Community Chat

[Dragonflyveb]

Some restaurants in my area have a surcharge for credit cards.

The household services I have used prefer a check and have a surcharge for using a credit card. Services like new gutters or tree trimming or landscaping.

Charity donations online ask the donor to cover the surcharge too.

Oh, don't forget paying real estate taxes online. It's a $1 fee for electronic transfer and a 2.5% of your tax amount for using a credit card.

Remember when credit cards were just becoming popular and how much trouble they were gonna save us...??? LOL!

[Icegoddess]

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@Hilery wrote:

@On It  I recently had a dental procedure and was advised in advance the amount I would be charged. I was given 3 options of payment. First was cash which was 20% discount, second was credit card, and third was installment plan. I chose cash and when settling my bill I laughingly told them it felt like I was at a casino as I counted out the money and the staff counted it back to me to make sure of the correct amount remitted. I was happy to receive 20% discount for cash. 

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@Hilery Insurance didn't cover some of it?

[Hilery]

@Icegoddess  Sadly, no insurance. 

[Trailrun23]

Did you explain that the card was a debit card and not a credit card? There is no risk for the ventor in taking a debit card; the money goes directly to them unlike a credit card.  I was going to get $40 back at the grocery store when I checked out and the cashier told me there is now a $1 charge for each $20 withdrawal. Ridiculous. DH's bank has a $5 teller fee if he goes iside and to a teller window. Even your own money isn't free anymore.

[Icegoddess]

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@Hilery wrote:

@Icegoddess  Sadly, no insurance. 

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@Hilery  I only have a policy I got while I was on the ACA which doesn't have dental or vision.  For some reason DH keeps it going since I went on Medicare last year, but I don't really know why he bothers.  Regardless of what their formulary says, I think they all just cover what THEY think you need, not what your dentist thinks you need. So, that basically means they pay for the cheapest service available.  I had to have a root canal last year and was sent to a specialist for that.  The insurance paid very little of that bill. 

[Icegoddess]

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@Trailrun23 wrote:

Did you explain that the card was a debit card and not a credit card? There is no risk for the ventor in taking a debit card; the money goes directly to them unlike a credit card.  I was going to get $40 back at the grocery store when I checked out and the cashier told me there is now a $1 charge for each $20 withdrawal. Ridiculous. DH's bank has a $5 teller fee if he goes iside and to a teller window. Even your own money isn't free anymore.

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@Trailrun23 , it's not about risk.  It's the processing fee that credit cards charge and most businesses have covered in the past, and most still do, but more and more, it looks like they're going to start making the customer cover it. Debit cards charge those processing fees too.  My debit card is also a Visa card.  

It's like when ATMs first came out.  They were all free until they got people hooked on them.  Now, they're only free if you use the one associated with your bank. 

[Luvitorleaveit1]

I was at my gastrologist this week and they had a sign posted that there is a 3.5% surcharge on co-pays paid by credit card.  Out of all my doctors he is the only one doing this.  I carry very little cash because it's hard to keep, I use my debit card mostly so that I don't have to deal with loose change.

[ROMARY]

....Personally, I've been thinking that cash is the only really 'private' way.

Instead of handing a check or card to various restaurant or other employees, it seems more private to just use cash.

This way, nobody knows who we are , where we live, etc. 

Especially for young women.  

Also, 'a hundred years ago', my dad often reminded me to be careful and always look in my rear view mirror, making sure I wasn't being followed home. 

That's 'a big one' suggestion (being followed home) to remember. 

[occasionalrain]

It won't be long before there will be a charge for using a cashier to check out in grocery stores. 

[NYCLatinaMe]

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@Hilery wrote:

@On It  I recently had a dental procedure and was advised in advance the amount I would be charged. I was given 3 options of payment. First was cash which was 20% discount, second was credit card, and third was installment plan. I chose cash and when settling my bill I laughingly told them it felt like I was at a casino as I counted out the money and the staff counted it back to me to make sure of the correct amount remitted. I was happy to receive 20% discount for cash. 

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@Hilery   Sad that they charge 20% more to the people who can't afford to pay upfront in cash.

That is a large poverty penalty.