Some concerned customers of domestic waste operator Greyhound have reported having surcharges applied, for choosing to pay their domestic waste bin charges by credit or debit card. According to one local county councillor representing residents in Lucan and Palmerstown-Fonthill, Greyhound customers have contacted him about the recent introduction of a surcharge, described on account holder’s bills as a ‘transaction fee’.
Cllr Derren Ó Brádaigh said “I was first contacted by a Greyhound customer living in Lucan before Christmas and complaining of being charged .85ct for every transaction that they made by bank card. When they raised this with the company, they were quickly reimbursed €1.70 for the two prior occasions charged. Shortly afterwards, I received another call from a customer in Palmerstown concerned at the legality of being charged for every time they paid by card. I contacted the company by email asking that they set out their policy in this regard but only received an automated response, with no further correspondence. That same afternoon, I was contacted by the same Palmerstown resident to say the charge was now being ‘waived’ after raising the issue earlier in the day.
Cllr Ó Brádaigh also said “I spoke with party colleagues and asked for a Parliamentary Question be submitted to the Minister. At the end of January, we submitted this through my colleague Mark Ward TD’s office, asking for clarification and comment on any reported practice of such in the industry. In response it was stated that the practice of service providers charging consumers a surcharge for making payments with credit or debit cards is prohibited under Regulations 86(6) of S.I. No.6 of 2028. The response went on further to state that the issue has now been brought to the attention of the Central Bank of Ireland and the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.
Ó Brádaigh added “Initially I submitted this as a concern for the attention of South Dublin County Council, but as I expected, they do not have any role in this regard, because as we unfortunately are all too aware, domestic waste collection services were taken out of the hands of our local authorities. Therefore, I felt compelled to contact the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, which I did in early January. The response when received this month stated that whilst the Commission does not hold an ombudsman role and they can’t intervene in individual disputes, they advise any customer that has experienced a surcharge applied to their transaction to query the exact reason for it with the business and seek a refund where it relates to the use of a card to make a payment. On a follow up call with the agency, they did confirm that they had received a several complaints and that this had been referred to their Consumer Enforcement Protection Team to further investigate the matter.
Cllr Ó Bradaigh further added “In the meantime, I did contact Greyhound earlier this month to again ask for an update on behalf of the constituents I represent and requesting clarification from the waste services operator. I asked whether they would confirm this new charge, when it was introduced and if customers had been notified. The response was not forthcoming, and I have received no reply to a subsequent email almost 2 weeks ago now. I also called Greyhound this week and spoke with a representative regarding charges for new customers. When I asked the specific question about incurring any additional charges for choosing to pay by card, it was confirmed to me that a 2 month up-front payment was required and a ‘transaction fee’ of 0.85ct would apply on every transaction made by card. When I queried this practice, I was put on hold to see if ‘anything could be done’. I was then quickly informed that this could be waived, but only if I signed up today!”
The Councillor concluded by saying “In a time of increased cost of living difficulties being felt by so many families in my constituency and beyond, and when people all too often are simply being squeezed for every penny, I would appeal to all businesses to engage transparently, fairly and apply an equal payment policy for goods and services for every customer. I welcome the referral of this matter to the appropriate bodies and look forward to any decision affording fair outcome to all concerned.”
