On Visa card surcharges

With reference to Ms. Pauline Sahetapy's letter Visa cards and surcharges in The Jakarta Post on Sept. 7, 1996, I would like to share my experience at Mitra Keluarga Hospital.

At the end of June this year, my wife had our first child at Mitra Keluarga Hospital in Jatinegara, East Jakarta. The bill was more than Rp 6 million, of which I split the balance across two of our credit cards: Bank Niaga Gold Visa and Diners. The bill had an added surcharge of 2.5 percent added to the bill, after I relentlessly argued the policy with the hospital accounting person, who phoned higher authorities.

Unfortunately, I am not a completely ignorant person and am very aware of the merchants always trying to charge us extra fees ranging from 2.5 percent to 5 percent for using our credit cards instead of cash. This practice is very wrong and the merchants only do it because you (the card holders) allow them to get away with it.

I called Bank Niaga Card Center in Jakarta from the hospital accounting office and, after some very long waiting on the phone and speaking to several different people at the Bank Niaga Card Center, they took sides with Mitra Keluarga accounting department. They stated that several hospitals do have special contracts where they can charge a surcharge above the actual costs rendered.

I didn't believe them and the Niaga Card Center did not produce any such special contract when asked to fax it across to the hospital. I was certainly disappointed with Bank Niaga for insulting my intelligence and treating a long-time customer as such.

I did have to pay the extra fees in this instance to Mitra Keluarga and to this day, have not had those aforementioned surcharges returned to me.

C.E. SCOGGAN

Jakarta