How and how much is the annual credit card fee？ Can’t be a muddled account.
As an electronic and modern consumer financial payment tool, credit card has gradually had an important impact on people’s lives. Many people have a credit card in their hands, and some even hold multiple credit cards. However, for most credit card users, the annual credit card fee is a confused account: how to charge and how much? Is the annual fee fixed? What impact will the annual fee change have on the rights and interests of cardholders … … Only by finding out the answers to these questions can we better enjoy the credit card services provided by banks and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of cardholders.
Inexplicably received a repayment SMS notification.
Ms. Zhao in Beijing recently encountered an annoyance caused by the annual credit card fee.
On June 25th this year, when Zhao Nvshi accidentally checked the short message on her mobile phone, she found that Huaxia Bank sent her a repayment notice. The specific contents were: your June bill of Huaxia Bank’s standard credit card account, RMB 680 yuan, USD 0 yuan; The due repayment date is July 5th. If the repayment has been made, please ignore … …
Zhao Nvshi seldom checks the short messages on her mobile phone at ordinary times. When she saw that they were sent by the bank, she paid special attention to them. This makes Zhao Nvshi’s heart full of doubts: I haven’t used this Huaxia Bank credit card for a long time, why should I repay it? Where does the consumption in 680 yuan come from?
"This credit card was specially handled by me many years ago in order to quickly pass through the high-speed toll station, and it was bound with ETC charges. However, I haven’t driven to other places in recent months, and I haven’t taken the expressway. There is no expressway on the way to and from work every day and on the way to and from school on weekends. I haven’t swiped this credit card for my daily life consumption in recent months. I really don’t know where the money is spent! " Zhao Nvshi was angry and anxious.
In order to find out what happened, Ms. Zhao decided to call the customer service of Huaxia Bank. "I found the 24-hour customer service hotline printed on the back of the credit card and dialed it. I waited online for about ten minutes, and it was always all kinds of voice transfer and waiting in line for reminders. Finally, I finally got through to the manual customer service. After I explained the problem, the customer service asked me to check the bill details, and told me that 680 yuan charged an annual credit card fee. It’s said that it’s just the time to settle the annual fee, and my credit card consumption has not reached 20 thousand points in the past year. According to the bank’s charging rules, this situation requires an annual fee. After listening to the customer service explanation, I am even more angry! "
Zhao Nvshi recalled and explained to reporters the reason why he was angry. It turns out that many years ago, the staff of Huaxia Bank came to Zhao Nvshi’s unit to promote credit cards. Zhao Nvshi clearly remembers that the staff responsible for handling credit cards at that time said that the credit cards of his bank could be bound with ETC charges and quickly passed through high-speed toll stations, and as long as they spent five times a year, they could be exempted from annual fees. There was no limit on the amount of each consumption, even if they only spent one or two yuan to buy bottles of water at a time. "I just wanted to do ETC at that time, and I didn’t think much, so I did it. Who knows, when I contacted Huaxia Bank customer service to ask why, the customer service told me that their annual fee charging rules changed in 2017. I said that I have not received the SMS notification of the annual fee change from the bank, but the customer service said that they have released the changed annual fee collection rules through the bank official website and WeChat WeChat official account. "
The reporter logged into Huaxia Bank’s credit card official website to inquire, and found an announcement in the "Product and Service Price List". The contents are as follows: In order to further standardize operations and better serve the real economy, according to the relevant requirements of the Measures for the Administration of Service Prices of Commercial Banks and the Notice on Printing and Distributing the Government Pricing Catalogue of Government Guidance Prices for Commercial Banks, Huaxia Bank’s Head Office has uniformly formulated the "Huaxia Bank Product and Service Sales Price List", which will be implemented on August 1, 2017. … The prices of products and services sold by institutions at all levels of the Bank shall be subject to this directory, and the changes in the sales prices and preferential policies of products and services shall be subject to the latest announcement of the Bank. For the implementation, customers, consumers and all sectors of society are welcome to supervise.
Under the item of "Credit Card Business (New)" in the Sales Price List of Huaxia Bank’s Products and Services, the reporter found a new charging standard for the corresponding card type held by Ms. Zhao: 680 yuan/year. The "preferential price" of this card type is: the annual fee for the main card is free in the first year, and the annual fee for the next year can be exempted if the accumulated transaction reaches 20,000 points each year. If the above conditions are not met, 20,000 points can be exchanged for the annual fee within 3 months after the annual fee is generated; The supplementary card is free of annual fee.
Is it infringement for banks to unilaterally change the annual fee?
Zhao Nvshi was very dissatisfied with the explanation of customer service. "The bank unilaterally changed the annual fee collection rules, and only announced it through WeChat WeChat official account and official website, which didn’t protect my right to know. I don’t think I should bear the annual fee of 680 yuan. I always remember that the staff in charge of handling the card at that time said that the annual fee could be waived as long as I spent five times a year, so I would consciously swipe this credit card several times a year, so I didn’t have to pay the annual fee. My consumption times in the past year have met the conditions of annual fee exemption, but the bank has changed the annual fee collection rules and has not directly informed me. This is unreasonable. " Zhao Nvshi asked the customer service to cancel the credit card.
When Zhao Nvshi asked to cancel the card, the customer service also said that Ms. Zhao had accumulated more than 20,000 points in her credit card, so she could be exempted from the annual fee of 680 yuan. Ms Zhao also told reporters that the annual fee was confiscated by the bank in 2018 because the consumption points in Zhao Nvshi reached 20,000 in 2018.
"I think the bank is bullying customers. If I didn’t call the bank’s customer service, didn’t insist on waiting for the customer service call to be connected for a long time, and didn’t indicate the intention to cancel the card in the process of communicating with the customer service, the annual fee for 680 yuan will be collected." Thinking of this experience, Ms. Zhao is still indignant.
On June 30th, Ms. Zhao received a short message from Huaxia Bank: Dear Cardholder, your annual credit card fee of Huaxia Bank with the suffix of ×××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××
Although the loss was finally recovered, Ms. Zhao still believes that this practice of the bank has violated her legitimate rights and interests. "Who will have something to do on the bank’s WeChat WeChat official account and official website to check the announcement issued by the bank? After all, there is still no guarantee for customers’ right to know. " Ms. Zhao stressed.
In this regard, Liu Shaojun, director of the Financial Law Research Center of China University of Political Science and Law, pointed out that the annual fee collection involves consumers’ right to know, and banks should fulfill their obligation to inform. Generally speaking, banks will sign a card service agreement with customers when they apply for credit cards, which should disclose the collection rules and amount of annual fees. The same is true when changing the annual fee collection rules. If the original card service agreement stipulated the notification method after changing the annual fee collection rules, the bank also fulfilled the notification obligation in this way, and there is no problem from the agreement itself. However, it should be noted that the two parties signed a standard contract, which belongs to a standard clause. Whether this clause itself is legal or not is worth considering. For example, whether the bank exempts itself from its obligations or aggravates consumers’ obligations or restricts consumers’ rights.
"I personally think that after the annual fee collection rules have changed, the more appropriate way to inform is to inform by SMS. If it is announced, in fact, most customers may not be able to see it. If customers cannot see it, it will affect customers’ subsequent relief of their rights. For example, if I find that the annual fee collection rules of the bank have changed at the first time and don’t accept this change, I may return the card and use it, but I don’t see the new charging rules and the bank charges again. This is more troublesome. " Liu Shaojun said.
Guo Hua, a professor at the Law School of the Central University of Finance and Economics, also pointed out that for banks, they should not only fulfill the obligation of informing, but also perform the duty of publicizing charges, and they should not force service charges or exceed the price list. Since the change of the annual fee collection rules by banks is a unilateral act, banks should bear the costs arising from the change of the annual fee collection rules. The best way is in writing, and modern means such as SMS and WeChat can also be adopted.
Rules for collecting annual fees with different standards
After logging into official website of several major banks, the reporter found that there is no uniform standard for the amount of annual credit card fees charged by various banks, even if the annual credit card fees charged by different types of the same bank are different.
The reporter went to a branch of Huaxia Bank and asked the lobby manager of the branch about the annual credit card fee. She told reporters that different types of credit cards have different annual fees. You can check the annual fee collection standards for each credit card on WeChat WeChat official account or official website. The annual fee is generally not calculated in the natural year, but from the date when the credit card is approved for use. The reporter said that he wanted to know more about the annual credit card fee. The lobby manager said that Huaxia Bank Credit Card Center does not provide counter service, and there is no teller who is specially responsible for credit card business. Sub-branches generally only provide card handling and repayment services. She can’t answer the details of the annual credit card fee. It is recommended to call the customer service phone of the credit card center for consultation.
The reporter said that it was difficult to call the customer service phone and the waiting time was too long. The lobby manager of the branch said that you can call the emergency loss reporting phone, so that you can contact the staff of the credit card center quickly.
The reporter dialed according to the method provided by the lobby manager, and the phone was quickly connected. The staff of the wired credit card center told the reporter that there are many types of credit cards in the bank’s credit card center, and the annual fee charged by each credit card is different. Customers can choose the corresponding card type according to their actual use needs. "For example, if there is a need to go abroad, choose a card with foreign currency function." The staff told reporters.
When the reporter asked whether the annual fee was unchanged, the staff member said that the policy was adjusted at any time and the annual fee would change.
What is the nature of the annual fee? Why is the collection and change of annual credit card fees so "arbitrary"? Who has the right to set the charging standard of annual credit card fee?
Regarding the nature of the annual fee, Guo Hua pointed out that the annual fee for credit cards belongs to the financial service fee. Because the bank provides services to cardholders, fees are charged based on the services provided. Therefore, the annual fee charged for credit cards should be that banks provide services to cardholders truly and objectively, rather than charging them as long as they apply for credit cards. At the same time, it is also necessary to pay attention to whether the bank obtains benefits in the process of providing services. If the bank has already obtained some benefits for it, based on the fact that the bank is a monopoly industry, it needs to have certain legal restrictions on its fees. Laws and regulations clearly limit the behavior of "only charging without service".
Liu Shaojun also told reporters that according to the relevant requirements of the Measures for the Administration of Service Prices of Commercial Banks and the Notice on Printing and Distributing the Catalogue of Government Pricing for Government-guided Prices of Commercial Banks, the charging service items of banks include government-guided prices, government-set prices and market-adjusted prices, among which the items and prices subject to government-guided prices and government-set prices are strictly implemented in accordance with the regulations of relevant government departments, and the items subject to market-adjusted prices are decided by the banks themselves. "This is because the services provided by banks are different, and it is not very convenient for the government to set prices uniformly. Credit card service fees belong to the category of market-regulated prices, so banks set their own charging rules and standards. Generally speaking, banks will formulate corresponding annual fee collection rules according to their own business conditions. "
Integral rule and annual fee reduction and exemption
In the interview, Ms. Zhao also revealed such a detail to the reporter. In the process of communicating with Huaxia Bank’s customer service, the customer service mentioned that the annual fee can be reduced through points. As mentioned earlier, in the new charging standard for credit card business published by Huaxia Bank official website, it is also mentioned in the "preferential price" that the annual fee can be reduced if the points reach a certain amount. "I asked the customer service which consumption will have points. The customer service said that the consumption of general shopping malls has points. Generally speaking, there is a point for every consumption in 1 yuan, but there is generally no point for hospitals, schools, property and other consumption." Ms. Zhao questioned why these large purchases were not included in the points category, and the customer service said that this was a bank regulation.
The reporter found out that most banks exclude large-scale consumption such as real estate, cars, hospitals, schools and properties from the points rule. At the same time, the reporter also found that many banks also stipulate that the annual fee can be reduced if the points reach a certain amount. Then, excluding large consumption from the points rule will infringe on the legitimate rights and interests of customers?
In this regard, starting from the nature of integral, Guo Hua thinks that this practice of banks is unfair to customers in a certain sense. "Most banks use consumption points to reduce the annual fee for cardholders. This kind of reduction belongs to the sharing of benefits brought by banks to cardholders or the incentive mechanism adopted by banks, and can not only be regarded as a reward or discount for cardholders. On the surface, the consumption of cardholders does not directly bring benefits to banks, but in essence, banks have gained benefits in the field of consumption through the consumption of cardholders, which is precisely brought about by the consumption of cardholders. In short, the annual fee reduction through consumption points belongs to the incentive mechanism adopted by banks, and its purpose is to make banks gain benefits by encouraging cardholders to spend, and realize the bank’s economic interests, rather than simply bank favors. However, because large-scale consumption such as real estate, automobiles, hospitals, schools, and real estate generally does not need incentives, it is bound to happen, so banks exclude consumption in these fields. This is unfair to consumers in a certain sense. No matter in what field, consumption has brought benefits to banks and should be treated fairly. " Guo Hua said.
Liu Shaojun also pointed out that banks can charge merchants through credit card users’ spending by swiping their cards, that is, every time a credit card user swipes a card, the bank will charge the merchants, and the bank will give points to encourage consumption. This is equivalent to giving a part of the bank charges to users, thus encouraging users to use credit cards. Because the more users use it, the more bank charges.
How should users protect their rights and interests?
As a credit card user, faced with different annual fee collection rules and irregularly adjusted annual fee collection standards of various banks, how can the cardholder know the relevant information and situation, so as to avoid being "into the pit" and harming his legitimate rights and interests? How can banks protect the rights and interests of users and retain the hearts of cardholders?
In order to effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of credit card users, Guo Hua gave suggestions from the perspectives of users and banks. He said that for users, it is necessary to pay attention to the following points: First, it is necessary to pay attention to the contract agreement when opening the card, so as to avoid the annual fee that does not meet the prescribed requirements; Second, in addition to convenience, it is necessary to compare the annual fees, learn to use credit cards correctly and avoid unnecessary burdens as much as possible; Third, the bank should observe and consider the change of annual fee or the incentive mechanism of the bank; The fourth is to complain in time about improper or illegal charges, so as to reduce the illegal and non-compliant phenomena.
"For banks, first, the collection of annual fees should be open and fair, and be publicized in time as required; Second, fully protect the user’s right to know, whether it is to change the annual fee or the incentive plan, it should be easy for users to know; Third, according to different users and different services provided, different annual fee standards are determined to obtain greater benefits; The fourth is to eliminate the awareness of monopoly services, fully establish the principle of equivalence between services and charges, and not only charge but not serve. " Guo Hua said.
Liu Shaojun also reminded credit card users that when applying for a credit card, they must carefully read the relevant annual fee collection rules and points rules and other terms closely related to their own interests. If they think that they cannot accept the relevant terms of a bank, they may wish to apply for a credit card in another bank. If you accept the terms provided by the bank, it means that you are willing to abide by the relevant terms in the future. "However, there is also such a situation, because the terms themselves belong to a format contract. If the terms are suspected of violating the relevant provisions of the Contract Law and the Consumer Protection Law, the obligations of users are aggravated or the rights and interests of users are restricted, as consumers, users can also protect their legitimate rights and interests by filing a lawsuit or requesting the regulatory authorities to review the contents of the contract." Liu Shaojun stressed.