Comments on: Interac Surcharge Insanity

By: MasterMaq's Blog

MasterMaq's Blog — Wed, 17 Aug 2005 20:21:16 +0000

Back in September of last year, when I was still attending class often enough to need to purchase lunch…

By: Mack D. Male

Mack D. Male — Fri, 17 Sep 2004 01:00:00 +0000

After having read the actual print in the Gateway, I felt I should add that they did a nice editing job as well

By: Mack D. Male

Mack D. Male — Thu, 16 Sep 2004 18:05:00 +0000

Thanks for the comment Shermie. As you probably guessed, I first wrote the blog entry then fixed it up a bit for the Gateway article. Thats an interesting tip too, I might have to start making some phone calls

By: shermie

shermie — Thu, 16 Sep 2004 17:50:00 +0000

Very late in commenting…but

Your article in the Gateway is a better written argument. I learned in B LAW 301 that merchants should not surcharge because it is a violation of their contract. To correct this, phone the bank that operates the Interac machine, (I’m not sure which bank operates the one in CAB) and the bank’s lawyers will probably send a letter threatening a lawsuit.

By: beans

beans — Wed, 15 Sep 2004 02:33:00 +0000

Ahhhh….too many words! Anyways, I hate paying surcharges too. If you want my business, I better get the best (read: cheapest) deal with the most convenience. I’m Chinese!!!

By: KoGs

KoGs — Tue, 14 Sep 2004 07:53:00 +0000

The thing is though not everyone uses interac. You still have some ppl using cash. So you still have to keep that cash on hand, u still have to fill out the deposit slip, u still have to pay Mr. Brinks. Only difference is you hold less money on hand and you fill out a smaller # in the deposit slip. There are other issues that the retailer must deal with with interac as well. Phone line bills, holding on to transaction receipts, sending in the transaction receipts, among other stuff.

By: Mack D. Male

Mack D. Male — Tue, 14 Sep 2004 04:59:00 +0000

how on earth would they lose money? add up cost of keeping cash on hand, filling out deposit slips, paying mr. brinks man to take it to the bank, waiting until it appears in the balance, etc. there is no way they lose money when you use Interac.

By: megs

megs — Tue, 14 Sep 2004 04:40:00 +0000

if the merchant loses money by people using debit, why can’t they charge the same surcharge the bank charges to recoup those costs. they are, after all, trying to run a business.

By: Mack D. Male

Mack D. Male — Tue, 14 Sep 2004 04:31:00 +0000

tell your dad no disrespect, but stfu hahaha....

if they charged a dollar i wouldnt buy food from them. i am tempted not to with 35 cents. thats why i am making a big deal. quit trying to be the devils advocate when you know i am right.

some might say cash is more convenient because you dont have to wait for the connection and enter a bunch of numbers and stuff.

By: megs

megs — Tue, 14 Sep 2004 04:26:00 +0000

holy shit mack. if they charged a dollar, would you start to carry cash? probably not. you’d just spend more money for the "convenience".

my dad says "how come you have all these words when you talk to your computer, but when there’s a girl around, you can’t find anything to say?"

By: Mack D. Male

Mack D. Male — Tue, 14 Sep 2004 04:23:00 +0000

Yes Megan they are. They are not treating you and I the same. They are making me pay something more than you have to. How does that not translate into preference? Or at the very least, discrimination, which by the way is against Canadian law. All customers must be treated equal.

By: Mack D. Male

Mack D. Male — Tue, 14 Sep 2004 04:22:00 +0000

UPDATE:

I have submitted a slightly modified version of this post to The Gateway.

More to come soon.

By: megs

megs — Tue, 14 Sep 2004 04:21:00 +0000

they’re nor preferring me. it’s MY preferred method of payment and i find that it doesn’t affect me…until petro canada starts charging. then i’ll get angry

By: Dickson Wong

Dickson Wong — Tue, 14 Sep 2004 04:20:00 +0000

35 cents is an outrage! Thats 35 years of service from Laura!

By: Mack D. Male

Mack D. Male — Tue, 14 Sep 2004 04:18:00 +0000

Oh but it is that big of a deal. Are you saying that you should be a preferred customer just because you have cash? Thats stupid. No way a merchant should prefer you over me (which in effect is what the surcharge is doing) just because we use different methods of payment.