43 GMT

Bank accounts don't expire - debit cards expire every day. Not every card will be issued for 5 years, some will expire earlier or banks may issue new cards for a whole over reason (I've had three in the last 5 or so years).
Statistically, there are more accounts who miss/fail payments for those who pay via a continuous authority compared to direct debits.
Isn't it no different for you to pay via direct debit on the date or day after your pension hits your account?

Re: Dbit Card charges

pwatson — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 14:48:32 GMT

If all of PN's (750,000?) customers used debit cards, and assuming 5 year (around 1800 days) expiry with an even spread of expiry dates, over 400 cards will expire every day...

Re: Dbit Card charges

Townman — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 14:58:34 GMT

~~Phil~~ Peter,
You make the point well, but if you consider that the expiry is the end of the month, then there are 12,000 expiring every month. That would be a lot of administrative action & chasing for users and PN alike...
Edit: Sorry confused you with one of the other regulars around here