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Fee irks Greyhound customers
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CBC News-
Some Greyhound customers are balking about a fee they have to pay whenever they buy a ticket for someone else by phone or online.
“I've never heard of such a thing,” said Laura Sherret who went online to buy a ticket for her daughter. “Why is Greyhound charging this when no one else is charging it?”
The so-called "gift fee" costs $18.99, ballooning Sherret’s ticket purchase from $56 to $75. The fee is a handling charge, with most of the amount going toward recovering the costs of credit card fraud, said Greyhound.
“We have found that there are a high number of charge backs related to the use of credit card transactions,” said Maureen Richmond, Greyhound spokesperson. “The costs are very high and they are often associated with fraudulent activities."
But marketing experts ask why Greyhound just doesn't change its security measures like other travel companies such as Air Canada and Westjet.
Both airlines have already dealt with this issue, said Ray Bilodeau, a marketing professor at the Northern Alberta Institute Technology (NAIT) in Edmonton.
"The explanation is unsatisfactory," he said. "Credit card fraud isn't a new thing. It's been around since the internet started."
The charge is really just another example of a convenience fee, said Bilodeau.
"Call it something else and recognize it for what it is," he said. "It's a fee Greyhound chooses to charge as a convenience fee and the consumer will learn to live with it."
Greyhound admits it has received some complaints, but has no plans to scrap the extra charge.
Sherret says she won’t pay the fee if she can avoid it.
“My younger daughter had to take a trip and I booked it with VIA,” she said. “At least you know what you’re getting with that.”
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