Comments on: Charging You to Use Your Credit Card is Illegal

By: MadH

MadH — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 15:38:42 +0000

You know, I just don’t even care that much about mom & pop stores any more. After working in multiple ones and realizing just HOW MUCH illegal crap they do, they are really no better than the major stores. Illegal immigrants? Check. Cash under the table? Check. Credit card fees? Check. Cash discounts because it’s “off the books”? Check. Reporting all their employees as contract work to avoid worker’s comp and insurance? Check. The list goes on and on and on. And still they whine and whine. While I watch and realize that the reason they’re doing bad isn’t the taxes, it’s because they’re just flat-out BAD at running a BUSINESS. They have no fucking clue. They bleed money in everything they do because they don’t know how to run a business.

I hate walking in to a mom & pop and having to wonder just how shitty the whole place is. Shape up or get out, guys.

By: Thaonnor

Thaonnor — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 15:24:49 +0000

What you don’t understand is from the merchant’s point of view…

First off… it is stupid to make them word it a special way that does in fact allow them to give a cash discount. That defeats the purpose of the law.

On the other hand, if they close that loophole, and make it completely illegal to charge the 3% that you are losing to credit card companies… the consumer will suffer.

I personally will not lose money on a credit card sale, plain and simple. And if I can only charge one price, I will charge the extra 3% ALL of the time, cash, check or credit card. So keep asking for them to close the loophole, and you’ll pay an extra 3%, simple as that.

By: Mike

Mike — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 17:26:56 +0000

I think a lot of the people on here really have a warped perspective and it’s very self serving.

I own 3 businesses. Credit card companies hit businesses hard on each purchase getting basically a cut of their business for providing consumers the ease of purchasing. Basically, you want businesses to take a cut of their profits so that you can have the ease of payment without any cost to yourself for this convenience.

In this economy where so many businesses are failing, don’t you think the little extra you have to pay for your convenience might be worth keeping businesses going so that people have jobs, they can continue to buy products from suppliers who supply jobs for people, they pay rent to landlords who provide jobs for people, they pay taxes to the government who provides jobs for people, they pay for utilities that provide jobs for people, they pay for insurance who provide jobs for people…do you get my point?

The credit card companies do not provide nearly the number of jobs that small and big businesses do. People really need to start thinking bigger and how they can support the local businesses they enjoy so they don’t follow the path that so many others have by closing their doors not because they don’t provide a quality product (which would be a normal reason to go out business in a capitalist society) but because people don’t have the money to spend because they are unemployed, supporting someone who is unemployed, or are afraid of the future because so many people are losing their jobs.

See how you like it when your favorite business is no longer there and you have to travel across town to get the same thing spending more money on your time and fuel.

I’m not saying credit card charges are the only factor running businesses out of business. But the increasing cost of products, the increasing demands of quality employees, the increasing cost of utilities, and the increasing taxes and fees all add up with giving away a percentage of your business just because your customer doesn’t want the inconvenience of carrying and managing cash and wants to get his/her 2 points for a cup of coffee to help them towards that dream vacation they may actually get on points saved over 2.5 years. Come on.

I use cards myself. Yes, I enjoy the points. But I have learned to support my fellow business owners and only use my card when it is over $10. I know the hit they get and I treat them as I would want to be treated. Golden rule folks. Plain and simple.

By: chefcristo

chefcristo — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 00:58:50 +0000

ok, so it’s illegal to charge a premium or impose a minimum dollar amount for credit card purchases: NOW WHAT? how the hell do these merchants get away with it…especially those notorious thieves, the gas station folks, who are making a profit on the gas sold plus credit card purchases? what legal recourse do we credit card purchasers have to remedy this situation…OCCUPY BUSINESS! (tongue in cheek remark, of course)?

get back with some proactive, creative ideas to remedy this fraud.

By: cammie

cammie — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 23:05:40 +0000

the laws have changed since last year. Do a search its legal to be able to require a minimum charge of $10 now.

By: CT

CT — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 23:07:55 +0000

As of 2010, it is now legal to impose a minimum fee for credit card usage.

http://daviswiki.org/Credit_Card_minimum_purchase

By: Mark

Mark — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 16:33:21 +0000

I have no problem with min $10 purchase. But I do have a problem when the person tried to add another .50 cents on top of $10.25 which happened to me today. I said “I thought the min was $10.00″ Her answer was we make no money on what you are buying. She lost the sale and I went to a different store.

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 18:36:06 +0000

I understand your frustrations, but most of you are directing your anger at the wrong people. As the co-owner of a small conveniece store/gas station, I’d like to just explain our perspective on this issue. Lets face it, most people use their credit/debit cards for every single transaction because they have some type of incentive/rewards/cash back program. If you believe that your cc company is awesome for providing you with this unbelievable treat, just know that it’s not that way at all. They aren’t giving you anything out of their pocket. They’re taking it from us, the small business that has to pay outrageous fees just so that you can shop in our store. If any of you know the gas/oil industry, you’ll know that we are at the bottom of the oil chain and rarely does your local station make more than a few cents per gallon on fuel. When you factor in the cost of running the pumps/pump maintenance, etc., there is little to no profit whatsoever. And then when someone pays with a credit/debit card, we, on many occasions, break even or even lose money on the transaction. Same goes for in-store sales. People come in and buy a pack of gum and want to pay with a debit/credit card. We may make 5 cents on that pack of gum, but because it costs us 30 to 35 cents for each debit/credit transaction, we actually are losing 25 to 30 cents on the sale. All I’m asking is that you all be aware of this. Is it unfair/illegal to impose surcharges…yes. But I’m hoping this helps explain why. It’s so hard for small businesses to make it these days and the government/credit card companies/gas industries are making it more difficult every year. So support your local small businesses and instead of being angry with them for trying to make a meager living any way they can, pay with cash, especially on small purchases. We’ll really appreciate it and hopefully some day soon the cc companies will take note that if it wasn’t for us, they wouldn’t have half the transactions that they have now. Continuing to force us to pay per-transaction fees in addition to a percentage of the sale, many of us will not survive and corporate America will continue their monopoly and small businesses will be a thing of the past. Thanks everyone.

By: Kim Mann

Kim Mann — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 21:53:44 +0000

I don’t care what any of you say this is bull….!! The place I work for does clearly have it printed in the bar if you use your credit or debit card you have to have a 5.00 minimum purchase.. I went to a gas station to buy a pack of cigarettes for 5.75 and the lady said if I use my debit card she will have to put a .50 fee on there.. WTF? I asked for what.. She said for anything under 10.00.. SO what is to stop them from saying anything under 20.00? Talk about a corrupt way to steal money from your consumer. Honestly lets add up how much additional money they are making for X amount of purchases during the day that people have no other means to pay for their merchandise….

By: Gabriel

Gabriel — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 13:26:49 +0000

Time for the law to be changed! Quit acting like the business is there for your alone! They are trying to make a living, and Visa or Mastercard shouldn’t get 3% of that1 Get off you lazy ass and get some ash out of the machine, then let your neighbor (store owner, restraunteur) make the profit. It is THEIR business not yours, they can run it however the F@ck they please! Get off your high horse, the world doesn’t revolve around your inability to carry cash in your wallet, or more likely, your inability to spend within your limits so the only way you COULD pay once it’s time for dinner is with a credit card. Every one of you complainers are petty and ego-centric, believing that your wants are more important than the guy trying like hell to cut a profit running their own business.