Requirements silly and could out you as shopper....

@ShoppingDad wrote:

@Tarantado wrote:

Asking for receipts of all your cash purchase requirements at the strip club as proof of your visit

10 foot pole for me.

LOL!

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Well, your comment made me curious to find out if surcharges for credit cards are legal or not. The answer is, "It depends on the state."
"Eleven states—California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Oklahoma and Texas—and Puerto Rico have laws that prohibit merchants from charging consumers with surcharges on credit card transactions." This page lists every state, and also deals with discounts for cash. [www.ncsl.org]
I think that there may be even more subtle differences among states. In NJ, cash and credit prices for gasoline vary by brand, but in Delaware, I have never seen a difference so I assume that there is a law that prohibits it for gasoline sales.

@BirdyC wrote:

[I think that by law, vendors can charge a fee for card usage, but it's not supposed to be more than either the actual charge or some percentage limit. But the place we shop at was, I'm sure, charging more than that. Maybe they got reported, but we haven't been there in a while, so I don't know what they're charging now.

Shopping Southeast Pennsylvania, Delaware above the canal, and South Jersey since 2008

On Pennsylvania it's legal, but I also did some looking into it and found the same. To further muddy the waters, there's a distinction between surcharges and convenience fees. It can be a quagmire, from what I gather. You can charge a fee on some cards only if you also charge it for others. And apparently some states treat credit and debit cards the same, while others don't. Yikes.

I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.

In California there are stations that have a cash price. Perhaps it is not a surcharge for credit but a discount for cash so it fits whatever the law is. Come to think of it I have not noticed those signs lately that list a cash price so maybe the law changed. Next time I drive by the stations that used to do that I will check. I always get my gas at Costco where there is no cash price at all.

There's a shop I annually that involves going to "independent" stores (no chains) -- using your major credit card (which isn't AmEx) -- and noting the way that these companies do signage for credit cards, if they charge for credit and not for debit, if it's a minimum amount etc... I always hit up a slew of convenience stores -- around here they are notorious for slipping an extra $.35 or .50 in without telling you or having a handwritten sign that is so vague that you have no clue what triggers the charge or not. Honestly, I'm glad there's a shop for this kind of thing... I've always been against tacking on an extra charge to use a card. By now, it's the cost of doing business. Sorry. lol

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/06/2019 06:54AM by ngbmediashop.

@Tarantado wrote:

Asking for receipts of all your cash purchase requirements at the strip club as proof of your visit

Oh yeah, forgot the best part of it.... Proof of your cash tip was needed as well, and a picture of the tip NEXT to the itemized receipt would suffice.

Shopping the Greater Denver Area, Colorado Springs and in-between in Colorado. 33 year old male and willing to travel!

@sandyf wrote:

In California there are stations that have a cash price. Perhaps it is not a surcharge for credit but a discount for cash so it fits whatever the law is. Come to think of it I have not noticed those signs lately that list a cash price so maybe the law changed. Next time I drive by the stations that used to do that I will check. I always get my gas at Costco where there is no cash price at all.

I used to see that all over the place, regardless of state. But I haven't in a long time. Maybe companies have decided that since so many people use cards, they just need to absorb the fees, or they've raised their prices to cover them.

I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.

And here I was just wondering if it was an integrity thing, you know, like the staff members were signing people up for a cash membership with a discount and pocketing the money.

@JASFLALMT wrote:

I'm doing a fitness facility shop where during the phone call I had to ask if they would give a discount if I paid in cash. It's a location that has been shopped recently and will get shopped again, I imagine. I wonder how many times that question will get asked before the employees start to wonder? At any rate, the associate did not know I was the shopper, as he did not ask for my name or contact info or try to schedule an appointment for me to tour the facility.

It's a mystery as to why we are asking this question about credit surcharges. In the gas stations I think there are often people who pay in cash especially younger or other people who either do not have or are maxed out on their cards. It does cost the retailer a fee for accepting a card so the gas stations may have been encouraging cash for that reason. As I recall the last time I saw that the difference in price for me was not enough to overcome my higher rebate on my gas card.
As for other retailers, at least in LA we have so many people from all over the world and in many other cultures where it is common to bargain prices that perhaps the question would not seem strange. I would imagine however that if you are asking the question over the phone it would not be the time to tell someone you would accept a lesser amount of cash if you were expecting to pocket the money as the phone person may not be the one you finally encounter when you come into the store. Of course for gyms they need to give you a membership card so it probably needs to be logged into their system showing what you paid...so who knows the reason for the question.

While not expressly illegal, credit card surcharges are definitely frowned on by the credit card companies. They actively confront merchants who do this as a violation of the terms of their agreements which say that they are not supposed to apply a surcharge to a credit card transaction. In my state (WA) it's not illegal but I do see merchants try to use a surcharge from time to time and then it disappears by my next visit. I believe Visa and Mastercard both have programs in place.

Me: "Is there a cash discount?" Answer: "Well, Ms. Jones, why don't you come on into the gym so we can discuss our various plans and discounts in person? We might have a way to work out something to fit your financial needs."

I am always amazed when you have an authorization letter for an audit and the manger either refuses the audit or puts limits on the audit. They are upset because they were not told about the audit. I explain to them I'm not allow to call first. I show them the authorization letter and they don't care. They want any audit cleared through them first. I'm sure it does not go well with them later.

@Tarantado wrote:

Asking for receipts of all your cash purchase requirements at the strip club as proof of your visit

That is easily avoided. Go shop a library: the entertainment is much better. So what if there is no fee nor reimbursement of your late fines.

I have heard that yes, there are those who's fantasies run to a librarian who slowly takes off glasses and then lets down hair. (not politically correct statement??? sorry all you librarians out there. Just a joke.)

@Rousseau wrote:

@Tarantado wrote:

Asking for receipts of all your cash purchase requirements at the strip club as proof of your visit

That is easily avoided. Go shop a library: the entertainment is much better. So what if there is no fee nor reimbursement of your late fines.

I didn't harbor that fantasy, but I did live that reality. She (the librarian) was always amused at how the public thought she should act.

@sandyf wrote:

... there are those who's fantasies run to a librarian who slowly takes off glasses and then lets down their hair.

Shopping Southeast Pennsylvania, Delaware above the canal, and South Jersey since 2008

Some merchants in my area also have a minimum spending amount before they accept credit card payment. Usually it's $5 or $10

@JASFLALMT wrote:

Me: "Is there a cash discount?" Answer: "Well, Ms. Jones, why don't you come on into the gym so we can discuss our various plans and discounts in person? We might have a way to work out something to fit your financial needs."

That's why, as a "real" customer, I wouldn't ask the question over the phone, because they're not going to give details until they have you in their clutches at the location. At least I wouldn't ask that question about a gym membership or other fairly large or expensive purchase. A commodity item, maybe.

I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.

The thing is that plenty of gyms give a discount if you pay upfront for a given period of time. Not exactly a cash discount but it's not so far off as to be suspicious. A person asking about one kind of discount won't be upset to hear about another one.

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Requirements silly and could out you as shopper....

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