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Shop owners illegally charge extra for using their speed points!
You know how you walk into a local shop buying bread, milk, electricity or getting cashback, using your card as a source of payment and the cashier says “we’re charging you R3 extra for swiping” or “you cannot swipe unless you spend a minimum or R20/30/50“. Well, guess what? That is completely illegal and you’re being exploited.
Business owners justify this action by claiming to use this method as a way of escaping the transactional fees charged by the bank. This shouldn’t be your burden/problem as a customer.
The South African law, the Consumer Protection Act (CPA), under section 23 states that the price displayed on the shelf must be the final price paid at the till. The South African Reserve Bank interchange policy also states that there shouldn’t be surcharges. Surcharging is seen as a form of tax that business owners see as a cost recovery mechanism.
We are enabling this
The reason why this practice continues to happen is because we allow it to happen. We need to fight back by:
- Politely refusing to pay the extra fee and inform them of section 23 of the Consumer Protection Act.
- If they refuse and insist you pay, take a video or photograph of the incident and the normal price you’re supposed to pay, the name and address of the business, the date and time of the incident as evidence.
- Report the issue at your bank, file a report with the National Consumer Commission.
Shop owners who want to advance with the new modern technologies must bear the costs. Paying these extra fees as customers enables and prolongs our exploitations.