California Senate Bill 478, part of the Consumer Legal Remedies Act, bans all “junk fees” on purchases across California. This includes credit card surcharges in most situations. It's also worth noting that California's new laws extend beyond credit card surcharges.
Surcharging is widely accepted in the US except in Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Puerto Rico.
Section 1748.1 - Surcharge for use of credit card in lieu of payment by cash or check; discounts for payment by cash or check (a) No retailer in any sales, service, or lease transaction with a consumer may impose a surcharge on a cardholder who elects to use a credit card in lieu of payment by cash, check, or similar ...
Some states do not allow a merchant to refuse cash, however a merchant may not be able to accept a credit card for various reasons including a technical issue, the card being declined, suspected fraud as in someone trying to use a stolen credit card or a legitimate credit card without permission by the cardholder.
Yes, a credit card company can sue you if you stop paying your bills. Typically, credit card companies will contact you several times before escalating the matter to legal action or charging off the debt to a debt collection agency.
Write a letter to the credit card company explaining why you aren't going to pay. Describe the steps you took to resolve the problem with the merchant. (Alternatively, you might be able to dispute the charge online.) Mail to the correct address.
U.S. merchants cannot surcharge debit card or prepaid card purchases.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Releases Final Rule on Credit Card Late Fees, with Overdraft Fees on Deck. On March 5, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) announced the final rule governing late fees for consumer credit card payments, likely cutting the average fee from $32 to just $8.
On July 1, 2024, California banned hidden fees and deceptive “drip pricing” practices. The law applies to businesses selling or leasing goods and services for personal use in California, as well as resellers of goods and services like event tickets and online platforms.
You may accomplish this by including the credit card surcharge on your invoice or displaying a sign at your office. If you're using an online payment solution, this notice should be automatically included on your payment page.
In 2013, however, several credit card companies dropped their contractual surcharge prohibitions, thus raising the importance of laws like § 518 as a target for merchants that wanted to impose credit card surcharges and how they could do so.
To avoid a credit card surcharge, you can pay with alternative methods such as cash, debit cards, or mobile payment apps. Some businesses also offer discounts for non-credit card payments, providing an incentive to choose other payment options that help avoid credit card surcharge.
Credit card surcharges can't exceed the cost of accepting the card or 4 percent, whichever is the lower amount, even if it costs the business more than that amount to process your credit card payment.
Highlights. Effective July 1, 2024, California Senate Bill 478 (SB 478) will ban hidden fees charged for goods and services. The law makes it illegal to advertise a low price for a product, only for that product to be subject to additional or mandatory fees later.
7-year credit rule and your credit score
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, in most cases, debts can only appear on your credit report for seven years. After that period is up, the debt can no longer be reported. Also, if you've had a delinquent account on your credit report, creditors can hold the debt against you.
A surcharge is not a convenience fee. A convenience fee is levied by a merchant for offering customers the privilege of paying with an alternative non-standard payment method. Merchants can process convenience fees in all 50 states. A surcharge is levied by a merchant for customer purchases made with a credit card.
What is the 5/24 rule? Many card issuers have criteria for who can qualify for new accounts, but Chase is perhaps the most strict. Chase's 5/24 rule means that you can't be approved for most Chase cards if you've opened five or more personal credit cards (from any card issuer) within the past 24 months.
In 1985, California passed a law (Civil Code section 1748.1) that prohibited merchants from adding a surcharge (an extra fee) when customers pay by credit card instead of cash.
A section of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act known as the Durbin Amendment requires the Board to establish standards for assessing whether the amount of any interchange fee received by a debit card issuer is reasonable and proportional to the cost incurred by the issuer with respect to the ...
Use cash where you can
The easiest way to avoid card surcharges is to pay by cash. While businesses can charge a surcharge for paying by debit or credit cards, they can't charge a surcharge for paying by cash.
A credit card hardship program is a financial arrangement that allows those facing such situations to negotiate more manageable payments on outstanding credit card debt. The specifics of a hardship program depend on your credit card issuer and your financial position.
You typically have 60 days from when a charge appears on your credit card statement to dispute it, but if there's fraud involved, there's no time limit. Some card issuers allow up to 120 days for disputes related to billing errors and issues with the quality of goods and services from a merchant.