Different price for credit and cash?

[Aharami]

Local gas station is charging 7c/gal extra for using credit card as opposed to cash. I thought this is an illegal practice. When I questioned the gas attendant about it, he said he has nothing to do with the prices...his boss decides what price, which is probably the truth.

What I wanna know is whether charging more for using credit card is illegal or not. And if so, who can I report this to?

 

[funkymatt]

they aren't charging more for a CC, it's a cash discount :roll:

 

[Zenmervolt]

100% legal. Stop whining.

ZV

 

[alkemyst]

It's never been about the law. It's about the merchant card agreement.

Most carriers require no surcharge or minimum charge to be required on credit card payments. It's an all or nothing arrangement.

A merchant can offer a cash discount most of the time and still be following their agreement.

 

[drinkmorejava]

It's not illegal by any means; you can discriminate between prices however you damn well choose; although, between cash denominations you probably can?t get away with it. However, depending on how it is setup, it may in breach of their contract with their credit card companies. For the most part, they are allowed to advertise at a higher price and give rebates to customers paying cash, however, they can't charge more than the listed price for someone using a card.

 

[Chryso]

They typically pay the CC company 4% off the top.
Why don't you quit crying and pay with cash?

 

[Bryophyte]

Not illegal. Most CC merchant agreements disallow surcharges for credit card use, but don't have a problem with a discount for cash customers. It's really splitting hairs, but that's the way it is.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: funkymatt
they aren't charging more for a CC, it's a cash discount :roll:

:thumbsup:

 

[krunchykrome]

Many companies offer a discount if you pay with cash. I've never seen a gas station do this though, but I wouldnt be surprised if they started doing it.

 

[halik]

very illegal

edit: actually seems to vary from state to state

In the United States, until 1984 federal law prohibited surcharges on card transactions. Although the federal Truth in Lending Act provisions that prohibited surcharges expired that year, a number of states have since enacted laws that continue to outlaw the practice; CA, CO, CT, FL, KS, MA, ME, NY, OK, and TX have laws against surcharges.

 

[Kelemvor]

They can't charge a fee (or higher price) for suing the Credit Card. But all you can do is call VIsa or Mastercard and report that they are doing this. They can yank that particular locations ability to take credit cards at all if they dont' following the agreements they have with the CC companies but it's unliekly. So call and report him right away,

Call the number on the back of your card and let them know and they can get in touch with Visa or Mastercard.

 

[Gibson486]

hasn't this been discussed before?

 

[torpid]

Has to be phrased as a cash discount, but it's allowable.

 

[moshquerade]

Originally posted by: Chryso
They typically pay the CC company 4% off the top.
Why don't you quit crying and pay with cash?

Two reasons,
it's easy to use up all your cash when paying to fill up.
plus some CC companies give cash back or some other incentive on your purchases.

 

[Kelemvor]

Best thing to do is just buy your gas somewhere else. If it's truly a Cash Discount, then it'd be cheaper there. But if the Cash priec si the same as everyone else's Normal price, then it's not a cash discount, it's a CC surcharge.

 

[daveshel]

Nothing new - been happening since the 1970s.

 

[Alone]

Originally posted by: halik
very illegal

edit: actually seems to vary from state to state

In the United States, until 1984 federal law prohibited surcharges on card transactions. Although the federal Truth in Lending Act provisions that prohibited surcharges expired that year, a number of states have since enacted laws that continue to outlaw the practice; CA, CO, CT, FL, KS, MA, ME, NY, OK, and TX have laws against surcharges.

Cash discount.

 

[halik]

Originally posted by: Alone

Originally posted by: halik
very illegal

edit: actually seems to vary from state to state

In the United States, until 1984 federal law prohibited surcharges on card transactions. Although the federal Truth in Lending Act provisions that prohibited surcharges expired that year, a number of states have since enacted laws that continue to outlaw the practice; CA, CO, CT, FL, KS, MA, ME, NY, OK, and TX have laws against surcharges.

Cash discount.

turns out you're right

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Originally posted by: Kelemvor
Best thing to do is just buy your gas somewhere else.

DING. We have a winner.

Unless this is the "Last Gas for 500 miles" or something, just go down the street/across the road, and be nice and loud while you do it.

"HEY GUYS, THIS PLACE OVER HERE IS CHEAPER IF YOU'RE BUYING BY CREDIT CARD."

- M4H

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire

Originally posted by: Kelemvor
Best thing to do is just buy your gas somewhere else.

DING. We have a winner.

Unless this is the "Last Gas for 500 miles" or something, just go down the street/across the road, and be nice and loud while you do it.

"HEY GUYS, THIS PLACE OVER HERE IS CHEAPER IF YOU'RE BUYING BY CREDIT CARD."

- M4H

That is the Last gas for 500 feet, though.

 

[nonameo]

What is their main advertised price?( the one that shows up on the big sign)

 

[JC86]

IIRC, Arco's stations in southern california are always cheaper by 4-10 cents than the other stations but they do not take credit cards, they take debit cards.
i know for a fact that smaller merchants will offer cheaper prices if you pay in cash. visa and mastercard typically charge a 2-3% charge to the merchants, so for larger purchases, its quit a bit of money.

 

[krunchykrome]

What are their advertsied cash and credit prices and what are nearby competitors prices?

 

[TheKub]

Ive seen a bunch of wierd things at gas stations.

There is one near my apartment that regularly has the cheapest gas but the whole thing is cash only.

When driving cross county I stopped at the cheapest gas station I could find in the area and it was credit card only. There were NO attendants, just a bunch of sticky notes that said call XXX-XXXX if you have any problems.

Also there was a station that advertised gas at X.XX (froget exact but a pretty good price). Get to the pump pull out the regular handle and notice that the price was .15/gal more. I though WTF then noticed that it was the Mid-Grade that was the cheap one. Probably a ploy to trick people to stop and instinctively fill up with more expensive regular.

 

[Aharami]

Originally posted by: drinkmorejava
It's not illegal by any means; you can discriminate between prices however you damn well choose; although, between cash denominations you probably can?t get away with it. However, depending on how it is setup, it may in breach of their contract with their credit card companies. For the most part, they are allowed to advertise at a higher price and give rebates to customers paying cash, however, they can't charge more than the listed price for someone using a card.

just got back from lunch. they arent advertising a higher price and giving a discount for cash. big sign displays 2.91/3.01/3.11. when you u pull up to the pump, there are two rows of prices - 2.91/3.01/3.11 for cash and 2.98/3.08/3.18 for credit