A WTF eye opener
 

I needed gas..... and saw a sign at a gas station $3.99 for premium (my DD is a Subie WRX)

So I pulled in to fuel up thinking the Debit/Credit penalty at the pump would be the usual 5-10 cent premium

Not at this station

They charge a 90 cent/gal premium for using a card....

My tow vehicle has a 38 gallon tank.

This is a major gas retailer..... not a fly by night operation....

If I used a debit card.. the fee for using the card would be $34.2 to fill my truck...

A new definition of highway robery



http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1331264944.jpg

Wow! That is ridiculous.

They are not allowed to do that.

A merchant can not charge more to use a card.

They can offer a discount for cash.

They also must advertise the higher price more prominently than the lower price.

They are banking on the reality that most people pay with cards these days.

It's a blatant rip off.

I'd make a call.

Yep, unethical, I'd say.

Do they expect you to pay in cash? I don't recall ever seeing that in WA. Perhaps its illegal here?

I refuse to get gas from a station that charges more for using a credit card.

There's a gas station in town that typcially charges the least amount for a gallon of gas, as long as you pay cash. On principle alone, I will not buy gas from that place. You want my business, don't rip me off!

If you are going to charge me for using my credit card, then be more reasonable. EX: if it costs you $0.13 to process my card, then charge me an additional $0.17 for the entire purchase, not per gallon!

-Z-man.

Ouch.

You can try gasbuddy.com to find the cheapest stuff around, not that the trick wouldn't mess you up there also....

I haven't found the equivalent search tool for ethanol free gas or E85 yet.

Wow, never seen that before. I do believe I'd be avoiding them from now on.

Processing is generally a %/$ not a flat fee....

yeah, it ranges from ~1.9-4% typically.....not the 25% they're passing on.....and yes, most processors prohibit charging more for a credit/debit card transaction as well as prohibiting minimums...

the illegal terms of use for credit cards is out of control in california. no merchants actually read and are familiar with their merchant agreements with visa/mc/amex, etc.

it is my number 1 pet peeve...and what ive noticed in california, is that people just put up with it, so retailers continue to do it. ive printed off a copy of the terms of agreement with visa and i carry it with me.

I was at a Tommy Burger and i wanted to use my card. they charged me 25 cents for using it (illegal charge) and when i called them out on it, they refused to do anything. i spoke to the manager, and his answer was "well...we get charged by our credit card processor (not just the 3 or 4% of VISA OR MC..it was a third party processor), so somebody has to pay for it." ...that put me over the edge.

im to the point where i'll walk out of a place if they pull that crap.

the can offer a discount for using cash, but they cant charge you extra for using a card. simple concept.

I am not trying to be a dick to you, Mike, or anyone here, just don't buy form them. You can do that all day long at Tommy's. They could care less if you go back or not. So, who lost out? What a waste of time. The way I look at it, if its a private business, they can charge what ever they want. You don't have to buy anything from them. I don't know if that's the law or not so...

well, the additional fees are illegal. it's also a violation of their merchant agreement with the CC companies. as for not supporting their business, i won't. as for tommy burger...that was the one and only time i ate there. ...and not because of their credit card policy. :)

There's a gas station that does this right around the corner. I find it deceptive and just wrong.

I make it a point not to go there.
This is looking like one hell of a summer, maybe hitting 5 dollars a gallon.

This is an extreme case and that's not cool.

That said, you all do realize that the consumer ends up paying for the merchant's CC fees, right?

I always have cash on me and do like to pay cash for my fuel. The station I frequent in town gives about a 10C discount per gallon. Others only accept debit cards and add a hefty fee for that. I save there too buying cash. I do like to go to mom and pop restaurants and barbers that do cash only. They are usually less expensive, make food from scratch and I know that my money goes straight to the owners, not to the CC company, franchise etc. ...

G

It varies by state. In MA and NH for example stations are allowed to charge a separate price although it must be disclosed up front on the required price signs. I simply don't go to stations that employ this tactic. I don't see why I ought to be penalized for using a card - IMHO card payments are a reasonable expectation nowadays and frankly I suspect even with the interchange fees it costs nothing more than handling cash. With card transactions, the CC cos often give you the equipment and connection for free just so you'll have the service to offer to customers, then hoping to make it up on the interchange fees (like HP selling inkjet printers at a loss and making it up selling overpriced cartridges or cell phone cos giving away the devices and making it back in spades on monthly service bills...)

With card-transactions it means you don't have to have physical security, your insurance is probably less (less risk of robbery), you need fewer surveillance, loss prevention and other protocols/personnel in place to deal with till-tapping, etc. If I were a merchant today I'd actually consider a "no cash" policy for these reasons. Plus you can mine data from your customers and target them more effectively for upsells and accessorizing. Yes technically you're SUPPOSED to take "legal tender" but what the heck - federal reserve notes are ultimately worthless anyway and lots of other industries get away with it and don't end up with the Secret Service kicking down their doors demanding that they accept legal tender (ever pay rent to a property management company? No cash accepted almost universally, same with some others...)

There are several startup companies (like Dwolla for one) that are offering merchants the option to accept electronic payments without interchange fees at all. It would be really nice to see these sorts of "anti bank" alternatives take hold but naturally it's a slow process to get people to accept/trust something new when it comes to money (perceived security risks, etc.).

If there's any industry that should have the clout to stand up to banks and their "bleed them dry" fee policies, it's the oil industry (strange bedfellows indeed!) but the reality is most gas stations are privately owned and operated and as such would represent a loose cooperative of overworked small business owners rather than the flush-with-cash, fat dumb and happy oil companies. The corporate oil cos just don't have a dog in the fight so it's unlikely to happen.

For now check your state laws - maybe its legal where you are (can't see location on tapatalk unfortunately). If so, you still have the option to say "no", to not take it and take your business down the street to the station operator who's willing to sacrifice a little profit margin for higher volume. Good luck.

No freaking joke... my wife and I are looking into switching carriers and she called me back, going on about how we HAD To switch right now because a deal where you get some phone for free was ending today.

I compared what kind of plan you had to get to get it for free, and at the end of the 2 year contract you'd wind up paying 2-3 times what they had it listed for retail.

I don't see cash discounts here in Ohio. Maybe there are different laws. I was in Fl, GA, and the Carolinas a couple weeks ago and a 10 cent/gallon cash discount was common. It costs on average about 3% to have a credit card transaction processed (the fee scale is all over the map). With gas at $3.70 it is costing them about 11 cents a gallon to accept the card. A 10 cent discount isn't unreasonable.

We have a steak house here in Dayton that is cash only, proper dress required, first come first served - no reservations accepted. Back in '88 George Bush senior stopped in. They made the secret service guys wait for his table inside while Bush sat in the limo and waited. When they left the secret service guys paid with Benjamins. Kid Rock came in one night and refused to take his hat off. They refused to serve him. The owner is the steak Nazi! I love it.

Damn, and I was upset with the 10cents that a similar place around here was charging.

CASH IS KING!!!! I use it as much as I can. And sometimes if you ask you will get a "cash deal" that is not advertised!

There's a BP station sign that matches the Kangaroo station across the street, but in black it says "cash". It's small and hard to see and probably suckers a lot of people.

Cash sucks. While there are certain obvious benefits (anonynimity, no questions asked, etc.) I find it to be a huge PITA. Currency is just nasty when you think about how many people's grubby mitts have been on it, how many filthy floors it's fallen onto, etc. Just gross. Not to mention I hate the fact that you always seem to end up getting more bills back than you manage to get rid of (e.g. you pay for something $5.XX with a single $10 and end up with four (virtually worthless) $1 bills and pocket change, which is even more worthless and more inconvenient to carry around. If you pay with a $20, you end up with five bills minimum (a $10 and four $1s) to schlep around, etc. You get my drift. I just find the whole thing extremely inconvenient and outdated, not to mention I find the notion of handling other peoples' used currency a lot like handling their used underwear - gross.

Maybe I'm weird, but I hate stuff in my pockets and I think the less stuff of other people that I come into contact with the better off I am, generally speaking. I like carrying a phone and a small wallet/card-carrier that holds a DL, one debit and one credit card. That's it. I don't want big wad of filthy wadded up bills in there. YMMV, but as a customer, I expect to be able to pay with a card without being unduly penalized for it. Merchants are dime a dozen. I feel your pain that you're being screwed by the banks, but that's part of the cost of doing business. Honestly if I had no other choice, I'd willingly pay a slightly higher price to compensate the merchant for the fee rather than deal with cash but generally speaking, I don't need to - merchants are dime-a-dozen and particularly for gas stations, there's one on every damn street corner in America. If I don't like the policy at one (different prices cash/card), I go across the street where it's different. Thems the breaks.

I'm pretty certain that is illegal. I would get in touch with Schumer's office and see what they say. Send them the picture as well.

Why is it then that 99% of all other places where credit cards are accepted have the same price for cash or credit? The only exception I've seen is that sometimes a credit card purchase requires a minimum - typically $10.00 or so.

If other retailers can absorb the CC fee without issue, as well as many gas stations, why are some gas stations charging more? Sounds like a scam to me!

-Z

I hate having to go inside the store and standing in line to pay with cash. I can use my debit card right at the pump. I never even see the clerk. I have not seen any stores around here charging a premium for using credit cards.

There is one famous restaurant in Ocarche OK that sells fried chicken. They do not take reservations or even have a seating waiting list. You just wander around waiting for someone to get up and grab the table. The place only takes cash. Fortunately they have a bank with an ATM right next door.

The place is so busy all the time they don't care if someone is upset because of a long wait. They have great food and it is always busy.

Plenty of places here. Some near Ballard by the Zoo, and up around Costco @ Edmonds... I've only seen a .10cent difference though, not to this extreme.

BP really pissed me off a long time ago, and i still try not to get gas there, becuase we had a BP gas card and we would get charged extra for using the BP card at BP stations!!! if anything, they should give a discount.

BTW, i dont get gas at ANY station that does that, even though i use a debit card and dont get charged the extra price. after all, if you go to a regular store, they dont charge you more for using a credit card, the charge may already be added, but there are not 2 prices.

Friend of mine owns a station and he says his profit is pennies per gallon. He used to fill up at a competitors station in the next town because it was cheaper than buying his own gas.

I can understand a minimum for a CC charge. Along with the transaction %age there is also a fixed per transaction fee, $0.10-0.25. If you bought a single packet of Ramen noodles on a CC they may as well give it to you, they'd lose less money.

Amex is the worst, IIRC their take is 10% on the transaction.

Depends on the volume that store is running whether or not their rate is low enough to absorb. One small store, will be paying a much higher rate.

ARCO does this all the time

What I hate most about these gas stations is thatbthe huge sign out front only lists the cash price. They don't even say its cash only. It's only once you pull up to the pump that you realize that you got taken.

This whole thread has me shocked. I have never heard of this before. Certainly not in Georgia.

I wonder if there are laws in some states that prohibit cc companies from forbidding offering a cash discount, since it appears to be a regional thing. In those states the retailer would have to balance the burden of irate card customers vs happy cash customers and do what's best for business.
Our current contract doesn't say we can't have a minimum, though we had a contract once that did. Rates and rules can be very different depending on the cc card company you're dealing with, the nature of your business, and I suspect the laws in your area.

IIRC in the places I stopped the listed price was always the highest price. The cash discount offer was always in fine print on the pump. It usually said something like, "Cash pricing in effect. 10 cent discount for cash." I don't recall ever seeing a big sign with two prices for the same gas. But this strictly anecdotal information from a 10 day trip and I didn't stop at all that many gas stations.

A debit card here is like cash, different from a credit card, no charges whatsoever.
Merchants prefer it cause you can't rob a store if the store does most. Transactions electronically...

I rarely have cash on me

I never realized that was the case, thought when they asked for cash you had to pay with bills. I'm going to check that out next time I'm in that situation. Thanks. I hate to carry much cash but never considered using a debit card, especially for gas payments.

Is it a cash discount . . . or a CC additional expense? --perspective.

For resellers, there is not only the percentage of sale taken by the CC/bank, but a whole lot of expense in maintaining the CC equipment.

But CC users really shouldn't have to pay for any of that.

I'll also note the 3% (or whatever) that the card holder get 'refunded' /bonused back on their card for say. . .gas purchases. ( 3% - that's 12¢/gal on $4gas right there)

I mean, c'mon, where does anyone think those $'s come from?

thievery is maddening, but one can vote with their $$$$$$ or feet. Righteous indignation is mildly humorous if not pitiful.