A consumer group has criticised a number of councils and local authorities for imposing surcharges for people who wish to pay tax bills or other costs by credit card.

‘Which?’ magazine, using Freedom of Information legislation, found that 55 councils in the UK are imposing additional fees for those who chose to pay by credit card, with 12 adding 2% or more to the cost of services.

Two councils were also found to be charging for debit card transactions, which attract a much lower fee for the retailer than a credit card transaction.

Bath and North East Somerset Council were named amongst the worst culprits, imposing a surcharge of 3% on council tax payments, planning applications and many other services, if a credit card is used.

Credit card companies impose a fee on retailers, known as merchants, for handling a credit card transaction and it is that fee that councils claim is the reason behind these charges. The idea of credit card surcharges is extremely common in some industries, particularly in the travel sector where profit margins are often extremely low.

“There’s certainly a cost for paying by card,” says James Daley, editor of ‘Money Which?’

“But there’s also a cost to every company to keep the lights on and we don’t see an extra charge for that.”

Both ‘Which?’ and Visa would like to see the charges removed entirely, with Visa arguing that it actually costs more for councils to process cheques and cash.

Charges for paying by card are banned in several EU countries, including France, Germany, Italy and Portugal.

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