Santo Domingo.- The Consumer Protection Agency (Pro Consumer) warned Fri. that the practice of some commercial establishments of charging commission or surcharge to users who pay with credit cards is “illegal and abusive.”
It announced that businesses that incur in this irregularity to the detriment of consumers’ pockets will be sanctioned.
In that sense, the executive director of Pro Consumidor, Eddy Alcántara, said that as of February 1 they will be carrying out operations to detect establishments that incur in this irregularity of charging commission when paying with a credit card, in some cases between the 5% and 18% above the total value of the purchase or service, “to proceed immediately to be sanctioned, including the risk of being temporarily or permanently closed in case of recidivism.”
In a press release, he said those businesses violate the provisions of Law 358-05 on consumer protection, “whose prohibition is set forth in article 87, which states that prices may not be modified based on the means of payment used.”