In this section
Pricing and payment
The selling price
The law on price marking states that where motor vehicles and other goods are offered for sale to consumers, they must have their price clearly indicated. The pricing information must be clearly legible, unambiguous, easily identifiable and inclusive of VAT and any other taxes. This information must be clearly visible to your customers without them having to ask for it.
The selling price is, by definition, the final price and must, therefore, include the unavoidable and foreseeable components of the price, components that are necessarily payable by the consumer.
Pricing when selling online
Pricing information is required in both the retail forecourt environment and when selling by distance means, such as online.
General requirements in relation to pricing
The law prohibits businesses from misleading their customers - for example, displaying goods at a lower price than actually charged, or showing a sale price when the higher price was never charged. The law also prohibits a trader from omitting or hiding information a consumer would need to make a decision regarding whether or not to purchase goods. An example of this would be failing to inform a customer of a compulsory additional charge.
Additional charges
Additional charges must be included in the up-front selling price if they are compulsory. A failure to include compulsory charges in the up-front price may breach the law.
Guidance on pricing practices
CTSI has produced detailed Guidance for Traders on Pricing Practices that contains information for traders on good practice regarding pricing. It can be found in the 'Providing price information' guide.
Payment surcharges
In most cases, surcharges for electronic or card payments are not permitted. Since January 2018, businesses have not been permitted to impose surcharges for paying by debit card, credit card or electronic payment services. The ban on surcharges does not apply to commercial debit or credit cards.
The Business Companion guide 'Payment surcharges' has more information on this. Alternatively, the Department for Business and Trade has produced its own guidance on payment surcharges, which can be found on the GOV.UK website.
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