Spaza shops warned against unlawful card payment surcharges: NCC

The National Consumer Commission (NCC) has cautioned spaza shop owners against adding hidden charges when customers use cards to pay.

There is growing concern over illegal swipe fees and minimum-spend requirements at some local shops .

Customers allege that in some cases they are required to add R2 or R5 to the displayed price when they use a card to pay.

Section 23 of the Consumer Protection Act stipulates that suppliers are strictly bound to honour the displayed price of a product.

The NCC has urged affected consumers to contact it.

Spokesperson Phetho Ntaba says, “Now we’ve got these issues with spaza shops or informal businesses where they are not really disclosing these prices.

They are surprising the consumer.

And we understand that in many cases, consumers do not have the choice to leave that particular store and go to the other store.” “So that is why they are really, you know, complaining.

And we are saying it’s about time that we reach out to these businesses, their formal structures, informal structures, reach out to them, nudge them into compliance with the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act and other laws of the Republic.” VIDEO | Spaza shop owners see improvement in sales