Customers were told it was “procedure”.
A chip shop owner in Wales has been fined for charging customers extra for using their bank card to purchase food.
Duran Sasmaz, owner of Aran Fish and Chip in Llangefni on Anglesey, Wales, charged customers who opted to pay by card an additional 50p for transactions less than £15.
Despite previous warnings, Sasmaz, was reported to Anglesey Trading Standards after a councillor overheard a customer arguing over the additional charge when paying for their meal.
After the customer was told “it was procudure” a subsequent test confirmed that surcharges were being applied.
Since 2018, businesses in the UK have not been permitted to add any surcharges to card payments.
According to The Consumer Rights (Payment Surcharges) Regulations 2012, for most retail payments, the Regulations ban merchants from charging a fee in addition to the advertised price of a transaction on the basis of a consumer’s choice of payment instrument (for example, credit card, debit card or e-money).
Many similar businesses operate on a cash only basis to avoid the additional overheads associated with making card payment facilities available.
The shop owner admitted breaching trade regulations and was fined £1,512 at Caernarfon Magistrates Court.
The prosecution argued that previous warnings were an “aggravating factor”.
While the exact amount of his additional earnings were not quantified, both the prosecution and defence agreed that it was somewhere around £6000.
Sasmaz was said to be of previously good character locally, and claimed in his defence that he always told customers that the charge had been added.
Gareth Parry, consultant lawyer for Mr Sasmaz, told the court that the Covid pandemic meant that most food businesses were expected to turn over to card payments and expected to absorb additional costs.
He argued that Sasmaz, whose first language was Turkish, didn’t fully understand the implications of this, and had showed deep remorse for his actions.
Mr Parry added that his client had pledged to donate all of this additional profits to charity, and had already given half of his extra earnings to a local foodbank.
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