93% of UK Consumers Call for Ban on "Misleading" ‘0% Commission’ Travel Money Advertising

LONDON, June 22, 2011 -

In a recent survey href="www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=question&id=10150234362257164">
published on Facebook, 1075 UK consumers answered whether or
not they felt that travel money companies should be able to
advertise ‘0% commission’ without disclosing that additional
charges are built into exchange rates. A total of 1000 people - 93%
of respondents agreed that “this leading form of advertising should
be banned.”

In the UK, many big name travel money companies like Travelex,
Marks & Spencer and the Post Office commonly use “0%
commission” as a strapline to advertise their services. However, as
this doesn’t reflect the true cost to the consumer, many travellers
are now calling for this practice to be banned.

Some of the Facebook comments from participants included…

John Carter: “Why is there no regulator for this 0% commission
claim? Especially with the Olympics coming up there is a great
opportunity for UK Government to set a Kite Mark standard.”

Phil Higham: “Companies should be prepared to be open about ALL
their charges so customers can make an informed decision.”

David Edwards: “Misleading advertising is wrong in any
circumstances. With particular regard to foreign exchange it
highlights our nation as ‘rip-off Britain‘. It is perfectly
acceptable for a service provider to charge a fee but that fee
should be completely transparent and fair comparisons should be
accessible in plain simple English.”

Stephen Heath, CEO of travel money card provider FairFX.com
added: “It seems that the lack of transparency in this marketplace
has hit a nerve with consumers, and that a campaign needs to be
started to come up a better way of comparing the overall cost of
travel money.”

The survey results and consumer feedback can be viewed at href="www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=question&id=10150234362257164">
www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=question&id=10150234362257164.

Journalists: For more information and contact details visit href="www.fairfx.com/pressoffice">www.fairfx.com/pressoffice.

FairFX Press Office , pressoffice at fairfx.com ; David Bain , Tel. +44(0)20-7778-9316 ; Stephen Heath , Chief Executive , FairFX Plc , T: +44(0)20-7778-9302 , M: +44(0)7785-291-059 , Stephen at fairfx.com ; Ian Strafford-Taylor , Chief Operating Officer , FairFX Plc , T: +44(0)20-7778-9308 , M: +44(0)7920-793-793 , ian at fairfx.com