Thursday 31 October 2013

UAE Petrol Retailers Are Breaking The Law It Seems

Credit Cards
(Photo credit: 401(K) 2013)
A report in today's Gulf News quotes Omar Bu Shahab, CEO of the Commercial Compliance and Consumer Protection Division (CCCP) in the Department of Economic Development in Dubai as saying that charging 2% fees on credit and debit card transactions is a violation of consumer protection law.

While he was commenting on an attempt by a GEMS school to levy a 2% processing fee on credit and debit card transactions, his clarification also applies to Emarat and EPPCO/ENOC service stations, which charge the fee on credit card transactions for fuel. This surcharge appears to have been the resolution of a spat between the credit card companies and the fuel distributors dating back to 2007 - and the early days of this here very blog. The story from way back then is suitably linked 'ere. Basically, the retailers (not ADNOC, you'll note) have always charged extra for credit card purchases, in violation of the card issuers' agreements and when the card companies kicked off, the retailers just stopped taking credit cards. They've recently started again, but with a Dhs2 'service fee' on any transaction for fuel up to Dhs100. In short, 2%...

“Retailers who are charging extra fees on the credit card or debt card payments are violating the consumer protection law and will be subject to penalties,” Mr Bu Shahab told the newspaper that tells it like it is.*

So it'll be interesting to hear what the petrol companies say when the media come calling, won't it?

*Well, sometimes.
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4 comments:

Rupert Neil Bumfrey said...

Surely as Dubai Government entities, such piffling rules do not apply?

Unknown said...

Actually Alexander, as is the case normally, there are two sets of rules. One for private enterprise and one for Government and Quasi-Government.

Initially, the Government said it was illegal to charge a surcharge for credit card transactions, then said it was OK to charge extra if it was a government owned institution. The petrol companies at this stage stopped accepting credit cards for a period of two years and then earlier this year, there was a statement that said petrol companies can now charge a surcharge.

The Dubai-owned petrol companies (i.e. ENOC/EPPCO and Emarat) were the ones who stopped accepting credit cards and this was because they said they lose money on every litre of petrol they sell. ADNOC on other hand is profitable at the prices fixed federally and thus never stopped accepting credit cards.

Three Gulf News links below highlight the saga.

No charge on credit cards from July 1 - http://gulfnews.com/business/retail/no-charge-on-credit-cards-from-july-1-1.818403

Services exempt from credit card fee directive - http://gulfnews.com/business/retail/services-exempt-from-credit-card-fee-directive-1.818776

Enoc, Eppco, Emarat stations in Dubai to accept credit/debit card payments - http://gulfnews.com/business/oil-gas/enoc-eppco-emarat-stations-in-dubai-to-accept-credit-debit-card-payments-1.1216412

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