Credit card fee move '˜a rip off'

The Blackpool-based firm will be banning payment by credit card.

Lawrence Chard, director of the firm, said customers will not benefit by the EU ruling.

He said: “The government states that ‘shoppers across the country have that bit of extra cash to spend on the things that matter to them’.

“But don’t be fooled. If you think this will save you money you will be wrong.

“It makes us furious when politicians and governments lie.

“Most retailers will increase their prices willy nilly to compensate for the loss of surcharges and you will end up paying extra for everything!

The real rip-off is that consumers will end up being charged more across the board. Customers paying by debit card, cash or bank transfer will end up paying the same as those paying by credit card.

“Why should you pay a higher price just so that someone else can have the privilege of paying by credit card?”

Mr Chard added: “The old adage ‘There’s no such thing as a free lunch’ is true. Customers want to know exactly what they are paying for, but more often than not, commissions, surcharges and free delivery charges etc are hidden and built into product prices.”

In America there is a growing pressure to go for a cashless society.

But transaction errors are not unheardof and money sometimes goes missing.Mr Chard said what happenned in America tended to follows across to the UK.

Mr Chard said: “It will end up costing you more money, the electroic payment companies will make millions and their CEOs will take home even bigger bonuses.

“It will not be a great deal for the public.” Chard is an award-winning bullion dealer in Blackpool.

Voted UK bullion dealer of the year for the last three years, Chard has the largest collection of collectable coins and bullion in the UK.