I think I know the answer, but am curious what the official response would be. Here's my initial e-mail to them...
QUOTE(My initial e-mail to VISA)
Hello,
I know that it is against VISA policy for a merchant to add a surcharge for using a VISA card.
How is it that utility companies are doing it and getting away with it? Both my power and
telephone companies want to charge me an extra fee for paying by VISA.
Thanks.
I know that it is against VISA policy for a merchant to add a surcharge for using a VISA card.
How is it that utility companies are doing it and getting away with it? Both my power and
telephone companies want to charge me an extra fee for paying by VISA.
Thanks.
I tried to keep it simple. No extraneous information. They responded within a few hours, which was impressive, until I read their response...
QUOTE(VISA's response)
Thank you for contacting us.
To report any merchant practices that you feel are inappropriate, please notify the disputes area
at the financial institution that issued your card account. Your card issuing bank has access to
the appropriate Visa rules and regulations as well as to the Notification of Customer Complaint
forms which should be used by your bank to document and file merchant complaints. It is not necessary
for your bank to be the offending merchant's financial institution in order to file a complaint
for you.
As an alternative, to report merchant practices that you feel are inappropriate, you may wish to
contact the Visa Call Center Services at 1-800-VISA-911 (1-800-847-2911).
We hope this information proves helpful,
Thank you for writing,
Visa Webmaster
To report any merchant practices that you feel are inappropriate, please notify the disputes area
at the financial institution that issued your card account. Your card issuing bank has access to
the appropriate Visa rules and regulations as well as to the Notification of Customer Complaint
forms which should be used by your bank to document and file merchant complaints. It is not necessary
for your bank to be the offending merchant's financial institution in order to file a complaint
for you.
As an alternative, to report merchant practices that you feel are inappropriate, you may wish to
contact the Visa Call Center Services at 1-800-VISA-911 (1-800-847-2911).
We hope this information proves helpful,
Thank you for writing,
Visa Webmaster
Obviously, they didn't address the question at all. So, I called VISA. The gentleman was willing to read the generic policy to me, but when I asked about utility companies specifically, he backed off and suggested I contact my financial institution and submit a complaint and that within 10 days I would have a written response from VISA. Basically, he didn't know and didn't want to be bothered with it.
I then visited my power company's web site and found the following in their FAQ area concerning credit card payments...
QUOTE
Frequently asked questions about SpeedPay
Q. Why is there a $5.95 fee added to my Alliant Energy payment?
A. The $5.95 convenience fee is the amount Speedpay, Inc., charges to cover processing fees and transaction costs associated with handling credit card and electronic debit payments.
Q. I usually don’t pay other vendors a separate fee when I use my credit card. Why should I have to pay it now?
A. Other companies are able to add the price of processing these requests to their overall price of goods and services. Because Alliant Energy is a regulated utility, we are unable to do that. By charging only the customers who use this service, it’s a fair way to pay for this option. Only the customers who choose to use this service will be charged the fee.
Q. Why is there a $5.95 fee added to my Alliant Energy payment?
A. The $5.95 convenience fee is the amount Speedpay, Inc., charges to cover processing fees and transaction costs associated with handling credit card and electronic debit payments.
Q. I usually don’t pay other vendors a separate fee when I use my credit card. Why should I have to pay it now?
A. Other companies are able to add the price of processing these requests to their overall price of goods and services. Because Alliant Energy is a regulated utility, we are unable to do that. By charging only the customers who use this service, it’s a fair way to pay for this option. Only the customers who choose to use this service will be charged the fee.
That's the closest I've been able to find an answer, so far. As I've said before in other posts, I suspect that it has to do with utility companies using a third party, and you're technically paying the third party to act as a middle-man, you're not paying the utility company directly. This is probably why the utility company will refuse to even take your credit card payment, and will always refer you to either an outside phone number and/or web site.
Here's my thoughts: While this set-up probably doesn't violate the terms of VISA/MC policy in a strictly technical sense, I feel that it still violates the spirit and intent of VISA/MC policy. I really couldn't care less who handles my payment. If my power bill is $50, I expect to pay $50, not $55.95.
And before some yahoo speaks out their other end, I pay my utility bills on time, so this isn't necessarily an issue with me, but I would like to have an added option, and I also feel that things such as this should be consistent. I also fear that retailers will eventually catch on, and the card readers at Wal-Mart, Target, etc., will have a third party's company logo on them and all sales will be processed through them, and thus a surcharge will be added to our everyday purchases. I believe in the "domino theory" and believe that once the seed has been planted it will grow out of control unless nipped in the bud. After all, the same rationale, "By charging only the customers who use this service, it’s a fair way to pay for this option. Only the customers who choose to use this service will be charged the fee.", is pretty broad and could be used to justify it anywhere.
