Brisbane restaurant patrons being hit with outrageous surcharges
Brisbane restaurant patrons are being hit with sneaky hidden surcharges when they use technology designed to help with the battle against coronavirus. SEE WHICH RESTAURANTS
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Customers are being urged to be on the lookout for hidden surcharges while using tap-and-order platforms or QR codes, with pubs and restaurants urged to better disclose these extra charges.
Apps that allow patrons to order at their tables like Me&u and Bopple have exploded in popularity thanks to COVID-19 restrictions, with customers encouraged or even forced to use these services instead of ordering food and drinks at the bar.
The Courier-Mail found several venues across Brisbane using the Me&u app charging patrons small surcharges for using a credit card, bills show.
They include popular destinations such as Felons and Mr Percival's at Howard Smith Wharves, the Defiant Duck at Newstead and the Bavarian on Eagle St.
The Bavarian discloses the surcharge in fine print on its menu, but there are no signs at the entrance to Howard Smith Wharves to warn patrons of the fees.
The Courier-Mail could find no notice of a card surcharge on the Defiant Duck’s menu, nor any notices at the front door.
Howard Smith Wharves (HSW) venues also use Me&u to charge customers a 10 per cent “venue surcharge” on Sundays, with patrons unable to order at the bar.
Customers are alerted to this fee via the app only as they are about to pay. Fine print on these venues’ menus also disclose the surcharge.
HSW chief executive Luke Fraser defended the surcharges, saying they were “pretty standard.”
“Like many venues we simply cover our costs with a small credit card surcharge to cover transaction fees we can’t control and a 10 per cent Sunday surcharge as we pay all of our team penalty rates like time-and-a-half on this day,” Mr Fraser said.
Me&u and Defiant Duck didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The ACCC warned businesses any additional charges must be clearly displayed on menus.
“In the circumstance where consumers can only order goods through an online platform, and additional charges will be applied for using that platform, the business should clearly display those additional charges on their menus or price listings to ensure consumers are not misled,” an ACCC spokesman said.
QUT Business School Professor Gary Mortimer said many customers on platforms like Me&u could miss extra surcharges.
“The danger that it creates in a fast-paced post-COVID world ... is that consumers are less likely to interrogate their bill,” Dr Mortimer said.
“While we might see a menu item or a price of a schooner of beer, we’ll simply tap and go the card and not really look at all the extra surcharges which may be presented at the end of a bill,” he said.
Wynnum West newlyweds Matthew and Simone Thorburn, who recently had lunch at Felons, said they believed venues should show surcharges prominently when users open up the apps.
“I don’t really have a problem with (surcharges),” Mr Thorburn said.
“But maybe advertise it when you walk in or have to sign in,” Ms Thorburn said.
“There’s definitely no notification when you enter the app.”
