All Hyatt hotels in Australia have implemented new policy changes to ensure its guests using debit and credit card payments are not being overcharged.
The move followed an ACCC investigation looking into complaints made at the Hyatt Regency Sydney (pictured), which alleged that guests were being slugged by card surcharges in excess of the cost of accepting the type of cards being used.
Unless customers inserted the card into payment terminals and selected ‘chq/sav’ at the Hyatt Regency Sydney, they were at risk of being overcharged.
Such practices are in breach of the Competition and Consumer Act, the consumer watchdog reminded Australian businesses.
Following the ACCC’s investigation, all Hyatt hotels in Australia have now implemented technological changes to ensure debit and credit cards are treated differently, regardless of how a card interacts with any individual payment terminals.
The ACCC has been actively monitoring business compliance with card payment surcharging laws and has investigated several alleged excessive surcharging practices in recent years.
“The ACCC expects all businesses to comply with the law and ensure their payment systems and staff are informed of different card types and apply the correct surcharge amounts for each, as it can vary between credit cards and debit cards,” the ACCC concluded.
