English Reading
Here's our latest English reading article. Read the story first, then take a look at the vocabulary notes at the bottom if you need to.There's plenty more reading practice in our free weekly English lesson - packed with help writing and speaking English.
The British government have vowed to ban payment fees and other hidden and excessive credit card charges. They hope to do so by the end of 2012, following a consultation in the new year.
Hidden fees are often not shown until the end of an ordering process on the web which prevents consumers from making an informed choice and comparing the actual prices of different products and services according to the Office of Fair Trading. Plans are also underway to bring in Europe-wide regulation of credit card fees in 2014.
Mark Hoban, a Treasury Minister, said consumers "have a right to understand the charges they may incur up front and not be hit through a hidden last-minute payment surcharge." He said the plans announced today will increase "transparency" for consumers, and that consumers currently "feel ripped off".
The Office of Fair Trading have listed some examples of particularly high charges: with EasyJet charging £8, Ryanair £6, and thetrainline.com £3.50 extra to pay for tickets with credit cards. The consumer group Which? claimed that these surcharges were increasing the cost of air travel by £265,000 a day (or about £97 million per year).
ban = forbid, stop by law
excessive = more than necessary
charges = costs
to do so = to do this
an informed choice = a choice made when you have all the necessary information
underway = already started
incur = face as a result of a particular action
up front = right at the start
surcharge = extra payment
ripped off = cheated
Story Source: Wikinews