'Payment not an admission of guilt'

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CAMPERVAN and motorhome rental business Cruisin Motorhomes has been hit with $12,600 penalty after the ACCC issued an infringement notice for an alleged breach of the excessive payment surcharge laws.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission claimed the company, which has branches in Hobart, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Cairns, charged Visa and MasterCard customers a two percent surcharge, despite processing costs ranging from 0.41 to 1.48 per-cent.

The ban on excessive surcharges came into effect for all businesses on September 1 last year.

Cruisin Motorhomes cooperated with the ACCC's investigation and has now taken steps to review and reduce its surcharges.

ACCC deputy chairman Mick Keogh warned that overcharging was prohibited by the Competition and Consumer Act 2010.

"If businesses choose to impose a surcharge, they can only charge customers what it costs them to process a payment," he said.

“Businesses need to ensure the credit and debit card surcharges they impose comply with the law or they risk facing ACCC action."

He advised that businesses unsure what the cost of acceptance is for a particular payment method should contact their financial institution for guidance before charging consumers.

The ACCC explained that the payment of a penalty specified in an infringement notice was not an admission of a contravention of the Competition and Consumer Act.

Infringement notices can be issued where there are reasonable grounds to believe a person has contravened certain provisions of the Act or Australian Consumer Law, it said.