That’s right, between my Joe Hockey petition https://www.change.org/p/joe-hockey-ban-credit-card-surcharges-this-ridiculous-gouging-of-customers-has-to-end and this petition to Jetstar, over 170,000 signatures have been received so far!! But now I am shocked that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is even considering expanding the current regulations that would enable all business to apply a Credit Card Surcharge ON EVERY PURCHASE WE MAKE! It’s not only buying a new home that Joe Hockey is out of touch with!! WE ALL MUST ACT NOW as the new RBA is finalizing its position in late August. I need you please to sign this Joe Hockey petition and share it widely on social media please. Click here to sign it now - https://www.change.org/p/joe-hockey-ban-credit-card-surcharges-this-ridiculous-gouging-of-customers-has-to-end I have said consistently that these costs should be included in the advertised price and that the credit card surcharges we have been seeing, ranging anything from 1.5% to 10% or 1700% in the case of Qantas owned Jetstar, bare no resemblance to the actual cost to the business itself. THEY ARE SIMPLY A RIPOFF ON CONSUMERS TO DRIVE PROFITS. It seems to me that the RBA and Joe Hockey are all for: • hurting consumers by increasing their cost of living • annoy customers and get in the way of growing small business, and • increase red tape – regulation would be out of kilter with government policy by imposing additional monitoring costs on businesses Businesses incur a wide range of variable costs which are built into standard costs, for example electricity and weekend wages. Costs for accepting credit and debit cards should not be treated differently. They are another “cost of doing business”. If businesses don’t want to absorb the costs of certain payment methods, they can choose not to accept them. Regulation is unnecessary and offers no additional benefit. Nothing short of a recommendation from government for a regulatory ban on payment surcharging will eliminate these unnecessary charges. They are banned almost everywhere else in the world so why are we allowing them to exist in this country? I NEED YOUR HELP TO PLACE PRESSURE ON JOE HOCKEY AS TREASURER TO BAN THESE CHARGES ONCE AND FOR ALL! There are several ways you can help, some which include: • by sharing my petition so we can secure many more signatures - https://www.change.org/p/joe-hockey-ban-credit-card-surcharges-this-ridiculous-gouging-of-customers-has-to-end • writing to your local member of Parliament: https://www.google.com.au/?gfe_rd=cr&ei=-Cp5VdS9NdPu8we86KaYCw# • writing to your local newspaper, via ‘Letters to the Editor’ and telling them about this petition Getting more Australians to ask for a ban on surcharges is our best chance of eliminating this unfair cost on consumers. Klaus Bartosch PS: Lets turn the heat up now!