Tolltag/Parkmagic Extra Transaction Charge from 1st May 2011

backboiler

I received a message from parkmagic.ie informing me that from Sunday they intend to charge Pay-As-You-Go customers a euro every time they top up their account via credit card (this equates to an additional 5% charge by default, on top of the 10% management fee that is the basis of their business model).
I don't have the applicable terms and conditions to hand at this time, however on their press release introducing the service in July 2008 (http://corporate.parkmagic.net/pmcorporate/pmcommon/viewpress.aspx?file=../media/pressrelease/pressrelease_21.txt) they clearly state:

Tolltag.ie wrote:

Tags can be topped up in the same way as a pay as you go phone with a minimum top-up of ?10 [sic]. There will be no surcharge at point of sale.

That's a statement that they now intend to renege on. Is it fair and/or legal?

penexpers

Yes they can do this. The only provision they have to make is that TollTag/ParkMagic have to let people opt out of the service if they don't agree with the new charges.

dazmetron

backboiler wrote: »

I received a message from parkmagic.ie informing me that from Sunday they intend to charge Pay-As-You-Go customers a euro every time they top up their account via credit card (this equates to an additional 5% charge by default, on top of the 10% management fee that is the basis of their business model).

I have a tolltag from them and have heard nothing of this from them (yet). There is also no mention of this on their website or their facebook page. As the website is so poor I would have been surprised if it was mentioned though

dublinhead

Looks like i will have to change to laser card.



Credit & Debit Card Topups
From Sunday May 1st 2011 a topup fee of €1.00 (including VAT) will apply to TollTag.ie Pay as You Toll + accounts each time they are credited using a Mastercard, Visa Card or Visa Debit card. No fee will apply in the case of topups using Laser cards. Tolltag.ie are committed to providing the maximum number of account payment options and will continue to do so, however it is no longer possible to provide some payment options without charge. In order to assist you in getting the best value possible, we have developed a number of options to enable you to minimise or avoid topup fees
Reducing or Avoiding these fees
You can avoid topup fees altogether by changing the card type on your account to a Laser card if you have not already done so. You can make this change by calling us on 0818-220107.
If you wish to use or continue to use your credit card then you can reduce the frequency of incurring topup fees by increasing the amount of your topup such that topups need to be applied less frequently. For example, if you use on average €40 a month on tolls you may wish to consider increasing your topup amount to €40 thereby requiring only one topup per month.

Yogi_Bear

What are my options to avoid this €1 charge? I no longer have a laser card because PTSB replaced it with a VISA Debit card