1 edit | reply to amigo_boy
Re: I said it once I'll say it...... The credit card I used to register for auto-pay a few years ago had to be replaced due to a fraudulent charge. When I went to the Qwest web site to change the card, registering a credit card was no longer an option. I use credit cards as much as possible for the rebates, I get a rebate versus nothing with ACH. I called CS and they changed the credit card for me so I could keep getting my rebates. BTW I never carry a balance on them. |
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Reviews:
 ·magicjack.com
| said by smithduluth:I use credit cards as much as possible for the rebates, I get a rebate versus nothing with ACH. But, those cash-back rebates and free coffee pots aren't free, are they? Someone has to pay for them, right?
Credit Card companies are just giving you a cut of the 3% they charge the seller. Qwest is basically paying for your free coffee pot. That adds to the cost of their doing business.
Let's look at this another way.
If a new credit-card company offered 50% cash-back on all purchases, and accomplished this by charging the merchant a 100% transaction fee, would you criticize Qwest for adding a $50 fee for paying with that card?
I'm not in love with corporations. But, I wouldn't fault a corporation for charging ala carte fees to customers who cost them more than the average customer. The idea that it's all just too blurry (and there are no averages) to justify is just a rationalization for getting free stuff at someone else's expense.
Mark |
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| said by amigo_boy:said by smithduluth:I use credit cards as much as possible for the rebates, I get a rebate versus nothing with ACH. But, those cash-back rebates and free coffee pots aren't free, are they? Someone has to pay for them, right? Credit Card companies are just giving you a cut of the 3% they charge the seller. Qwest is basically paying for your free coffee pot. That adds to the cost of their doing business. Let's look at this another way. If a new credit-card company offered 50% cash-back on all purchases, and accomplished this by charging the merchant a 100% transaction fee, would you criticize Qwest for adding a $50 fee for paying with that card? I'm not in love with corporations. But, I wouldn't fault a corporation for charging ala carte fees to customers who cost them more than the average customer. The idea that it's all just too blurry (and there are no averages) to justify is just a rationalization for getting free stuff at someone else's expense. Mark It sounds like I am doing something immoral by charging purchases on a credit card that gives a rebate. Since when has it become not PC to try and get the best deal for myself and my family. If a vendor is willing to accept a credit card to help them sell their product, why should I not accept that offer? |
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Reviews:
·magicjack.com
| said by smithduluth:Since when has it become not PC to try and get the best deal for myself and my family. I don't mind you doing what's in the interest of yourself and your family.
Do you mind those using lower-cost ACH payment methods would like the cost of their service be less? So that they and their families don't subsidize your higher-cost credit cart kickback scheme?
Mark |
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 thenderScreen tycoonPremium
join:2009-01-01
Brooklyn, NY
kudos:1
2 edits | reply to amigo_boy
said by amigo_boy:said by smithduluth:I use credit cards as much as possible for the rebates, I get a rebate versus nothing with ACH. But, those cash-back rebates and free coffee pots aren't free, are they? Someone has to pay for them, right? Credit Card companies are just giving you a cut of the 3% they charge the seller. Qwest is basically paying for your free coffee pot. That adds to the cost of their doing business. Let's look at this another way. If a new credit-card company offered 50% cash-back on all purchases, and accomplished this by charging the merchant a 100% transaction fee, would you criticize Qwest for adding a $50 fee for paying with that card? I'm not in love with corporations. But, I wouldn't fault a corporation for charging ala carte fees to customers who cost them more than the average customer. The idea that it's all just too blurry (and there are no averages) to justify is just a rationalization for getting free stuff at someone else's expense. Mark But why can't I do it?
I'm shopping around for merchant account services to accept credit via my cellphone & a bluetooth reader, and most of these contracts say if I pass my fee onto customers in any way, I'm in breach and they can boot me, because it discourages the use of credit. I'm sure in the ones where this clause wasn't blatantly obvious, that I missed it and it will be found buried somewhere else in the TOS.
Why does Qwest get to get away with it? Because they're a big company?
Fuck that. Either the small businessman gets to pass fees onto customers, or none of us can. It's not right that they get to do it just because they are the only ones providing a semi-essential utility in many areas.
I am no fan of credit, and a lot of what you say, I agree with. What I take issue with is your implication that Qwest has the right to charge a fee many stores, studios, repair shops, delis, and so on cannot charge because the TOS says they can't pass the fee on to their customers.
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Macbook repair in NYC |
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 ·Mediacom
| They'll never actually come out and say that's what they're charging you for. And by the time the money is paid to the merchant account services provider, it's gone through so many "hands" that there's no way to prove it came from you.
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·magicjack.com
| said by TheRogueX:They'll never actually come out and say that's what they're charging you for. Exactly. They can call it an "express payment fee."
I have a credit-card provider who does this. I can pay my credit card online using an ACH transfer from a bank account. But, it takes them 5 days to process it. If I forget to schedule my payment, I can check a little box saying I'm willing to pay $18 for an "express payment" (something they'll move to the front of the line and manually process that day.).
I agree with "thender" that merchants have to be careful how they do this. But, it's also ironic that credit card companies prohibit merchants from recovering the added costs of using credit cards -- while recovering the added costs involved with ad hoc payments from customers.
I think Qwest would have been better served using a "divide and conquer" strategy. First charge a "convenience fee" for payments requiring a live operator. Most credit card users would probably go along with this. It's easy to understand that operators cost money.
After a 2-3 years of establishing that baseline, impose a "convenience fee" on credit-card customers who don't use live operators to accept their payment. It's not a fee to recover the costs charged to merchants by credit card companies. It's a fee to recover the costs of accepting credit card payments over the web site which was developed for debit/ACH payers. (wink, wink, nudge, nudge.).
said by thender:Why does Qwest get away with it? Because they're a big company? Higher-volume merchants pay lower transaction fees than Bill & Ted's Bong Shop. It sounds like credit-card companies recognize that these partners have more value and clout.
Mark |
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