They may have minimum-purchase requirements and credit-card surcharges, but the use of credit and debit cards is still spreading in the United Kingdom. It seems that even the most punitive, anti-consumer measures cant stop the spread of something as convenient as paying with plastic. According to an article from the Guardian, cash and coins will be used in [...]
Posts Tagged ‘credit cards’
Interchange fees explained [infographic]
Earlier this year I wrote a good deal about merchants who try and violate their credit card contracts by imposing minimum purchase amounts. Needless to say, I am not too fond of this un-American practice and even wrote VISA a pleading letter asking them to start enforcing their own rules. As you probably expected, VISA [...]
Here is one way to boost newspaper sales
I used this picture before in my post on the wonders of credit cards and chargebacks, but with all of the talk of the decline of print journalism, I thought it was worth running again. After all, it is a uniquely American solution to problem of not having enough change for the newspaper box.
I’m not sure what [...]
The world the way it should be…
Sometimes all it takes is a picture to remind us that progress is still possible.
God Bless America!
28 weeks later, still no response [update]
It has been a little more than seven months since I sent an open letter to VISA asking them to help crackdown on merchants who try and cheat customers by charging minimums for credit card purchases.
I still have not received any response. I suppose I will try sending it in again.
In the meantime, I will continue [...]
Cash or credit: The Salvation Army bell ringers now accept credit cards [progress]
First it was McDonald’s, then NYC taxi cabs, and now even the Salvation Army Bell Ringers are going to begin accepting credit cards.
The charity announced it will be rolling out new card processing Red Kettles in New York and 120 other cities next week. During a three-city pilot program last year, the average credit card [...]
The “Joe Wilson approach” to dealing with unscrupulous merchants
So, Congressman Joe Wilson (R-Confederacy SC) shouted “YOU LIE” in the middle of the President’s Healthcare speech last week, and his outburst has been pretty much the only political news story since then. Wilson, his Democratic challenger and the DCCC have all raised a boatload of money off the event, making “YOU LIE” the shortest, [...]
Fighting back against credit card minimums
[Updated 9/15/09]
They often get a bad rap, but the prevalence of credit cards in America makes life simpler and better for consumers.
They free us from the hassle of carrying cash.
They protect us from defective products and dishonest merchants.
They relieve us from the stealth-tax of lost-change.
They help us earn rewards and easily track expenses.
They enable [...]
What is more American: Big Gulps or Credit Cards?
Big Gulps and using your credit card for everything are two pillars of the American way of life. But a story in today’s New York Times reports that the companies that brought you the Big Gulp and promulgated no-fee (to the consumer) credit cards are at loggerheads.
At issue: interchange fees.
If you’re a regular reader of [...]
An open letter to VISA about unscrupulous merchants
Earlier this week, after a particularly heated exchange with a local merchant about minimum purchase prices, I realized that I was spending on average about 30 minutes a week fighting for the right to use my credit card. So I decided to write VISA and plead with them to take action. Below is a copy [...]
