The Center For Cost Effective Government was one of the first to blow the whistle on the fact that restaurants, stores and other businesses are blatantly ignoring state law, which prohibits them from adding a surcharge on your bill to pay for their credit card processing fees.
Our reports last year helped alert consumers that they were being improperly charged when they were going out to restaurants or buying products at a local shop where they would find a surprise 2 to 4% additional charge for having used their credit card.
The practice is illegal in New York but is flagrantly violated on a daily basis. Some of it is intentional, but a good deal of it is because neither the consumers, or business owners are always aware of what the law allows them to do.
They saw other restaurants and businesses charging this fee, so they thought it was okay for them to do it as well. Actually, it’s not.
We think that our focus on this issue helped push the state to clarify the law earlier this year, and to announce that they would be cracking down on those who continue to violate it.
But a Newsday article on May 3 indicates that few government entities are actually enforcing the law. https://lilifepolitics.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Newsday_FeeEnforcementLackjing_050324.pdf
It falls to us, the consumers, to reach out to the Office of Consumer Affairs, either on the state or county levels to tell them of a business that is in violation.
- New York State Division of Consumer Protection: (518) 474-8583
- Suffolk County Division of Consumer Affairs: (631) 853-4600
- Nassau County Department of Consumer Affairs: (516) 571-2600
These businesses must get warnings and fines if they are going to take our laws seriously. Remember, it is not sufficient for a business to simply give you notice that they will be hitting you with the charge. The price listed on stickers or menus must be inclusive of any credit card fees they have. They can offer you a discount if you buy in cash or they can specifically spell out on the menu what the exact price for cash or credit card payment would be.
This is typically what you see at a gas station where a charge is clearly noted for credit and another for cash.
But it’s not sufficient for the owner to expect you to do the math to figure how much more you’d have to pay for the credit card surcharge?
Stick up for your rights. If you are hit with this illegal fee, call the county or the state and demand enforcement.