Credit card fraud - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"In 2006, fraud in the United Kingdom alone was estimated at £535 million,[4] or US$750–830 million at prevailing 2006 exchange rates."

All that exchange fraud has to be recovered from someone....
Can you guess who?

Interesting...from the California Civil Code:

1748.1. (a) No retailer in any sales, service, or lease transaction
with a consumer may impose a surcharge on a cardholder who elects to
use a credit card in lieu of payment by cash, check, or similar
means. A retailer may, however, offer discounts for the purpose of
inducing payment by cash, check, or other means not involving the use
of a credit card, provided that the discount is offered to all
prospective buyers.

What would stop the retailer from just saying "oh, that fee is for every purchase, but you get a discount of (whatever the fee amount is) if you use cash?"

Maybe 8 or 10 years ago (or longer?) my indy Porsche mech. always gave me 10% off if I paid cash as opposed to using a credit card.

Then...no more 10% discount for cash.

Sooo...I ask, How come no more discount for cash?

My indy Porsche mech. replied, What Visa, et al, are now charging me doesn't warrant my giving a discount if you don't use their card.

Sooo...what's illegal, unethical, underhanded, 'bout that? :confused:

They are required to publish/display both prices.

1) Not legal to charge a fee for CC in CA.

2) That's not how it works, merchant needs to display both prices, the regular and cash discount price. They can't add a surcharge after the fact.

You can discount but your normal retail price has to include the fee.

Anyone selling on PP asking for a PP fee, I skip.

Here is the response from DQ...about as I expected, put the blame somewhere else and won't have any resolution, not that I ever expected anything:

"Thank you for contacting American Dairy Queen Corp (ADQ)and bringing your
experience to our attention. I am very sorry to learn that you have been
disappointed.

As you may know, the majority of Dairy Queen restaurants are independently
owned and operated franchises. The pricing of Dairy Queen products and all
pricing policies are ultimately determined by the independent franchise
operators of each store and restaurant. The credit card fee is not being
charged by all franchisee.

Your comments have been documented and forwarded to the appropriate ADQ
personnel and to the independent franchise owner of this location for
their information and review.

Thank you again for taking the time to contact ADQ and share your
concerns."

FYI, never once did I say I was "disappointed" in my message, I simply asked for an explanation of why I was charged a service fee for using a credit card in California when it clearly is against California law.

I can understand the frustration of the franchise owner, but charging a fee is going to hurt your business.

We are a small business and sometimes taking the cards hurts (.20 per swipe and about .5%). It's just another cost of doing business, like lights and running water.

It would cost me 22 cents to process for the same order.

True story - I have an attorney associate that got charged what he thought was an unfair $35 fee from his bank. He simply asked that they reverse it. He knew he was correct and wouldn't let go. Neither would the bank. So he took it to class action status and included thousands of bank customers. He prevailed and also got 40% of the settlement. I understand it was an 8 figure settlement.

In a cashless society, the retailer needs to figure it out. Adding a surcharge that is visible pisses off the consumer. Factor it into your costs.

ECON 101.

Wow, just got a call from the manager of the store (DQ required a phone number, did not authorize a call but no big deal) and he has obviously been trained by the lawyers of the debit company who he said advised them on the fee. He of course said that the "fee" is charged to everyone and he gives a discount to anyone using cash. It is there to help offset rising costs of doing business. I told him he can obviously run his store anyway he chooses but lying about what the fee really is a dishonest way to run. That is a credit card fee and no matter how he would like to spin it wouldn't change that.

He just said that they have been charging that fee for 4 years (BS!) and the debit company has structured it so that it is legal in California.

If I cared more and/or listened to the people on this board, I would have already lawyered up and would be exploring my options on who I would list as a co-defendant:D Instead, I told the manager that I would not return to his store and would let people know they choose to run their store dishonestly. Don't know if he cared or not...probably not.

p.s. I also found it interesting that he said if the total is under $3, you don't have the fee. So apparently you get a discount if you use cash or only make a small purchase

I also remember reading that the fee rules are different if you are using a debit card.

Also writing (CHECK ID) on the signature line of a card voids the card.