Did you know that from May 6, the maximum interest rates chargeable on credit cards and store cards was reduced, in line with an amendment to the National Credit Act, to 21.48%?It was a double blow for the big retailers, who'd been charging up to 25% interest on store cards, because from late last year, the same piece of legislation forced them to do more labour-intensive affordability checks on card applications, to avoid being accused of reckless lending.Luckily for them, the National Credit Act also allows them to impose a monthly service fee of up to R60. The major clothing retailers hadn't been doing this, but now they are, and Edcon customers, in particular, are not happy.The group, which includes Edgars, Jet and CNA, has amended its credit agreements to include a R22.80 service fee, not only on new accounts but on existing ones, too.And if debtors refuse to pay it, their accounts will be frozen and then closed when they've settled their outstanding balance."I have never heard of anything like this," an outraged Pauleen Rabinson told In Your Corner. "According to Edcon's 2015 annual report, they have 3.496million cardholders. This means that if each cardholder is charged the R22.80 service fee per month, Edcon rakes in an extra R79.7-million per month."I can't believe that this is not some kind of hoax or joke."It's not; it's a way to claw back some of the revenue lost on interest charges."Although these fees were waived by Edcon in the past, it has unfortunately now become necessary to charge [this] small fee, which is well below the prescribed maximum," an Edcon spokesman said."Edcon has given our customers 30 days' notice of the change to their existing credit agreement, which we start implementing from July 4."Interestingly, the maximum service fee permissible - R60 - will be imposed if payments are dishonoured.The Mr Price Group has imposed a monthly service fee on its brands' store cards, but limited it to just R3.Like Edcon, the group has chosen to re-contract with its existing account-holders rather than applying the service fee to new accounts only. A Mr Price spokesman said the monthly service fee was "to compensate for additional processing costs".The Foschini Group, which owns brands including Foschini, Totalsports, @Home and American Swiss, imposed a monthly service fee of R8.95 on its store accounts, but only to new ones, from May 6.Woolworths' store card service fee is R12.50.Financial advisers have long advised consumers to opt for a single, lower-interest credit card instead of spreading their debt across several store cards.DELIVERY FEE MADNESSIt's standard practice for consumers to be asked to pay a fee to have bulky goods they've purchased delivered to their homes, which is fair enough, although these are often extortionately high.When Valerie Williams was asked to pay a delivery fee of R350 on top of the advertised price of R1999 for a chair at Rochester furniture store in Pretoria's The Grove shopping centre, she told the salesman she didn't need a delivery service; the chair would fit into her vehicle.That's when he told her the R350 was to have the chair delivered from the company's warehouse to the store. "R450 if I wanted it delivered to my house!"When she protested that the advert for the chair read: "Buy today: R1999" she was told she could only get the chair for that price if she drove to the warehouse in Johannesburg.I queried this clearly outrageous policy with Rochester's marketing manager Thiart Nortjé, who said Williams was "absolutely correct"; customers should not be made to pay for delivery to the store.Well, of course they shouldn't, but I'd guess that other less sussed consumers have done so.Williams has since bought the chair for the advertised price.This is not the first time I've heard of a customer being expected to pay for goods to be delivered from warehouse to store.The last case involved the Little Falls, West Rand branch of @Home, where a customer was also asked to pay R350 for two coffee tables he could transport himself from the store to his home.He was told the fee was to cover the cost of getting the furniture from the company's Linbro Park warehouse to the store.A spokesman for The Foschini Group said at the time that the fee did not apply; it was a misunderstanding on the part of the store assistant.CONTACT WENDY:Email: consumer@knowler.co.zaTwitter: @wendyknowler..