View from City Road: A risky card game in far-flung places
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Credit card issuers in this country are saddled with responsibility without power when it comes to picking up the tab for transactions that go wrong abroad.
In the UK there is a network of banks that issue cards and sign up retailers. They at least have the influence and muscle to enforce certain standards among the retailers displaying the familiar Visa and Mastercard logos.
But how does a UK bank rein in the sleazy strip joint in Bangkok which makes a habit of adding a couple of noughts to customers' bills?
The Office of Fair Trading and the Consumers' Association are adamant that the card issuers must stand by their logos wherever they are displayed, and take responsibility if a purchase goes wrong.
The banks say the Consumer Credit Act is unclear on the issue, and deals abroad should not count. As far as foreign transactions are concerned, their objections to taking responsibility are not at all unreasonable.
Ambiguity is the worst of all possible worlds and the sooner the OFT completes its review of the Act so that consumers and card issuers alike know the rules, the better.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments