COMICLINK - It's illegal to charge credit card surcharges!

[esquirecomics]

Shield, or anyone, contact the NYS Attorney General's Office in Albany to report it.

 

I haven't had a chance to research the law, but assuming what you say is true, and from your checking it seems to be, than anyone who has ever used a cc with ComicLink should request their 3% be returned. If the charge was illegal, it needs to be returned or else some major legal problems could arise.

[Rob]

Here's what I found:

 

http://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/rules/6500-500.html#6500167

See section 167.

 

(2) No seller in any sales transaction may impose a surcharge on a cardholder who elects to use a credit card in lieu of payment by cash, check, or similar means.

 

However, it doesn't sound like a Federal law. I also found this here:

http://www.creditinfocenter.com/cards/crcd_buy.shtml#Question6

 

The Federal Truth-in-Lending Act prohibited surcharges on credit card purchases until 1984; since then, there has been no Federal law on that subject. (Other provisions of the law are still in force.) The states of CA, CO, CT, FL, KS, MA, ME, NY, OK, and TX have laws against surcharges, according to Bankcard Holders of America.

 

Discover allows surcharges on credit card purchases, except in the above states. Visa and MasterCard prohibit them.

 

There is a loophole: merchants are allowed to give cash discounts. This means in practice that they can't charge you more than the labeled price if you pay by credit card, but they can charge you less if you pay cash. Some companies announce (usually in tiny print in the catalog) that all prices "reflect cash discount" of x% so credit card users must pay x% more than the stated price. This may be legal but it certainly violates the spirit of the law or the regulations.

[Aman619]

I'm willing to bet Josh has read and consulted on all of what you found, and feels comfortable in his decision to keep the 3% charge as legally defensible.

[tth2]

Here's an idea: for everyone person_without_enough_empathyhing and complaining why not get ACTIVE, call the law enforcement in NY, and take care of business. Old and useless subject coming up again; the resolution is simple. DO IT and stop acting like a puss. (directed no one in particular)

 

It's pretty incredible. People have been complaining on here about CL's credit card fees for the 3 years that I've been here, and in all this time it appears NO ONE has taken any action by reporting it to any of the credit card companies or any NY governmental authority until now.

[tth2]

I know this topic has been brought up before, but:

 

http://www.goldcomics.com/ubbthreads/sho...;vc=1#Post20302

 

It's not a discount for paying in cash, rather it's a 3% "buyer's charge" for using a credit card.

 

And it's illegal in NY state.

 

Both Visa and Mastercard told me it's illegal in any state. Both told me they will be contacting Comiclink as this is a clear violation of their merchant terms.

 

Cotton Mather is extremely impressed.

 

It's not a witch hunt. It's just for him to say "Oh, I've removed them" and then they're back, illegally to boot. Plus you and I pay paypal fees when we sell on EBAY, right? Perhaps if the profit margin is too slim some of these dealers should consider trying a 8-5 gig in the regular job market.

Shield, so that it's not a witch hunt against just one dealer, here are some other dealers whom I've seen charge a credit card fee (or a "handling" fee): Pedigree, Ewert, PCE. Go get 'em, tiger!

[BlackHeartedDwarf-migratio]

Shield, so that it's not a witch hunt against just one dealer, here are some other dealers whom I've seen charge a credit card fee (or a "handling" fee): Pedigree, Ewert, PCE. Go get 'em, tiger!

 

Just don't ask tth2 for help. He won't lift a finger unless it's to defend the shady garbage going on at Heritage.

 

[TeddieMercede]

What I dont understand is ive bought all manner of things with my credit card from various places and I have never been charged a credit card surcharge yet this practice is rampant among Comic book dealers. Thankfully this greed isnt pervasive as there are a couple that I know of personally that do not do this, metro and harley from personal experience. What else is annoying about this policy is anybody who has been part of the backend of a retail establishment and has dealt with merchant services knows that the rates for visa/mc, discover, and amex are different. amex is not flexible with their rates usually charging around the 3% range however for visa,mc, and discover you can get it down to 2% or even lower along with the per transaction fee. So in reality by charging a flat rate of 3% they probably are making money off transactions if you use your visa/mc/discover. I mean how dumb is that.

[awe4one]

It's pretty incredible. People have been complaining on here about CL's credit card fees for the 3 years that I've been here, and in all this time it appears NO ONE has taken any action by reporting it to any of the credit card companies or any NY governmental authority until now.

 

I reported it to my CC company last year and received a refund on the 3%...

 

Jim

[Scheradon]

Shield, or anyone, contact the NYS Attorney General's Office in Albany to report it.

 

I haven't had a chance to research the law, but assuming what you say is true, and from your checking it seems to be, than anyone who has ever used a cc with ComicLink should request their 3% be returned. If the charge was illegal, it needs to be returned or else some major legal problems could arise.

 

Mark, do you know what the statute of limitations would be on something like this?

 

I have most of my paperwork handy from any purchases from CL and Pedigree (who also charges 3% CC surcharge) from the last year and a half.

 

Should I be making this request to them or the CC companies?

 

Thanks, John

[sterlingcomics]

I'm calling my CC company and reporting it. Are you? Perhaps me spreading the word is being active? BTW, this is directed to YOU.

 

I plan on contacting CL first. Point taken on the latter point.

[Scheradon]

Let me clarify my last statement on Pedigree:

 

 

"Online payments are subject to a processing charge depending on the type of card, and country".

 

Paypal payment: "All Paypal payments are subject to an additional Paypal surcharge of 3%".

[tth2]

It's pretty incredible. People have been complaining on here about CL's credit card fees for the 3 years that I've been here, and in all this time it appears NO ONE has taken any action by reporting it to any of the credit card companies or any NY governmental authority until now.

 

I reported it to my CC company last year and received a refund on the 3%...

 

Jim

So that fixed YOUR problem, but didn't fix the system. It obviously didn't lead to the credit card companies cracking down on this practice.

[awe4one]

So that fixed YOUR problem, but didn't fix the system. It obviously didn't lead to the credit card companies cracking down on this practice.

 

True...but I assumed, I guess wrongly, that others were doing the same. Curious to know what the CC companies threshold is on these type of complaints before taking action?

 

Jim

[sterlingcomics]

Jim,

 

Out of curiosity, did ComicLink contact you in regards to the credit card fee refund? Have they prevented you from using their services?

[awe4one]

Out of curiosity, did ComicLink contact you in regards to the credit card fee refund? Have they prevented you from using their services?

 

No...no one contacted me...

 

I haven't bought anything since but my password still works so I assume I can still buy on the site...

 

Jim

[Smokinghawk]

Here's what I found:

 

 

http://www.creditinfocenter.com/cards/crcd_buy.shtml#Question6

 

The states of ... OK ... have laws against surcharges, according to Bankcard Holders of America.

 

Woo hoo!

[Foolkiller]

Last year at WW Philly, I discussed this very point with Josh on the floor of the convention -- we had a polite disagreement on the subject where he offered me his point of view that working on a small commission he could not afford to absorb the 3% but wanted to offer it as a convenience for his customers. I pointed out to him that blatantly stating you are charging a 3% fee is illegal. While he didn't disagree with the law per se, he just didn't see the harm. Obviously, i disagree.

 

However, my understanding is that ComicLink does implement the fee on CCs but uses a less obvious way of doing so -- and so, while not entirely ethical, does seem to be ok.

 

The bottom line is this to me: while I never have liked it, it has not seemed worth the effort to get into it since there is a readily available way to avoid the CC fee. Don't pay with CC. Of course, I've thought that one of the reasons why CCs and paypal are not preferrable is because of potential tax manipulation, that is idle speculation that I have no foundation for. At the end of the day, I don't love the situation with ComicLink -- but this I already got the answer I'm going to get from him. Take it or leave it.

[The Black Hand ®]

I pay by credit card for the extra protection it affords and with all the ethically challenged sellers and collectors coming out of the woodwork in the comic hobby it only makes sense to do so.Every time I sell an item and get paid by paypal I pay a fee. I accept it because I'm pretty sure a lot of people buy items because of paypal and the convenience that comes with it. How many sales would comic link lose if he didn't have the ability to receive credit card payments? Plenty! So I'll make a complaint based on past purchases and if there's a current item I want I'll ask to have the fee waived.

[THE_BEYONDER]

I have to eat Paypal fees on almost every book I sell. That's just part of the cost of doing business on Ebay.

[*paull*]

I honestly don't understand why people continue to use Comiclink. The site is antiquated and the business practices are questionable at best. I'd rather sell here than on Comiclink.