PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla.–Various retailers are increasingly adding surcharges for customers who use credit cards, but some gas stations are going to extremes, according to a new report.
Pat Igo of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., the owner of North County Cooling, which has 12 trucks, told WPTV News he was stunned to find a gas station attempting to add a surcharge for using a credit card of $1 a gallon.
As Yahoo Finance News noted it’s legal for businesses to impose a surcharge on customers who are paying by credit card, with the only requirement is that businesses must inform customers of the surcharges.
“I noticed this little box at the bottom,” Igo told WPTV. “And it didn’t match the price that was out on the street.”
Cut to 90 Cents Per Gallon
Igo told the news outlet a small sign on the pump showed that those paying with a credit card would pay $1 more per gallon, so he asked the station’s manager if that was an error. “And he said no,” Igo was quoted as saying. “‘I can make it any number I want.’ And so I walked out.”
Yahoo Finance said Reporter Dave Bohman looked into the matter and found that a number of local gas station were charging $1 more per gallon for credit card payments than cash, but when he started asking questions, two stations dropped the surcharge down to 90 cents per gallon.
