FAA Investigates American Flyers

"Roy Smith" wrote in message ...

When I paid my bill, I was astounded when they tacked on a few extra
bucks to cover credit card transaction fees! It wasn't a whole lot of
money, but I've never heard of anybody ever doing anything like that.
I didn't even think it was legal.

Whether they can pass on the credit card fees depends on what state you're
in. It's legal here (Virginia) but not in California.

"Rosspilot" wrote in message
...
I take credit card payments all the time and can say with certainty that
both
Mastercard and Visa prohibit their participating merchants from charging
more
for using the credit card. It may not be illegal, but it violates the
merchant's contractual obligation to MC and Visa.

Unfortunately, either not all merchants are bound by that requirement, or
not all merchants abide by that requirement. There is no shortage of
retailers who DO charge more for credit card purchases.

MRQB wrote:

i will not deal with any company that dose a surcharge for
taking credit card and if i find one that is charging i report them ASAP.

Really? And in your opinion, what is the difference between that and a discount
for paying by cash or check?

George Patterson
If you're not part of the solution, you can make a lot of money prolonging
the problem.

"Peter Duniho" wrote in message
...
"Rosspilot" wrote in message
...
I take credit card payments all the time and can say with certainty that
both
Mastercard and Visa prohibit their participating merchants from charging
more
for using the credit card. It may not be illegal, but it violates the
merchant's contractual obligation to MC and Visa.

Unfortunately, either not all merchants are bound by that requirement, or
not all merchants abide by that requirement. There is no shortage of
retailers who DO charge more for credit card purchases.



Then you really should tell your card provider. They will often refund you
the fees and get very ****y with the merchant.

"G.R. Patterson III"
i will not deal with any company that dose a surcharge for
taking credit card and if i find one that is charging i report them
ASAP.

Really? And in your opinion, what is the difference between that and a
discount
for paying by cash or check?

None except better salesmanship.

I asked that when I heard about that rule and the rep told me it was not
permissible to charge different amounts for cash vs. credit, so either way
was in violation of their agreement.

It is still done all the time; just about all ultra discount internet
electronics junk outfits do it. Perhaps the card issuers don't bother going
after merchants for that.

I am surprised that a supposedly reputable company tries that, it is
terrible customer relations.

After American Flyers took over Westair's training I was in the market for
training towards my instrument rating and decided to go to AF for my BFR. I
did it in just about the minimum required time for air and ground work and
the bill was a tad over $400. A friend had a nearly identical experience
with them so that must be what they charge for BFRs. Perhaps that was a
good thing, though, as that made me decide not to go there for my instrument
training.

Peter



"G.R. Patterson III" wrote in message
...


MRQB wrote:

i will not deal with any company that dose a surcharge for
taking credit card and if i find one that is charging i report them
ASAP.

Really? And in your opinion, what is the difference between that and a
discount
for paying by cash or check?

George Patterson
If you're not part of the solution, you can make a lot of money
prolonging
the problem.

"Ron Natalie" wrote in message ...
"Roy Smith" wrote in message ...

When I paid my bill, I was astounded when they tacked on a few extra
bucks to cover credit card transaction fees! It wasn't a whole lot of
money, but I've never heard of anybody ever doing anything like that.
I didn't even think it was legal.

Whether they can pass on the credit card fees depends on what state you're
in. It's legal here (Virginia) but not in California.

That's interesting. Just about every FBO I ever visit offers a
lower "cash" price for the purchase of fuel (some even in California).
Is that the same thing as passing on credit card fees?

John Galban=====N4BQ (PA28-180)

"Peter Gottlieb" wrote in message
t...
I asked that when I heard about that rule and the rep told me it was not
permissible to charge different amounts for cash vs. credit, so either way
was in violation of their agreement.

It is still done all the time; just about all ultra discount internet
electronics junk outfits do it. Perhaps the card issuers don't bother
going
after merchants for that.

I am surprised that a supposedly reputable company tries that, it is
terrible customer relations.

After American Flyers took over Westair's training I was in the market for
training towards my instrument rating and decided to go to AF for my BFR.
I
did it in just about the minimum required time for air and ground work and
the bill was a tad over $400. A friend had a nearly identical experience
with them so that must be what they charge for BFRs. Perhaps that was a
good thing, though, as that made me decide not to go there for my
instrument
training.

Peter

$400 for an hour of flight time and two hours of CFI time? That's beyond
absured.

(John Galban) wrote:
That's interesting. Just about every FBO I ever visit offers a
lower "cash" price for the purchase of fuel (some even in California).
Is that the same thing as passing on credit card fees?

The difference is representation. I had no idea I was going to be
paying a "transaction fee" until they handed me the credit slip to sign.
The sign on the wall says (figuratively), "Simulator: $100/hr, including
instructor. We accept Visa and Mastercard" (don't hold me to the actual
dollar amount, I don't remember exactly). At the end of the session,
the tach on the sim shows I used (for example) 1.5 hours, so I expect to
pay $150. I also expect to pay sales tax on top of that, even though
the sign doesn't say "plus tax".

If they hand me a charge slip for $150 sim time plus $5 "transaction
fee" plus tax, they've misrepresented the cost to me at the time I was
able to make an informed decision as to whether I wanted to buy what
they were selling. I've been cheated out of $5.

On the other hand, if they say to me at settlement time, "We offer a $5
discount if you pay by check", there's no deception (at least none that
harms me). I can decide I want to save the $5 and write them a check,
or I can just hand them my credit card and get the deal I was expecting.
If I didn't have my checkbook with me, I might be annoyed that I'm
missing out on an opportunity to save $5, but at least I'm not paying
any more than I contracted for.

It's possible they're violating the terms of their agreement with the
credit company, but that's no skin off my back.

In article , Peter
Gottlieb wrote:

I asked that when I heard about that rule and the rep told me it was not
permissible to charge different amounts for cash vs. credit, so either way
was in violation of their agreement.

What about all the gas stations that have a cash price and a credit
price?

I haven't seen as much of that in the past couple of years, but it was
common practice at most gas stations up until just recently.