agga40s
July 2nd, 2008, 09:14 AM
I didn't know that. I remember fast food chains and some other store vendors would charge a fee, but I haven't noticed it lately. When did it become illegal?
At least ten years ago, or at least that's when I learned of it. That's when I started accepting credit card payments for the business I had at the time. If the cc company finds out you're doing it, they will cancel your contract. I suppose one could actually have charges brought against them, but I've never heard of that happening. It could be different for debit cards if you choose the debit option, I'm not sure. All the amounts I charged to debit/credit cards were for mail order, so the debit option wasn't available.
It's really just a slight difference of what wording they use. If they say they give a discount for cash, they are in effect (but not in fact) charging a fee for using the card. But that's acceptable. Tacking on extra fees for credit cards is illegal but most people don't know it, even a lot of people who are doing it.
Another example, if you have a PayPal account for online purchases. Vendors are not allowed to pass on the PayPal fee to their customers. PayPal will cancel the account. They are very clear about this, but you do have to read the user agreement to know it. Lots of people don't read it, they just agree. :doh
At least ten years ago, or at least that's when I learned of it. That's when I started accepting credit card payments for the business I had at the time. If the cc company finds out you're doing it, they will cancel your contract. I suppose one could actually have charges brought against them, but I've never heard of that happening. It could be different for debit cards if you choose the debit option, I'm not sure. All the amounts I charged to debit/credit cards were for mail order, so the debit option wasn't available.
It's really just a slight difference of what wording they use. If they say they give a discount for cash, they are in effect (but not in fact) charging a fee for using the card. But that's acceptable. Tacking on extra fees for credit cards is illegal but most people don't know it, even a lot of people who are doing it.
Another example, if you have a PayPal account for online purchases. Vendors are not allowed to pass on the PayPal fee to their customers. PayPal will cancel the account. They are very clear about this, but you do have to read the user agreement to know it. Lots of people don't read it, they just agree. :doh