T&C = terms & contract?

Terms & Conditions.

In California it is against California State law. I got the Attorney Generals office involved from a sandwich shop owner that refused to stop this surcharge at his shop, needless to say, I don't go there anymore. I suppose there is a simular law in other states.

Jim



1748.1. (a) No retailer in any sales, service, or lease transaction
with a consumer may impose a surcharge on a cardholder who elects to
use a credit card in lieu of payment by cash, check, or similar
means. A retailer may, however, offer discounts for the purpose of
inducing payment by cash, check, or other means not involving the use
of a credit card, provided that the discount is offered to all
prospective buyers.
(b) Any retailer who willfully violates this section by imposing a
surcharge on a cardholder who elects to use a credit card and who
fails to pay that amount to the cardholder within 30 days of a
written demand by the cardholder of the retailer by certified mail,
shall be liable to the cardholder for three times the amount at
which actual damages are assessed. The cardholder shall also be
entitled to recover reasonable attorney's fees and costs incurred in
the action.
A cause of action under this section may be brought in small
claims court, if it does not exceed the jurisdiction of that court,
or in any other appropriate court.
(c) A consumer shall not be deemed to have elected to use a credit
card in lieu of another means of payment for purposes of this
section in a transaction with a retailer if only credit cards are
accepted by that retailer in payment for an order made by a consumer
over a telephone, and only cash is accepted at a public store or
other facility of the same retailer.
(d) Charges for third-party credit card guarantee services, when
added to the price charged by the retailer if cash were to be paid,
shall be deemed surcharges for purposes of this section even if they
are payable directly to the third party or are charged separately.
(e) It is the intent of the Legislature to promote the effective
operation of the free market and protect consumers from deceptive
price increases for goods and services by prohibiting credit card
surcharges and encouraging the availability of discounts by those
retailers who wish to offer a lower price for goods and services
purchased by some form of payment other than credit card.

I was under the impression that the store actually takes the hit. Someone stole my dad's credit card number in Europe a few years ago and racked up $10-20,000 in charges at some jewelry stores in France. I thought the AMEX rep actually said that the store would have to eat it.

I just insist that the only thing he/she is required to do is to compare a signature on a receipt to my signature on the card. I also tell them that they cannot require a driver license in order to process a transaction secondary it is a violation of Amex terms of participation ( I use amex mainly). I do indeed inform them that I will file an official complain with Amex. I usually tr to be very polite, but also very firm. Ask to speak to superiors, if a clerk still refuses. And the last thing, if the above methods did not work, I tell them that they are discriminating me by asking to see my ID to complete a purchase, because the guy in front of me paid cash and did not show an ID ;) (but I had to say it only once at Nordstrom Rack in Detroit)

regardless of the technicalities, cc and related theft are a pain in the ... for all parties involved. i have no problem showing id when using a cc. are those who decry the notion of showing id doing so because you are too busy to fish it out of your wallet or what's the main issue ? :confused:

Question to you:

Would you give a clerk your social security number in order to process a transaction?

This article from the San Jose Mercury News has a link to report merchants who insist on seeing ID.

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9462660

All the Apple Stores I've ever shopped at have insisted on photo ID for CC purchases. I've occasionally half-heartedly mentioned that it's a breach of their merchant agreement, but they've never backed down. And since I've usually wanted the goods, I've never argued the point.

I have been asked for ID exactly once in 8 years living in Pennsylvania (a Chinese restaurant in Philadelphia which claimed their bank was insisting on it). I filed a complaint through the MC link. Never heard anything back even though I requested an update.

I get asked for ID in California all the time. Really annoying. The latest one was for a $21 charge at Circuit City. Funnily, they never compare the signatures, which is what they're supposed to.

To get back to the OP's question: I don't use my CC's on small transactions anymore. I just use the John Quincy Adams coin from the US Mint deal (there's a long thread on that). The UA FA's on my last flight thought they were Seaworld tokens :)

of course not, but that's pretty different than a piece of plastic that links my face to the name on the cc i just handed over to pay with.

i've been asked for id when the signature starts to dissapear from the back of the cc, or at certain places every time (like the oakland a's box office, across the board policy for cc usage there). doesn't bother me cause i know the request is coming so i have my license up against the glass before they ask for it now - no time lost.

At least you make an effort to stand up for your rights. Most people are weenies quite happy to give up their privacy so they can look like good little sheeples.

I think you're making too broad a generalization. There's a lot of competition within the merchant processing industry, and even standalone merchants can do better than that.

Your drivers license has your personal information that can be used in identity theft (same way as your social security #). It has your name, DOB, your current address and your drivers license #. This info is enough to apply for a credit at many department stores and/or change your home address with credit bureaus. Just FYI: it is very easy to retrieve your social security # once you know that info also. It takes only few seconds for a very trained person to memorize all the necessary info on your ID. Good Luck to you in continuing your journey of showing your ID to anybody who will ask for it.

I think I read a newspaper article where they refused to let a person buy an iPod when they offered to pay in cash with no ID.