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There's a place not far from my home that consistently advertises around 7 cents cheaper fuel than the BP next door and the Wawa down the road, on par with the Costco, which I usually use. I was in a hurry the other day, and so instead of going through the Costco rigamarole I stopped at this place, just your basic, little, no-name gas and chips type of establishment. After I start pumping I notice a tiny little handwritten sign in the window that says "Add 7 cent charge for debit/credit card transactions." They obviously knew full well that most people, in a rush right off the interstate like me, wouldn't actually double check the price stated on the pump before they swiped their card, which indeed was the exact same at $2.09 as the BP next door.
Obviously I'm to blame for not making sure of the price on the pump before I began fueling, but I'm surprised this is even legal, to have a lower advertised cash price and credit price without explicitly stating so on the sign that motorists will use to make their decision from the road. I'm not too burned up, not like this has a massive effect on my life, more a curiosity than anything because I haven't seen anything like it in all the years I've been driving. Anyone else on here ever seen a similar bait and switch, possibly one even more egregious?
Filling stations around here have always done that. I thought it was normal. A friend of mine owns a filling station and I asked him about that. First, you can advertise lowest price and dont have to explain. He actually posts "Cash price" on the big sign, but the pump is credit card price. He gives you a .03 per gallon discount for paying cash. Secondly, he has to pay credit card company, 1% for the use of credit card equipment and processing use.
This bait and switch is also used for gas station "rewards" cards. I know that the Shell station by my house, has some kind of loyalty card in which you can get 5 or 10 cents off a gallon of gas. From the road, the "loyalty" price is advertised in very large print of course.
12-27-2014, 04:38 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 00molavi
Most places around here have both prices posted, but ARCO (CA station) is cash or debit only and there are no massive signs stating so, but everybody living in this state knows. When I was in the East coast, there were a few no-name mom & pop stations and they were mostly cash only or 10 cents extra for credit. If you are really stuck, then you don't have much choice. I actually tried to avoid them mostly due to questionable quality of their additives. BUT, driving around for 10 (or 7 cents in this case) is probably not worth it either.
There was a class action suit against ARCO for pulling that in Oregon.
Not that it's illegal, but it does violate the terms and conditions of the credit card issuing company (Visa, MC,etc.) that they agree to when they sign up to accept credit card transactions with their bank.
That actually was dropped.. Well.. Technically it's still in the CC merchant agreements, but is unenforced.. Sort of like the federal personal-use marijuana laws still are on the books and apply to California, but.. Are (supposedly) not enforced.
Back in 2010 the feds sued the major CC agencies under antitrust laws, and dropping enforcement of that provision was part of the settlement. So.. Depends how you want to look at it as to whether it violates the agreements.
the prices dont bother me near as much as the hidden transactions that take place .. at some places when you use your debit card for a purchase they deduct an additional 75 bucks from your account to make sure they get theirs before you run out of funds .. i never use those places more than once ...
This is true of most every store that takes debit cards and all hotels have the same thing so it isn't exclusive to gasoline stations.
This is true of most every store that takes debit cards and all hotels have the same thing so it isn't exclusive to gasoline stations.
It's not true of most stores. and honestly isn't true of many gas stations. Hotels.. Sure. Rental car agencies, yes..
What they're doing is placing a 'hold' on a card for a set amount. So that they get their money. Any place that you get product/services prior to paying has a chance to do this. Bars, for example, where you might run a tab. You swipe your card at a gas pump, they don't know whether you're getting $1.00 or $75.00 in gas. They say to the processor, "make sure this card has $75.00 on it, that's mine" and if they get an authorization, they charge against that.
Problem is.. The processors take your money immediately. They're really, really slow about giving it back. The merchants (in this case, a gas station) releases the hold as soon as the transaction is finished. The 5 or 6 days (sometimes) it takes to get credited back to your account is the fault of the processor.. Not the merchant.
I've aways looked at the price on the pump. I always interpreted the sign to mean "come in here and the pump price is likely to be this." And I always look again, after I give my payment method, before I start pumping. There have been a lot of times when the actual pump price turned out to be different than what I expected. I can simply end the transaction at that point, without pumping any gas.
Costco is often the best deal in town, if you're going to pay with a debit card. If you have a credit card that gives 5% on gas, Costco usually isn't the best, because you can't use that card there.
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