Firms obliged to tell customers of holiday surcharge, says commission

The Commerce Commission today warned businesses to clearly inform customers of holiday surcharges, or risk breaching the Fair Trading Act.

Some business have been adding a surchage to goods or services on public holidays, to help cover the higher wage costs on those days.

Today the commission said while such surcharges were not illegal, failing to inform customers was.

"Under the Fair Trading Act, business must clearly identify all the costs of charges that the buyer of goods or services will have to incur at the time an offer or representation is made," said the commission's director of fair trading, Deborah Battell.

"If a customer isn't told a surcharge applies, then the business may be acting illegally by insisting they pay it," she said in a statement.

The commission's warning comes ahead of anniversary holidays in Wellington, Southland, Auckland and Nelson.

- NZPA