‘Highway robbery!’

It is unclear how widespread the practice is but, despite best efforts from the Jamaica Gasolene Retailers Association (JGRA) and other stakeholders in the industry, operators of some gas stations continue to slap extra charges on customers who do not pay for petrol with cash.

It seems Portmore in St Catherine is a prime target, as at least two gas stations operating under a renowned marketing brand hold fast to the practice, telling customers they either pay the charges to use their credit/debit card or beeline to ATM outlets nearby for the cash.

These were the only outlets among 30 randomly visited – nine in western Jamaica, 15 in Kingston and St Andrew, and six in Portmore, St Catherine – who added the charges, a Sunday Gleaner investigation found last week.

It is even more interesting that gas stations operating under the same brand but located outside of Portmore did not ask customers to pay extra for using their cards. Neither did several of their major rivals that were visited.

At one of the gas stations, customers were asked to pay $20 to use debit cards, and $30 for every $1,000 worth of petrol purchased using a credit card, the attendant informed.

And the practice is also taking place at some liquor stores in the municipality. At one location, customers were charged $20 and $30, respectively, to use their debit and credit cards, a staff member at the Braeton outlet in Portmore relayed.

‘PAYING TWICE TO USE OUR CARDS’

“It is highway robbery! I feel it is thievery even if it is two cents more,” charged Simone Sangster*, a legal officer living in Portmore.

Sangster was left fuming last week after being told of the extra charges to use her card by an attendant at a gas station on Passage Fort Drive.

“Whatever the bank is charging, they (merchants) should absorb it. I don’t think it should be passed on to us. It is like we are paying twice to use our cards,” she argued, as other card-using motorists queued at the pumps, seemingly unbothered by the demand.

“This may have been common a few years ago but it is not common anymore. Why should I be asked to pay an additional fee when hardly any other vendor in Portmore does that,” she demanded of the attendant, leaving the pump in a huff.

Merchants are reportedly charged 3.7 per cent of the amount used by debit or credit cards to pay for fuel. Consumers also pay a banking fee to use their cards, which varies depending on the institution.

At the other location which charges a card fee in Portmore, the pump attendant told this reporter that it was simply company policy – ironic, as this journalist was chastised at a sister outlet on Slipe Road in Kingston for suggesting that such a policy exists at the company.

“How we fi charge you, sir? It is the bank that charges you. We don’t need no additional money from you,” the customer service representative stressed, echoing the amazement of attendants at stations in Harbour View, along Marcus Garvey Drive, in Three Miles, and on Washington Boulevard in the Corporate Area at the suggestion.

The western leg of The Sunday Gleaner probe spanned from Ironshore, along Howard Cooke Boulevard in Montego Bay, through Anchovy in St James; Bethel Town in Westmoreland, and Middle Quarters, St Elizabeth, culminating in Black River. Representatives at these service stations also scoffed at the idea of charging customers extra to use their banking cards.

‘WRONG AND DECEPTIVE’ BUT ‘NOT ILLEGAL’

The practice of some gas station operators charging customers a fee to use their debit/credit cards has caused an ethical dilemma for presidents of the JGRA as far back as Leonard Green, who, in 2015, described it as “wrong and deceptive” – especially for persons who depend heavily on their cards.

Back then, more operators were guilty of the practice, and some were not as forthright with their demands, dishonestly tagging on the extra charge without the knowledge of customers.

Eight years later, the new JGRA President Errol Edwards battles similar demons, painstakingly distancing his approximately 180 members from the still-distasteful custom.

“These are not JGRA members who are involved in that. We have had discussions with the credit card companies and we have settled on a position regarding it. At this time, we are not instructing any of our members to charge anything extra,” Edwards pressed, noting that the outlets that are still charging are exceptions.

“They are also harder to control,” he said.

“The consumers who are asked to pay a fee have a choice – they either pay the fee or find a station that doesn’t charge that fee,” he pointed out to The Sunday Gleaner. “The practice is not illegal because it is a free market, which means that ‘if you don’t like my charges and my service, you have options’.”

‘STIFF COMPETITION’

Last week, the Consumer Affairs Commission (CAC) requested additional time to investigate the gas stations identified in The Sunday Gleaner probe. Still, it was not immediately clear what action the body can take against them.

The commission also could not say whether any complaints have been made by customers incensed by the practice, directing all queries regarding sanctions to the JGRA, the Ministry of Finance, or the Bank of Jamaica, which were deemed the main regulators.

Meanwhile, the manager of one service station on Passage Fort Drive in Portmore said it would not be in his best interest to charge additional fees because of the heavy competition in the area.

“There is stiff competition. It is so strong for me that, if I try to pass on the charges to the customers, I would lose them. I have to absorb those costs,” explained the gas station owner, a retired member of the Jamaica Constabulary Force.

“There is serious competition in terms of pricing and so on. So, for me, it boils down to the quality of service and security. A lot of people are concerned about their security at the pumps. They want to ensure they are safe,” he offered, alluding to a string of murders and a deadly explosion that have occurred at gas station outlets in recent years.

– Additional reporting by Mark Titus

corey.robinson@gleanerjm.com