How much does it actually cost providers to collect non-Direct Debits payments?
Suppliers incur greater costs where consumers dont pay by direct debit and we think it is reasonable for those consumers who cause the extra costs to pay them. This is common practice, not just in the communications sector, but also, for example, in the energy sector. Currently, suppliers tend to charge around 1-5 a month for payment by cheque or cash (although not all suppliers charge). In our view, unless they are so clear consumers will regard them as part of the price for the services they are buying, not separate additional charges, these charges must relate to direct costs only. We expect that, in some cases, non direct debit charges will become more prominent and/or they might be reduced.
