Now whether that is a good thing or not, I don't know HAHA.

I went to the mall yesterday to look for a gift for my grandmother. Well after my wife bought a few clothing items we got the thing for my grandmother but my wife was thirsty. I stopped in at a little restaurant place there and pick a diet pepsi out and the guy rings it up. $1.00 plus tax. I pull out my visa and the cashier tells me there is a $2.00 minimum and points to the sign in front of the register that has it posted. I tell him that they can't charge a minimum for accepting visa and that it's in the agreement, etc. He tells me I have to talk to the other guy there, who i'm assuming is the owner. I tell the owner he can't charge a minimum because of the merchant agreement and he tells me that according to his bank he can. I say ok i'll just file a complaint with visa and you can be fined.

I filed the complaint but who knows where it will go. The lady at visa seemed interested to know that his bank told him he can charge a minimum. Maybe next month I won't see that sign? haha.

SO DID YOU PAY $2.00 MINIMUM or $1.00+ TAX???

Good for filing the complaint

IT'S NOT REALLY AN "ATTITUDE"

IT IS JUST A FACT THAT IT VIOLATES THE CREDIT CARD POLICY THAT THEY AGREED TO WHEN THEY SIGNED UP!!!

GO CASH ONLY IF YOU DON'T AGREE TO ACCEPT CREDIT CARD POLICY

(and be ready to lose business)

ALTHOUGH $2.00 MINIMUM IS THE LOWST MINIMUM I HAVE EVER SEEN

USUALLY $10--$20 MINIMUM ($5.00 IS RARE)

I paid nothing. I left the pepsi there and took my business elsewhere. No sense in arguing when I can go take my business to the next store in the same or less amount of time than it would take for them to understand what they are doing is against the rules. I like supporting small businesses but they are a dime a dozen and this particular one isn't getting my business.

I don't like carrying cash! Not my fault they don't want my money.

I was SOOOO mad yesterday. My parents sent me some bday money and I was gonna buy some bubble bath and body washes with it (there was a sale for 5 for $25 when it would normally cost $50)...So I bring up my selections (and some of the stuff smelled REALLY good too). She asked to see my id....I tried to be polite but I was SO mad because fi and I were out trying to have a nice day for my bday...I didn't HAVE any picture id and she wouldn't back down.

Needless to say I just walked out and didn't get anything The purchase looked like it had already been approved when she said she needed to see my id and it's showing pending on my CC...I'm gonna go back today and pitch a fit about that since she said she *couldn't finish the sale w/o ID* (making it sound like it didn't go through). Hell I even TOLD her to just do a Code 10 call but she wouldn't

They would lose money on a $1.00 purchased on a credit card. At best break even. $2 minimum is very small. Usually it's $5 or $10. They probably could care less that you went elsewhere. The small places don't have the power to get cheap visa/mc/amex processing fees for low amounts so they are stuck paying around 40¢ just to run a cc transaction meaning they'd get 60¢ for your pepsi purchase, before all costs. McDonalds would get around 80-85¢ The 'large' small dollar transaction places for years didn't take CCs because of this. They finally negotiated a much smaller fee which is why they now accept them.

Also, I really doubt the CC company will do anything about them having a $2 minimum, whether it's in their agreement or not.

And as it is they lost money on the soda that was left at the counter. They also created a dissatisfied customer and a complaint to Visa. Somehow the argument of "let's not lose money" looses appeal in this instance.

IT WAS APPROVED!!!

I SURE HOPE THEY VOIDED IT!!!

LETS LOSE MONEY BY NOT TAKING THEIR CREDIT CARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If they didn't, then C H A R G E B A C K . . .

You'll lose some customers one way or another. Working in the grocery industry, every time we do a grocery reset and drop 15-20 items we get about 20-30 calls here at corp saying they'll never shop there again because we don't carry so and so anymore. (Most of the time they still do anyway) But when you only sell 1-2 cases a year of an item and you can move 20 to 30 of another it makes no sense to keep it on the shelf. Most people who see minimums (especially as small as $2) are not bothered by it and will try to accomodate the merchant. I still try to avoid CCs if the charge is under $5 just because its expensive for the merchant and I get little rewards for that small of purchases with credit anyway. Keeping expenses down for these companies helps my mutual fund (by larger earnings) and helps keeps price inflation pressures down and it really doesn't inconvenience myself. I always carry about $50 of emergency cash on me, as well as have my debit card handy in addition to my credit cards. My company's expenses for CC & Debit charges are about 2.5 million a year at 56 locations. It is one of our largest costs besides payroll & benefits. It's about as large as all of our leases (average sq ft is around 24,000).

Also, if I was the business owner at that location I would have let you done it but told you in the future we would really prefer it you used cash or purchased at least $2.00 worth of product. But that's just what I would have done. My company has no minimums with an average transaction on credit of about $50.00

POLICY is POLICY. if they do not like the policy then they should not accept credit cards period. they cant put a sign up in their store with a minimun credit card purchase that overrides the credit card merchant policy. it does not extinquish their no minimun no maximum agreement that they AGREED to when they signed up for credit card services

If a customer spends less than $2, the store should just take the loss. They'll make up for it when other customers spend more. It is a fact that customers who use credit cards, on average, spend more than those who are using cash.

HOW DO THEY KNOW FOR A FACT THAT THAT CUSTOMER WON'T SPEND $20 NEXT WEEK

THEY ALSO COULD HAVE SPEND LIKE $500+ LAST YEAR

WHAT IF THEY SPENT $5,000 LAST YEAR YOUR GOING TO "DISS" THEM FOR A LESS THAN $2.00 SALE TODAY???

Will they lose money on a $1.00 purchase? Probably. You cannot realistically expect a business to make money on every transaction. That is just near impossible. That's the cost of doing business. Do you take a small loss on 1 small item at the expense of losing a customer? I seriously doubt that I am the only customer that has ever been to that establishment and walked away upset without a sell on a small item. But I am probably the first to do something about it. Businesses SHOULD make profits, it's the nature of the beast, but you cannot expect to turn away so many customers and expect them to be happy about it. My uncle owns a small repair business doing maintenance and repair for grocery store chains. He went out of his way once to go to the house of someone high up in the Food City chain and repair a cabinet, for free. He ate the cost of labor, etc. Why? He lost a fair amount of money. Because it all balances out.

And you are right on one point. Nothing may come of this complaint. But at least I did something about it.

The CC company can benifit from the violation by issuing a large FINE for merchant agreement violation.

Yeah I went back and we got a copy of the receipt saying it was voided...So if it doesn't fall off by the end of the week/beginning of next week, I'm gonna call up MBNA

If the sale goes through, the merchandise is legally yours... you can just walk without signing.

I wouldn't give the the benefit of the sale

They also "MAY" call security and PUSH THE THEFT ISSUE

JUST VOID THE SALE AND LOSE IT!!!

Then let them push the theft issue... because the item has been paid for.

I believe I have posted this before, but there is one small gas-station near where I live and this older couple run it. Their gas prices are generally cheaper than just five miles away in the city -this merchant is at a large intersection out of town and actually convenient - they charge a little more for a can of Pepsi or a bag of chips ........... But I like the owners, they are always friendly and the farmers and police officers congregate there and BS in the early mornings -it's a friendly place.

They have signs posted that they will not accept credit cards (some of their signs are actually mis-spelled like "except" -it's funny) they post that there is a "Ten Dollar minimum" purcahse amount for all credit card transactions -and I am not sure they take AMEX or even Discover. Probably just not AMEX. So, I never raise an issue just because for the last decade I have stopped there and I will say hi to the man or wife owner (whomever is working) or if the fuel is cheaper or if I just need to as I am low on gas.

Either way, I go around that "restriction" because I LIKE them, I LIKE small business - and I am treated very well there. It's convenient.
If I were in a mall or in a big city and say Speedway tried to pull that crap I would tell them to kick mudd. Again, these signs have been up for a few years and either nobody complains or knows any better or cares............. For a small business, I generally tolerate it. For a larger business -or a business and the owner / proprietor may be an ass -forget it.

HerLoss

Each person will tolerate different things for different reasons.

The thing I like most about this sub forum, and George in particular, is that I can at least learn what my rights are so that if I want to enforce them I can.

Actually, you can't "enforce" anything. You can report them, you can cancel the sale, you can refuse to shop there again but you, as a customer, can't force them to not check your ID or allow you to make a purchase above or below their minimum/maximum charge levels.

Right. It's entirely up to VISA/MC whether or not they want to enforce it.

You know what I meant. I learn my rights here and can EXERCISE them. There does that sound better?

I can EXERCISE my right to REFUSE to show ID.
I can EXERCISE my right to WALK away
I can EXERCISE my right to REPORT the business for merchant violations

FOLLOW THE CREDIT CARD RULES or DON'T TAKE CREDIT CARDS!!!

If a merchant refusing to accept a credit card for a dollar is bothering you this much, you need to take a step back and reevalutate your priorities IMO. I understand standing up for your rights, but you're talking a dollar here and it sounds like you've already developed a couple ulcers over it.

SO YOU ARE SAYING THAT A MERCHANT GETS TO MAKE THE RULES EVEN THOUGH THE CREDIT CARD COMPANIES SAY OTHER-WISE???

A $1 SALE DOESN'T HAPPEN EVERY DAY

THAT CUSTOMER YOU ARE PISSIN' OFF MAY HAVE JUST BOUGHT $100 or $500 ON HIS/HER CARD LAST WEEK...

Damn straight



If you don't agree to the terms of the merchant agreement -- then don't sign it!

No, I'm just saying that you need to pick your battles wisely. A merchant not accepting a dollar credit card transaction is not that big of a deal. People are just too concerned with petty things nowadays.

I spend more than $1,000 in a few months at some store...

I need an item that costs $1 + TAX

I DON'T USE CASH

I USE CREDIT CARD or THEY GET NO SALE

SO THEY ARE WILLING TO BET THE LOSS OF MY BUSINESS BASED ON THAT $1 SALE???

THEY HAD NO ISSUE WHEN IT WAS A $100 SALE or $27 or $10

THEN WHY $1???

I'M NO LONGER A WANTED CUSTOMER BASED ON A SINGLE $1 SALE???

This is why so many small businesses can't make it. They aren't smart enough to behave in a way that will lead to maximizing profit.

I've read a few of your posts on this subject, I believe the other one was "Business's can't expect to make a profit on every single transaction", or words to that effect.

What business do you own or have you owned in the past?

Penny wise...pound foolish...

I think Visa and MC are going to be more and more interested in enforcing this particular rule. They are in fact in a massive effort to get more of those small purchases via "Blink" and other RFID cards. I can go into the Wawa (convenience store) and buy a coffee and a soft pretzel (after all, I am from Philly) and wave my card at the terminal. That's under $2 and it's fast and easy and not at all discouraged by Wawa.

True... in fact I remember a special MasterCard promotion where by using your MasterCard at a merchant for under $20 or $15 would get you entered to win some prize.

Makes sense considering MC make more money off of small purchases.

Yep... they must love the small purchases. They make more on the fee than they have to loan out.