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Dbit Card charges

easypool1
Newbie
Posts: 6
Registered: ‎07-01-2010

Dbit Card charges

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.
32 REPLIES 32
joclark
Grafter
Posts: 140
Registered: ‎09-03-2015

Re: Dbit Card charges

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

easypool1
Newbie
Posts: 6
Registered: ‎07-01-2010

Re: Dbit Card charges

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
Chris
Legend
Posts: 17,724
Thanks: 600
Fixes: 169
Registered: ‎05-04-2007

Re: Dbit Card charges

Our policy is a £1.50 charge for non-direct debit payments, this may be credit card, debit card, cheque etc.
Former Plusnet Staff member. Posts after 31st Jan 2020 are not on behalf of Plusnet.
gswindale
Grafter
Posts: 942
Registered: ‎05-04-2007

Re: Dbit Card charges

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).
rongtw
Seasoned Hero
Posts: 6,973
Thanks: 1,541
Fixes: 12
Registered: ‎01-12-2010

Re: Dbit Card charges

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  Angry
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plusnettony
Plusnet Staff
Plusnet Staff
Posts: 2,188
Thanks: 48
Fixes: 18
Registered: ‎24-07-2014

Re: Dbit Card charges

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.
If this post resolved your issue please click the 'This fixed my problem' button
 Tony T
 Plusnet Help Team
chandu
Rising Star
Posts: 671
Thanks: 19
Fixes: 2
Registered: ‎30-12-2010

Re: Dbit Card charges

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?
Chris
Legend
Posts: 17,724
Thanks: 600
Fixes: 169
Registered: ‎05-04-2007

Re: Dbit Card charges

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.
Former Plusnet Staff member. Posts after 31st Jan 2020 are not on behalf of Plusnet.
newagetraveller
Pro
Posts: 690
Thanks: 144
Fixes: 2
Registered: ‎03-08-2012

Re: Dbit Card charges

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/cards/2015/03/eu-agrees-card-charges-shake-up-but-will-shopper...
Third and fourth paragraphs are the relevant ones. Debit card transaction fee is typically 8p. So a nice little earner for Plusnet. Huh
jelv
Seasoned Hero
Posts: 26,785
Thanks: 971
Fixes: 10
Registered: ‎10-04-2007

Re: Dbit Card charges

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!
jelv (a.k.a Spoon Whittler)
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Razorback
Grafter
Posts: 208
Registered: ‎08-08-2014

Re: Dbit Card charges

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

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.
rongtw
Seasoned Hero
Posts: 6,973
Thanks: 1,541
Fixes: 12
Registered: ‎01-12-2010

Re: Dbit Card charges

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  Lips_are_sealed 
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 
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Townman
Superuser
Superuser
Posts: 22,922
Thanks: 9,538
Fixes: 158
Registered: ‎22-08-2007

Re: Dbit Card charges

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!

Superusers are not staff, but they do have a direct line of communication into the business in order to raise issues, concerns and feedback from the community.

Razorback
Grafter
Posts: 208
Registered: ‎08-08-2014

Re: Dbit Card charges

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.