this is just highway robbery, clear and simple

allen levine

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new york city burbs
My wife and I went out to dinner and stopped to get gasoline for her car.
what nerve this gas station owner has, the sign speaks for itself
 

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I don't believe there are laws stipulating what they can charge with credit cards.
Noone has to shop there, but they have decent prices for the neighborhood with cash, so I guess that's what keeps them busy.
 
Credit card companies also charge the store owner a percentage. Maybe found out he was losing money so it takes that much to equal the cash price. Or else he knows cash is harder to track and is close to retirement????
 
Allen you should report him to the credit card company any one. They have rules for this kind of thing. If you gonna accept their cards then as i know it you cannot penalise the customer for it. Thats a huge gas price for the US. :eek:
 
"Surcharging isn’t allowed everywhere. Currently, there are laws limiting surcharging in: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Oklahoma and Texas. Consumers who are subjected to a surcharge or checkout fees in states where they may be prohibited from surcharging may want to report the retailer to their state attorney general’s office."

[h=3]New York[/h]“No seller…may impose a surcharge on a cardholder who elects to use a credit card in lieu of payment by cash, check or similar means…”
Statute: N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 518 (McKinney)
Statute covers: Credit cards only
Statute: (N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 511(1))
New York State Attorney GeneralMore information


http://usa.visa.com/personal/using_visa/checkout_fees/index.html
 
its not like hes hiding it. there are huge signs advertising his prices, and hes on one of the busiest intersections on the way to the beach, so 10s of thousands of people see it every day.

Jon-I took credit cards and I paid approx. 1.5-1.75 % for credit card use, and I had to pay to lease the equipment each month.
Its one of those costs you just have to eat, don't know how this guy does it, but I guess 95% of the people opt for cash and the other 5% don't care.

every gas station on long island and NY, well, 95% of them, charge approx. 10 cents more a gallon for credit card use, I cant imagine it not being legal, they would all be closed by now.
 
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I've been in California this week, and noticed that the gas stations and restaurants were both charging $0.35-$1.00 per swipe, for a debit card. Neither charged extra for credit cards, though.
 
Reminds me of the day we went to war in Iraq. I had to haul a calf for a student to the processor. We passed looooooooooooong lines at every gas station. One of the was charging $10.00 per gallon and had literally a 1/2 mile long line waiting for his gas. Two days later prosecutor charges him with overcharging. I understand that position but also understand NO ONE was holding a gun to their heads making them wait to pay ten bucks per gallon. I told Lou on the way home, we'll run out of gas like everyone else if the fears are true, at least we'll have some cash in our pockets. People want freedom then want someone to cover for them in their embarrassment. When I saw the sign first thought was, people will learn why cash was called King!!
 
We accept credit cards but only if you are buying over $100 (10,000 yen) worth of wine etc, we get charged 7% by the Credit card companies, it is really a rip off for small merchants here in Japan. The large retail giants they pay only 1% or so, but we are NOT large, so we get stiffed. I've had customers from Hong Kong or Singapore come and buy a LOT of wine, say $2500 worth, they always ask if they can get a discount if they pay cash compared to the credit card, I will happily give them a 5% discount for cash.

I don't know the laws there, but I'd say if he is complying with the law, and being very open about it, what is wrong with that?

He may only pay 1.5% to the credit card companies, but then I would bet that he has a lot of other paperwork that has to filled out, and that costs him time, or money if he has to pay someone to do it.

By the way, we are paying about $7.56 per gallon for gas over here in Japan, and that price is nothing special, it was higher a while back, but has come down a bit.
 
there is little work with credit cards.
I used to get a statement once a month, and I never, ever found an error. Id reconcile the statement with the charge receipts in a matter of 20 minutes each month. Its part of doing business.

My guess is that the owner of that station is an underhanded creep, figuring, most people, since its a common practice here to charge ten cents more a gallon for cards, don't even notice the charges, and he figures if they do, hell cancel it and let them pay cash, or just dupe them and make more.
(I put my card in, then saw the sign, so I cancelled it at the pump, and had a few words with the attendant at the register, nothing nasty, more like Ive never seen anyone charging that kind of money, the attendant ignored me, what else is new, criminals usually ignore their victims)
 
By the way, we are paying about $7.56 per gallon for gas over here in Japan, and that price is nothing special, it was higher a while back, but has come down a bit.

"come down a bit..." :bonkers::thud::chair:

Maybe I shouldn't fuss so much when our gas here hits 1.31 a litre
(Hmmm, about CA$4.95 per US Gallon, or about US$4.67 at today's exchange rate)

But driving a Sienna mostly in city driving doesn't help either, glad I don't drive a pickup.
 
According to what I posted earlier from the Visa site, it doesn't matter if he's hiding it or not, it's illegal to add a surcharge in NY. Right?

I don't know exactly.

seems some laws are like spitting in the street, not really enforced. or jaywalking.

I always had signs stating we don't charge under 10 dollar sale, but I was told that was illegal, someone else told me as long as I have it clearly posted, it was legal.

legal or not, 90 cents a gallon extra for credit charge use is ridiculous.

I guess the owner is stashing away enough cash to run when the irs finds out what he really does in business.
 
Proves that most people don't pay any attention to the posted gas prices. Sometimes even cash is not king. On my recent road trip to Oklahoma I reserved the room with a CC but paid cash. The hotels put temporary authorizations on my CC to cover any "incidental expenses". For example, smoking in the room gets you charged $250.
 
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