Question:
I had a problem with the Durban Ethekwini municipality in February last year. They charge us card commission if we pay our bill by credit card. I don't have the financial muscle to take them to court, and even the banks don't want to fight them, and I felt this is totally unfair to consumers. Can you help?

Answer:
I spoke to Don Engelbrecht, the Director of card acquiring at Standard Bank. He said that no merchant including municipalities are allowed to charge a client extra when using a credit card. They agree to this rule when they sign up for merchant status. He said that if this happens the client should take note of the terminal being used and report the matter to the card acquiring division of the relevant bank. Most retailers factor in these costs to their products anyway, they are not losing money.

I have seen complaints of this nature (about municipalities) before and you are correct in your belief that they seem to be getting away with it. I assume that the banks are between a rock and a hard place. They receive millions of rands in revenue from municipal charges so they are reluctant to withdraw the service for violations.

However I strongly believe that the law should be applied evenly otherwise this blatant flouting of the rules could well be adopted by other retailers if they think that they can get away with it. As George Orwell states in his book, Animal Farm, we are all equal, but some are more equal than others. If you see this happening in any store a threat to report them is often enough to get them to withdraw the charges, but I would still report them for the individuals who are oblivious of their rights.