🚀 go-pugleaf

Brian T Neel (CS) (bneel@site.gmu.edu) wrote:
: Memnoch The Devil (memnoch@news.intercom.net) wrote:
: : The following is an email reply from this individual regarding my reply 
: : to his original usenet posting about simm prices. I was quite shocked to 
: : see that his idea of 'cash discount' was to plainly imply (as he clearly 
: : stated in his email back to me) there was actually a 2.5% CREDIT CARD 
: : SURCHARGE!!!!!! Shucks, from the many varied postings and replies, I 
: : thought that chargeing a SURCHARGE was illegal. Am I wrong? Or is this 
: : person doing something unethical?
:  
:   I am about as far from a lawyer as you can get (thank god), but my
: understanding is that while charging a surcharge is not illegal.. it
: is a violation of the credit companies policies.  The surcharge that
: the business receives for billing a credit card is meant to be paid
: by the business.  It is NOT meant to become a credit tax for the
: consumer.  Most of the businesses I have dealt with that charge these
: surcharges will flip out if you threaten to notify the credit
: companies.  So, my recommendation is to notify them that you are
: informing the proper people, then do so.  I would never do 
: business with a place that passes on its credit surcharges..
:   (especially not one that claims it is giving a "cash discount")

What's wrong with being a lawyer?  (Ok, someone slap me.  FYI, I *am*
a lawyer, and sometimes I can't believe my _collegues_ behavior either.)

Anyway, I haven't checked, but off hand I don't think charging for
credit card surcharge is illegal; it might be bad business practice
but I don't think it's illegal.  Next time you're at the gas pump,
notice how there are two prices for gas?  One for cash, and one for
credit.  Since credit is not cash, the merchant is charging you for
the service of extending you credit on the promise that he gets paid
at a later time by the credit card company.

I also think the initial poster misunderstood the seller's meaning
of *cash*.  I don't think he meant to send him US legal tender via
the US Mail, rather cash as a business term means a negotiable 
instrument equivalent to cash, such as a money order, cashier's
check, etc.

BTW, here's an old lawyer joke:
Two men are flying via balloon across the country.  The balloon
passes through some thick clouds when the wind shifts.  As the
clouds clear they see a man on the ground.
"Sir, could you tell us where we are?" yells the 1st balloonist.
"Yes, you are in a balloon, about 100ft in the air," yells the man.
"Must be a lawyer" says the 1st balloonist to his partner.
"How can you tell?" inquires the 2nd balloonist.
"Well, what he told us is 100% accurrate, but totally useless."
-- 
Martin Cordero
BSCIS ('92 Ohio State), JD ('95 Chicago-Kent)
mcordero@freenet.columbus.oh.us