AMEX not accepted or surcharge

[Chicken]

Well I dobbed them in ... will see if I get a random email response sometime in the future.

I actually complained about a De Costi fish market twice in the last 6 months. The first response was the owner refused.

With the second complain, heard nothing for a month or so, then an e-mail arrived suddenly one day, saying they now accept the card without surcharge.

So there you go.

 

[docjames]

I have put in heaps of these, never had one reply.

I've "reported" Ikea about six times......

 

[drewbles]

I have put in heaps of these, never had one reply.

I've "reported" Ikea about six times......

"reported" them? Ikea have never taken Amex in VIC I know that.

I've sent many submissions to amex via the 'request a new merchant' type link, referring businesses you'd like to accept amex. Not a response from any of them unfortunately (this was quite some time ago).

 

[docjames]

"reported" them? Ikea have never taken Amex in VIC I know that.

I mean in terms of requesting new merchant....

 

[ChrisFlyer]

After trying my Amex in the terminal at a 7-Eleven store in Brisbane (CBD) today (and returning the "please retry transaction" response), I was told that they don't accept it... I checked the Amex directory and this store appears to be the ONLY one in the Brisbane CBD that doesn't accept it... just my luck!

Oh well, they missed out on a ~$120 sale - not my problem!

 

[ChrisFlyer]

Well I just returned from the Gold Coast, and I didn't have to use cash or MasterCard once Amex was accepted everywhere we went (with no surcharge), with the only exception being the 1.5% fee for all cards at Crowne Plaza... quite happy!

 

[Oneworldplus2]

After trying my Amex in the terminal at a 7-Eleven store in Brisbane (CBD) today (and returning the "please retry transaction" response), I was told that they don't accept it... I checked the Amex directory and this store appears to be the ONLY one in the Brisbane CBD that doesn't accept it... just my luck!

Oh well, they missed out on a ~$120 sale - not my problem!

I'm curious, what do you buy at a 7-eleven store, that adds up to $120? 10 packs of smokes? 1 ton of Chupa-Chops? LOL.

 

[notzac]

I'm curious, what do you buy at a 7-eleven store, that adds up to $120? 10 packs of smokes? 1 ton of Chupa-Chops? LOL.

Public transport tickets are what usually costs me that much at a 7/11

 

[ChrisFlyer]

I'm curious, what do you buy at a 7-eleven store, that adds up to $120? 10 packs of smokes? 1 ton of Chupa-Chops? LOL.

Public transport tickets are what usually costs me that much at a 7/11

Right on ... well that and a bottle of Coke (which ended up being 70c cheaper at the train station vending machine (which took credit card) lol)

I was trying to top-up my Go Card (Qld public transport smart card - similar to Myki), as you can only use Visa and MasterCard to top it up online - but if you take it into most 7-Eleven stores (ie the ones with the right equipment), you can also use Amex and Diners to top-up with no surcharge (except in this one particular outlet).

 

[ChrisFlyer]

Well I filled in the Amex form about Crowne Plaza at Surfers... and I got this reply today:

[FONT=Arial,Sans-Serif]We have contacted the management at this establishment and are pleased to inform you they have agreed to warmly welcome the American Express Card and also not impose any surcharge. We will remain in contact with their management to ensure ongoing American Express Card acceptance.[/FONT]

... that was quick, considering we only checked out on the 14th! ... shame they haven't been so prompt with Rydges... lol

 

[straitman]

Well I filled in the Amex form about Crowne Plaza at Surfers... and I got this reply today:

... that was quick, considering we only checked out on the 14th! ... shame they haven't been so prompt with Rydges... lol

Interesting as the IC group now seem to have an across the board 1.5% CC surcharge for all CC's.

 

[turtlemichael]

Interesting as the IC group now seem to have an across the board 1.5% CC surcharge for all CC's.

Not the whole group but only in Australia where the law allows it. And it does not apply to advance purchase rates where there is no option but to use a credit card.

 

[ChrisFlyer]

The tax invoice did have Crowne Plaza on it, but it seems the Surfers Paradise property at least is actually owned by "Goodearth Hotels Australia (Gold Coast) Pty Ltd"... so it may just be this property that the surcharge is being removed in.

 

[Globetrotter]

Our company stopped accepting Amex all together last month. Hate everything about Amex from a B2B2 point of view. They think they rule the world - answer is simple...stop accepting their cards and hit them where it hurts! :mrgreen:

 

[ChrisFlyer]

Interesting email from Crowne - following the message received from Amex, I contacted the Crowne Surfers Paradise management asking them when the surcharge will be removed, and received this response:

Dear Mr ****,
Many thanks for your email regarding your correspondence with American Express concerning our merchant service fee of 1.5% when guests elect to pay by credit card.
I can confirm that we have not been contacted by American Express in relation to this matter.
We do welcome all major credit cards at this hotel, including American Express, and the merchant service fee of 1.5% is only applied to guests accounts when they choose to settle their bill by credit card. This is not a surcharge (which results in a profit) but a charge to recover our costs for the merchant service fees which credit card companies charge to us. This is a widely accepted practice across Australia within many industries such as hospitality, airline and telecommunications, to name a few.
No charges are incurred if guests choose to settle their accounts by electronic transfer, cash or EFTPOS.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can assist you further but I can assure you we do welcome American Express cardholders at this hotel.

I will be very pleased to assist you personally with any future requirements and thank you for bringing this matter to my attention.

(I bolded the sentence in the middle)

Interesting that Amex would send the email saying the 1.5% had been removed if they hadn't even contacted the business...

 

[trippin_the_rift]

Well I just returned from the Gold Coast, and I didn't have to use cash or MasterCard once Amex was accepted everywhere we went (with no surcharge), with the only exception being the 1.5% fee for all cards at Crowne Plaza... quite happy!

Hotels pushing any kind of surcharge is VERY poor form IMO.

Le Meridian Vanuatu was the last hotel (about a year ago) to try this %^$* with me (4.5% surchage for ANY CC). I told them they either remove the BS charges or I would not pay the account. The manager said many guests had questioned the charge and they were considering dropping the fee entirely because of consumer backlash.

Personally, I wouldn't stay at any hotel that imposed such a charge. It's not like they're tight on margains........

 

[oz_mark]

Personally, I wouldn't stay at any hotel that imposed such a charge. It's not like they're tight on margains........

The way it's going, you're gonna run out of hotels to stay at !!

 

[drewbles]

The way it's going, you're gonna run out of hotels to stay at !!

Whilst I fear you're correct here, I tend to agree with trippin. The only other option is they're going to up their room prices by the same percentage and then spruik it as 'no credit card surcharge!'.

Damned if you do...

Considering the cost of most folios at check out, who's going to carry that kind of cash with them just for a hotel? Sub $300-400 possibly, but over that? I'm amazed the credit card companies/banks are really charging that much to hotels considering a) the large "ticket" value of the average transaction and b) the fact that probably ~95% of the hotels charges go through the credit card machine.

 

[trippin_the_rift]

Considering the cost of most folios at check out, who's going to carry that kind of cash with them just for a hotel? Sub $300-400 possibly, but over that? I'm amazed the credit card companies/banks are really charging that much to hotels considering a) the large "ticket" value of the average transaction and b) the fact that probably ~95% of the hotels charges go through the credit card machine.

The thing is that there is no regulation on the amount in which business can charge as a 'surcharge'. Do you honestly think cabs are charged 10% by their banks to take cards - even EFTPOS transactions?

One of my other companies has a basic merchant account with one of the major banks and the rate is 1.1% with no volume commitments and no security. If a $1000 shelf company can get this kind of rate without trying, I'm sure a business with any decent turnover can negotiate under 1% for Visa/MC without any issue.

Don't be fooled, this is nothing more than a grab for cash.

 

[drewbles]

The thing is that there is no regulation on the amount in which business can charge as a 'surcharge'. Do you honestly think cabs are charged 10% by their banks to take cards - even EFTPOS transactions?

One of my other companies has a basic merchant account with one of the major banks and the rate is 1.1% with no volume commitments and no security. If a $1000 shelf company can get this kind of rate without trying, I'm sure a business with any decent turnover can negotiate under 1% for Visa/MC without any issue.

Don't be fooled, this is nothing more than a grab for cash.

Oh I agree. From a news article: "The statement of claim says that last year the 10 per cent fee produced revenue for Cabcharge of $113 million, a 51 per cent increase on the $75 million recorded in 2005.". That's nothing short of robbery. And O/T, the Cabbies Authority in VIC have said there's no reason to put a rail link to MEL. Of course that's cause they'll lose so much cash from it, as would MEL themselves.

Considering I got a merchant facility back in 99 for a startup .com with a per-swipe charge of 1.2% and an average ticket of $30, there is no reason the hotels are charged anywhere near this. dot com companies back in the day were considered 'high risk' by banks, and I still managed to get that rate. Hotels would likely be considered high risk as well, with people using fraudulent cards.