Highway robbery?

[JHZR2]

Besides the fat discount on premium gas, look at the credit card pricing strategy.

This is the gulf at the rte 112 exit of the Long Island Expressway.

$1 per gallon for credit card??!?

It's a station along the highway, and it's thievery, so my answer would be yes.

 

[cp3]

Is that a regular thing, for the premium to be cheaper? Only seen that around here as a once in a while promo. Never heard of different pricing for a credit card....wow

 

[bdcardinal]

I have seen a higher credit card price before, usually at no-name stations. However it is at most .05 higher a gallon, maybe .10 a gallon if the place is real shady. All the more reason to have a Shell card where they don't charge extra.

 

[dave1251]

This was common about 15 years ago credit pricing higher than cash, but a dollar a gallon that is excessive. Is this a "mom and pop" station? I suspect yes.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Some stations in Orange County have 4-10 cents higher for credit card, some stations have same price.

 

[apwillard1986]

This pricing strategy is popular here as well. I just pay cash now but it is annoying when you want to fill up. It makes sense I guess that it is cheaper for cash for various reasons. What I don’t get is the huge price cut on premium!

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: cp3
Is that a regular thing, for the premium to be cheaper? Only seen that around here as a once in a while promo. Never heard of different pricing for a credit card....wow


Premium cheaper is a today only special. Yesterday it was $3.99/$4.99.

Stations have been giving a "cash discount" (which is ok versus a credit card surcharge) for a while. They range from a few cents to ten.

$1/tank would be ok, because when you get 10 gallons it would come out right, and persuade folks to fill up more. But per gallon ??!?

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: dave1251
This was common about 15 years ago credit pricing higher than cash, but a dollar a gallon that is excessive. Is this a "mom and pop" station? I suspect yes.


No a corporate looking gulf.

 

[yonyon]

A few cents per gallon difference is likely motivated because it costs them money to process the cards. $1/Gal. difference suggests to me a tax auditor would do well to stop by and check things out. Maybe the cheap premium is to get rid of some old gas before it goes bad?

 

[JGW]

Actually, that's illegal.

 

[FirstNissan]

Yep, thats price gouging. If you want to, you can report it. I know that NYC has been trying to crack down on price gouging at gas pumps.

 

[Garak]

At least up here, pricing credit card sales above cash sales would get your credit terminal yanked out in a hurry.

 

[JHZR2]

No, you are allowed to give a cash discount. You just can't have a credit surcharge.

Stupid really, but that's how it "works". I was reading about it when we first had 10c to use cc in NJ.

 

[exranger06]

It's pretty common practice around here to charge more when using a credit card to cover the surcharge. It's usually about 10 cents per gallon more. I think it's actually better that way. If the price is the same whether cash or credit, then all it means is the gas station is charging you for the surcharge even when you're using cash. Now THAT is highway robbery.

 

[CivicFan]

A low volume operation will have around 5% fees in credit card transactions. Larger volume merchants can take it down to as low as 2%.

 

[The motor guy]

I saw a shell station that had diesel for 4.75 a gallon. A full 80 cents above all the other stations even the other shells.

 

[yonyon]

So if they pay 5% then at $3.5 to $4 per gallon that should justify a price difference of $0.18 to $0.20 per gallon. $1 is a little high isn't it? There's got to be some other reason they want cash sales unless maybe they just assume anyone paying with a card doesn't care about the price at all. If that's the assumption, then it is gouging and is illegal.

 

[Rock_Hudstone]

Could be a mistake, but it's not highway robbery. Unless running on fumes no one is forcing anybody to purchase at that particular station if they don't like the price.

True highway robbery is $12 (soon to be $15) bridge tolls to get over the Hudson river and other Port Authority crossings. There you have no choice but to cough up the cash or swim.

Not to mention the heavy excise/sales taxes NY state tacks on fuel sales, again, motorists have no say in the matter, pay up or walk.

 

[Win]

Quote:
No, you are allowed to give a cash discount. You just can't have a credit surcharge. ...


That sounds like a distinction without any difference.

Originally Posted By: Garak
At least up here, pricing credit card sales above cash sales would get your credit terminal yanked out in a hurry.


My recollection of the merchant credit card agreements I've signed is that I agreed not to pass any of the card fees along to the customer, which I understood to mean card purchases had to be priced the same as cash purchases. Still, it seems common around here for small merchants to try to pass the card cost to the user by a "cash discount." Gun shops seem really bad about it.

I don't know what's up with that guy's pricing - maybe a disgruntled employee has some beef with the owner.

 

[yonyon]

Wording is 9/10ths of the law. The difference between breaking the law and skirting it is usually just a matter of how something is written on paper.