UPDATE: EU Consumer Directive. Ban on credit card surcharges goes into effect

A recent update to the EU’s Consumer Rights Directive, which goes into effect today, is the inability for traders and merchants to charge a surcharge for credit card based transactions.

The new ban on surcharges means traders are not allowed to charge more than the actual cost of processing a card, an issue associated primarily with travel and event tickets. The new addition to the directive joins a list of new consumer based regulations throughout the EU.

The list of changes includes: -Aforementioned inability to charge of additional surcharges on credit cards. -Ban on pre-ticked boxes which may entail additional charges to the final total. -No hidden fees. Amounts charged must now include, shipping, taxes, VAT etc. prior to charging the used payment method. -Extension of the customer cool-off period from 7 to 14 days. -Addition of customers which purchased digital media and products to the 14 day cool off period. The digital cool-off period comes into effect after the customer consents to the actual downloading of a product.

We will post more on changes in the EU’s Consumer Directive when more information is made available.