Question for written answer E-014957/2015 to the Commission
Rule 130
Julie Girling (ECR)
Subject: Service charges
It has been brought to my attention that consumers using the website fly.co.uk are facing unexpected and disproportionately high service charges once payments are issued.
Can the Commission clarify the legality of such practices and inform me of the procedures in place by way of consumer protection?
EN E-014957/2015 Answer given by Ms Jourová on behalf of the Commission
The Unfair Commercial Practices Directive 2005/29/EC protects consumers against misleading commercial practices. In accordance with Articles 6(1)(d) and 7(4)(c) of that Directive, traders have to clearly specify the price inclusive of taxes. Breaches of these rules can be considered unfair under the Directive, on the condition that the practices are likely to cause the average consumer to take a transactional decision he would not have taken otherwise. Whether this is the case must be assessed by national authorities and courts.
In accordance with Article 19 of the Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83 , when such fees for the use of credit cards are charged, traders are prohibited from charging consumers fees that exceed their own actual cost for the acceptance of such cards.
In addition, Article 22 of the Air Services Regulation 1008/2008 ensures that air carriers may freely set their price while Article 23(1) of the said Regulation provides that the final price to be paid shall be indicated from the beginning of any booking process and shall include the applicable air fare as well as all applicable taxes, charges, fees and surcharges which are unavoidable and foreseeable at the time of publication while optional price supplements shall be communicated in a clear, transparent and unambiguous way at the start of any booking process. These rules are applicable both in case an airline directly sells tickets and/or through online ticket agents.
Whether a change of the price during the booking process is contrary to these rules, is to be assessed by the competent national authorities on a case-by-case basis, taking all relevant circumstances into account.
