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About LinkBacksDid you know that businesses are NOT allowed to charge you more for paying with a Mastercard per their merchant agreement. It is a clear violation then for gas stations to be ripping us off by charging us one price for cash and another for credit cards. I urge all of you to report this outrageous scam to Mastercard.
Go to this site and check the box that sayshttp://www.mastercard.us/support/mer...iolations.htmlThe merchant/retailer is adding a charge for using your MasterCard card.
Shovron and the others can shove it because I am not going to stand by and let them CHARGE US MORE when we are being a paying customer in the first place!
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Green Member
- Join Date
- Jul 2011
- Location
- U.S.
- Posts
- 1
Mastercard merchant violation, report for gas surcharges!
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Centurion Member
- Join Date
- Apr 2009
- Location
- Texas
- Posts
- 542
The merchant agreements precluded them from charging a surcharge to customers using credit cards. However, they have always been allowed to offer a "discount for cash." I don't know if the recent credit card reforms have now allowed them to actually impose a surcharge. I do know that they can set minimum purchase amounts for credit, which previously had been prohibited in merchant agreements.
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Centurion Member
- Join Date
- Jun 2011
- Location
- New York state
- Posts
- 874
If you go to a gas station that has their own card like Exxon/Mobil, Sunoco, Citgo or shell and you don't want their card. You want to use a Mastercard and they have every right to charge you more. so I don't know where you live.
let's say for example the Exxonmobil station charges you 3.59 per gallon with cash or their card, but you want to use your Mastercard they can charge you 3.69. Now if certain stations like quick check or Hess doesn't have their own card, then I don't think they can charge you more.
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Centurion Member
- Join Date
- Jun 2008
- Location
- Smogland
- Posts
- 1,399
Unfortunately the law trumps any policy by MasterCard. If the law permits a cash discount for gas then there is not much you can do about a gas station charging more, other than not giving them your business. However as mentioned, if the station is charging different prices for different types of credit cards (like the example of the gas station card costing less than a payment with another credit card) then I would definitely file a MasterCard merchant violation report. Businesses aren't allowed to charge different rates for different types of cards. There is no law on that but all of the merchant agreements with the payment networks specify that.
Disclosure: I am a moderator/paid staff of this site, which does have advertising relationships with some credit cards that are discussed. Regardless, anything I say is my honest opinion.
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