NfCG Group News
Central Hertfordshire
Making a surcharge for payment by credit card has been accepted by the credit card companies for several years now. In the Autumn issue of Trident, Central Herts Consumer Group's quarterly magazine, the Editor observes that, thankfully, few retailers impose a charge - but see the letter from Terence Kelly on page 10.
However, travel agents, particularly the national chains, often do make a charge. Central Herts Group, assisting in a national survey on behalf of NfCG and the Credit Card Research Group, investigated local ]'ravel Agents. They contacted four national chains, one local chain and ten independent agents as well as four locally based tour operators.
They found that all four national chains made a surcharge of 1%, waived in two cases if the bill came to more than £2,000. Thomas Cook placed a ceiling of £10 and World Choice Canton a ceiling of £20, charging £5 extra if the bill came to less than £75 - which would, surely, encourage looking elsewhere.
The local chain, Andes Travel, and many of the independents made no surcharge. One, A41 Travel Agent, charged 2% but not for packaged holidays. AVR Global Travel made different surcharges for different cards - 1.5% for Visa or Mastercard, 2% for Diners Club and 3% for Amex. Another, Bud-jet Flights, charged 2% for using an Amex card.
Got a cheque and no bank account?
The Group observes that providing a cheque cashing service for those with no bank account seems to be a growing business. They asked four firms offering such a service, all members of the British Cheque Cashers Assn. (BCCA), how much they charged. One said they would quote for a specific request but the other three were quite open - 8% + £2, 8% + £1 .50 and 7% ± £2.
They discovered that there was another service offered to those who do have a bank account but who, for various reasons, cannot draw on it at the moment. Cheque Cashers will take a customer's own cheque and pay out cash, for which service a charge (in one case of 8% plus £2) is made. There is more. For a charge (in one case of 10% plus £2) the firms undertook not to present the cheque for two weeks, while for a slightly higher charge (12% plus £2 in one case) they would delay presentation for four weeks.
The firms operating this service obviously have to be convinced of a customer's identity and of the soundness of the cheque drawer. Even then, they are taking a risk and charges must take this into account. It seems that charges for large cheques are negotiable.
Canberra
Yes, you read it correctly, we have news from the Canberra Consumer Group in Australia.
They sent our Secretary a copy of their March newsletter which bears an uncanny resemblance to several home grown ones. It has plenty of National and International consumer news as well as some arising locally. A page and a half are devoted to "Recalls and Bans" and detail commodities which have been on sale and, for various reasons recalled, or for which there is an important modification.
Non-see-through sun glasses
A good example is a sunglasses safety recall referring to "Street heat" sunglasses, known as "Blues Brothers" shades. Anyone who has seen the Blues Brothers film or stage show will know the glasses. The blue mirror-coated lenses do not meet the Australian Standard as the luminous transmission level is less than 8'X and they should never be worn when driving! The message continues "return to store for refund".
Grill the House?
A member of the group reported that his Aunt asked him to look at her Cheff Stella gas stove grill. It proved to have two large holes in the burner, making it highly dangerous. The considerable gas flow actually blew out the flame on one occasion leaving unburned gas escaping. The consequences of relighting the grill could have been explosive.
lie obtained a new burner from Cheff which, unlike the faulty one, was made of stainless steel. Lie questioned this and was told that natural gas was corrosive and all burners eventually became faulty. The correspondent points out that, obviously the manufacturer knew about the problem, but has not issued any warnings or recalls.
National Consumer Week in Plymouth
Plymouth Group plans to hold an exhibition in November in conjunction with the Plymouth Trading Standards Department to mark National Consumer Week. After that it will hold its annual shop window competition, as well as conducting a survey to compare the prices charged for goods in shops and catalogues.
Baby Changing Survey
Plymouth Group rather bravely carried out a limited survey of parents walking through the Armada shopping centre, asking them which in-store baby-changing and feeding facilities in the city centre they thought best. Forty-six mothers kindly responded, but, it seems, no fathers. One wonders whether it is because fathers in Plymouth never change nappies or did the surveyors not ask them? The favourite was Mothercare, where pleasant clean facilities were found, all that a mother and baby require to stay comfortable. The Early Learning Centre also had good facilities, as had Debenhams and Boots. As these are all shops found in most large shopping centres the survey result gives a guide on where to go with a baby to fettle in any town
At one time Consumer Advice Centres and Desks were quite common, but then virtually disappeared as budgets tightened. It was interesting to read in "The Plymouth Consumer" that Plymouth now has a Consumer Advice Desk in the Civic Centre. This desk deals with more than 6000 complaints a year with many more of them being from personal callers now the desk is more centrally situated. Plymouth and District's neat, pocket-sized magazine (above) turns up regularly. There are plenty of photographs drawings and tables to help clarify the many interesting articles. Computers may not be everybody's cup of tea, but they have certainly revolutionised the production of low-run newsletters.
Birmingham Travails
A member of the Birmingham Consumer Group - Ruth Kiemperer - had a terrifying experience earlier this year, which she wrote about in the September issue of the Group's newsletter. She fell and broke her ankle while out walking at the far end of Rhossilil Bay, on the Gower peninsula late in March, and was not found until 10 am the next morning, even though both ground and air searches had been mounted.
In her account she skates over what must have been a terrifying night. She reports that her helicopter crew rescuers could not have been kindlier or more professional. She stayed four days in Morriston Hospital in Swansea and found everyone very pleasant and friendly. She was then transferred nearer home to Selly Oak Hospital, in Birmingham, where she felt well looked after, but sensed that the staff were under a lot of pressure.
The Occupational Health Service gained full marks for organising her return home. They also provided essential aids to getting about with a broken ankle. The outpatients clinic, however, was obviously an ordeal, though she does not say so. She was kept waiting for six hours (!) on her first visit and "only" three and a half hours on her second. She comments that the staff seemed very pressured. It would have speeded matters considerably if the department had had a few more wheel chairs.
Transport to and from the hospital was organised in private cars. She advises that if you are ever in the same situation, book both ways. If a friend offers to take you, make sure that he or she can bring you home as well. Single journeys did not fit in well with the system.
How accurate are newspaper reports?
Ruth Kiemperer's accident was reported in six newspapers, two of them national, two Welsh and two from Birmingham. She says that they all got the basic story right but that the timings varied considerably. They all got her name wrong. What puzzled her most was why three of them also got her age wrong but only one made a mistake in her former occupation. It makes one wonder whether any reporting in newspapers is anywhere near correct and why do newspapers always think it important to quote a person's age - and then get it wrong?
Consumer Group Members should not go to such lengths to test their medical and emergency services or the reliability of newspaper reporting!
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