A WTF eye opener

[TimT]

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

[UconnTim97]

Wow! That is ridiculous.

[stomachmonkey]

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.

[masraum]

Yep, unethical, I'd say.

[HardDrive]

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

[Z-man]

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.

[Rob Channell]

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.

[onewhippedpuppy]

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

[porsche4life]

Originally Posted by Z-man

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.

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

[HHI944]

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...

[Embraer]

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.

[look 171]

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...

[Embraer]

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.

[pegasus9]

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.

[aigel]

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

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

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.

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.

[Scuba Steve]

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

...or cell phone cos giving away the devices and making it back in spades on monthly service bills...

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.

[wdfifteen]

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.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by aigel

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

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.

[David McLaughlin]

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