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Dealers charging a fee for using a credit card

I’m wondering if this is the new trend of dealers charging customers anywhere between 3 and 4% fee on the total sale if paying by credit card?   I was going to buy a brand new item online for 5K, but stopped dead in my tracks when I found I was going to have to pay a 3.9% fee for using my Mastercard!  The fee would have been almost $200.00!   Since this dealer has mostly online sales, it sounds like a big money grab to me. Between the 5K price, add $275.00 for shipping and 200 for paying by CC plus sales tax of $300.00, it would have cost me $5775.00.  I cancelled before I clicked send.  I called the dealer and was told that is the cost of doing business on the internet, so I basically told them to pound sand. 
 

Two weeks ago, I had all new brakes and rotors replaced on my 2020 Tucson with only 22K miles on it.  The bill was $1375 and I paid with my card.  When I got the statement, there was a CC fee of $37.00 added to the bill.  I went back to the Hyundai dealer and was told all businesses do this and he pointed to the sign.  I told them I saw the sign but paid with my DEBIT CARD, not a CC.  I was told it didn’t matter.  When I asked how many transactions were in cash, the service writer told me one out of fifteen pay in cash.  This makes me sick to my stomach.  
 

I would like to hear from others who have dealt with this. 

stereo5
elliottbnewcombjr
7,729 posts
 

@stereo5 

You denied yourself whatever because you were surprised, the dealer didn’t explain things, and you didn’t have time to carefully think it thru. This practice has been building for several years in my area, NJ near NYC.

AND they were wrong, there should be no add-on if using a debit card which is essentially the same as cash in it’s implementation.

Online sales has improved competitiveness, lower costs have resulted in nearly everything, isn’t it weird that Sears, their origin a big mail order catalog, and/or Kodak, A&P ... failed, how could they not figure it out?

Thus profit margins have narrowed, everywhere, and in order to compete, keep the net price down, then it makes sense to pass any added fees back to the customer who chooses to use a CC that involves an added charge to the seller. Equipment; Services; Restaurants ..... they all must compete. 

To keep the net price down, I understand sellers wanting to use PayPal Friends and Family, but it opens the door for fraud, I hope they will let me pay the add-on fee to get price protection, some hope they will split the fee, whatever.

I go out once a week for dinner with a friend, for nearly 40 years now; we usually just give them two cards, 50/50 split, lately we are bringing more cash with us. 

 

qjm101
122 posts
 

@parkergetdean 

"I am not playing your games, use your brain. I could give you a hint if you don't/can't, but I assume you are not a child and have a few braincells"

 

So you have nothing.

Got it.

knock1
364 posts
 
parkergetdean

345 posts

 

@qjm101 I am not playing your games, use your brain. I could give you a hint if you don't/can't, but I assume you are not a child and have a few braincells.

Classy!yes

parkergetdean
1,036 posts
 

devil

stereo5's avatar
stereo5 OP
6,716 posts
 

@elliottbnewcombjr,  I always appreciate your posts.  It was pretty much I realized I didn't want it that bad.  It was going to be an impulse buy.  Saved myself a lot of money.  I have come across this in restaurants but never on big ticket purchases.  The extra fee is nothing more than a money grab.  Visa and MC fees to the retailer is somewhere between 1 and 2% and the merchant always paid it because they take CC.  Now, the merchants have shifted the fees entirely on the customer and it irritates me to no end.  It is similar to when I order take out and go pick it up.  The counter person slides an iPad to me, and I am supposed to tip on take out now?  The counter person grabs the bag and hands it to me and that warrants a tip?  I always hit the NO TIP button on take out.  If my wife and I are eating in the restaurant, then I tip between 20-25% but I give zilch for takeout.   Everyone is pressed very thin in these times, and it seems like the retailers and CC companies are always scheming to figure ways to get more and more of our hard-earned money.

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