Credit Card Fees

olds

Elite Member
Mar 3, 2000
50,124
778
126
2nd story

Credit card companies quash county parking fee
By Robert Lewis


Losing money on your parking lot business?

Sacramento County supervisors thought they found the solution, voting in June to add a $1 surcharge on people parking at a county lot with credit and debit cards.

Stagnant revenue combined with rising costs and debt left the Parking Enterprise with an operating deficit of almost $667,000 in fiscal year 2008-09.

The surcharge was expected to bring in about $10,000 a year, county documents say.

Mike Morse, director of general services, said that would roughly cover the transaction fee the service provider charges the county for credit card transactions.

On July 1, drivers who didn't have cash to park in the lots and used plastic were assessed the extra $1 fee.

Over the next 10 days, about 400 people paid the fee. And then the credit card companies ? after finding out about it ? put an end to it.

They told officials the county couldn't simply assess their customers surcharges.

Now the county is in the process of crediting the accounts of those assessed the fee.

Because the receipts don't have the full credit card numbers, the county is working with the service provider to get a list of customers who paid the surcharge, said Rhonda Kissane, an administrative services officer in the parking division.
 

Engineer

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
39,230
701
126
But they can give a "cash discount rebate". i.e. If you pay the $21 with cash, we will give you an instant rebate of $1.00. Works for the diesel stations up and down the Interstate.
 

sao123

Lifer
May 27, 2002
12,653
205
106
Originally posted by: Engineer
But they can give a "cash discount rebate". i.e. If you pay the $21 with cash, we will give you an instant rebate of $1.00. Works for the diesel stations up and down the Interstate.

not sure how thats any different.
 

ScottFern

Diamond Member
Oct 23, 2002
3,629
2
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The Illinois DMV charges an extra 75 cents to use a credit card to pay for DMV fees. I am wondering if we can report them as well?
 

txrandom

Diamond Member
Aug 15, 2004
3,773
0
71
Originally posted by: sao123
Originally posted by: Engineer
But they can give a "cash discount rebate". i.e. If you pay the $21 with cash, we will give you an instant rebate of $1.00. Works for the diesel stations up and down the Interstate.

not sure how thats any different.

Cash discount rather than credit surcharge. It's exactly the same besides the wording, but the wording is all the credit card companies care about.
 

shocksyde

Diamond Member
Jun 16, 2001
5,539
0
0
Originally posted by: ScottFern
The Illinois DMV charges an extra 75 cents to use a credit card to pay for DMV fees. I am wondering if we can report them as well?

Yep. Hookers.
 

Juddog

Diamond Member
Dec 11, 2006
7,851
6
81
Originally posted by: ScottFern
The Illinois DMV charges an extra 75 cents to use a credit card to pay for DMV fees. I am wondering if we can report them as well?

Yes report them.
 

oogabooga

Diamond Member
Jan 14, 2003
7,806
3
81
Originally posted by: sao123
Originally posted by: Engineer
But they can give a "cash discount rebate". i.e. If you pay the $21 with cash, we will give you an instant rebate of $1.00. Works for the diesel stations up and down the Interstate.

not sure how thats any different.

Credit card companies can't control who you offer discounts to.

The main concern with fees I think is that people would say "f that" and not use their cards all so that the merchant can save some money - which costs the credit card companies money. That they don't like.
 

dabuddha

Lifer
Apr 10, 2000
19,579
17
81
Originally posted by: ScottFern
The Illinois DMV charges an extra 75 cents to use a credit card to pay for DMV fees. I am wondering if we can report them as well?

Yeah the electric company here charges a surcharge if you use a CC.
 

Newbian

Lifer
Aug 24, 2008
24,779
882
126
Originally posted by: dabuddha
Originally posted by: ScottFern
The Illinois DMV charges an extra 75 cents to use a credit card to pay for DMV fees. I am wondering if we can report them as well?

Yeah the electric company here charges a surcharge if you use a CC.

Report them and see if the power stays on. ;)
 
Dec 10, 2005
28,737
13,904
136
Originally posted by: dabuddha
Originally posted by: ScottFern
The Illinois DMV charges an extra 75 cents to use a credit card to pay for DMV fees. I am wondering if we can report them as well?

Yeah the electric company here charges a surcharge if you use a CC.

If they use an outside processing company or something like that, they are allowed to charge a convenience fee. It's not quite a surcharge.
 

mugs

Lifer
Apr 29, 2003
48,920
46
91
Originally posted by: sao123
Originally posted by: Engineer
But they can give a "cash discount rebate". i.e. If you pay the $21 with cash, we will give you an instant rebate of $1.00. Works for the diesel stations up and down the Interstate.

not sure how thats any different.

It's stupid to make the distinction, but Visa and Mastercard both allow cash discounts. American Express allows a surcharge, but only if it applies to all non-cash payment methods.
 

nerp

Diamond Member
Dec 31, 2005
9,865
105
106
Originally posted by: sao123
Originally posted by: Engineer
But they can give a "cash discount rebate". i.e. If you pay the $21 with cash, we will give you an instant rebate of $1.00. Works for the diesel stations up and down the Interstate.

not sure how thats any different.

It's a loophole. Bunch of people around here did it. Pay cash, pump, come back in get your "instant cash rebate"
 

Newbian

Lifer
Aug 24, 2008
24,779
882
126
Originally posted by: spidey07
Simple solution = don't take credit/debt cards.

The problem is these days most places have to take it or deny a large chuck of business.
 

spidey07

No Lifer
Aug 4, 2000
65,469
5
76
Originally posted by: Newbian
Originally posted by: spidey07
Simple solution = don't take credit/debt cards.

The problem is these days most places have to take it or deny a large chuck of business.

If they're losing money on it, screw the stupid people who don't carry cash.
 

Newbian

Lifer
Aug 24, 2008
24,779
882
126
Originally posted by: spidey07
Originally posted by: Newbian
Originally posted by: spidey07
Simple solution = don't take credit/debt cards.

The problem is these days most places have to take it or deny a large chuck of business.

If they're losing money on it, screw the stupid people who don't carry cash.

It's not the people using credit cards fault.

It is after all California and their lack of financial planning at work.
 

PlasmaBomb

Lifer
Nov 19, 2004
11,636
2
81
Awesome so the make an extra $10k...

so they are ~1.5% less fscked... but they are still fsked.
 

sao123

Lifer
May 27, 2002
12,653
205
106
Originally posted by: spidey07
Simple solution = don't take credit/debt cards.

cash is obsolete and eventually will go to 100% plastic... what will they do then?
 

kami333

Diamond Member
Dec 12, 2001
5,110
2
76
Originally posted by: nerp
Originally posted by: sao123
Originally posted by: Engineer
But they can give a "cash discount rebate". i.e. If you pay the $21 with cash, we will give you an instant rebate of $1.00. Works for the diesel stations up and down the Interstate.

not sure how thats any different.

It's a loophole. Bunch of people around here did it. Pay cash, pump, come back in get your "instant cash rebate"

Makes me shake my head whenever I see that.

5cent off for cash when gas was under $1 was a good deal, with gas at $2.50+ they need to start upping their discount to 12cents+.
 

Newbian

Lifer
Aug 24, 2008
24,779
882
126
Originally posted by: sswingle
Wouldn't it make more sense to charge everyone more if you are losing money?

Sssshhhh, don't explain economics to California.
 

palswim

Golden Member
Nov 23, 2003
1,049
0
71
www.palswim.net
Originally posted by: sao123
Originally posted by: Engineer
But they can give a "cash discount rebate". i.e. If you pay the $21 with cash, we will give you an instant rebate of $1.00. Works for the diesel stations up and down the Interstate.

not sure how thats any different.

Yeah, it's like how it's illegal in CA to charge a "late fee" for rent, but I had a landlord tell me that my rent was actually $100 higher, but I would get a "paying on time" discount. It's pretty hard to enforce things like that.
 

destrekor

Lifer
Nov 18, 2005
28,799
359
126
Originally posted by: txrandom
Originally posted by: sao123
Originally posted by: Engineer
But they can give a "cash discount rebate". i.e. If you pay the $21 with cash, we will give you an instant rebate of $1.00. Works for the diesel stations up and down the Interstate.

not sure how thats any different.

Cash discount rather than credit surcharge. It's exactly the same besides the wording, but the wording is all the credit card companies care about.

so is that how gas stations get away with charging a credit card pump price versus cash pump price?
I've seen numerous stations start to list two prices on the sign: gas price, and credit card gas price.

I find it ridiculous to do that, because it was never that way, until gas started getting more expensive. Which seems backwards, but to keep prices lower gas stations may be getting less of a profit margin compared to when it was super cheap for gas, and the ones without that credit gas price may instead just be putting a bigger margin on the pump cost compared to what they get it at.