# Fuck you, "Mom & Pop" stores (VISA related) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 7, 2007, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-mom-pop-stores-visa-related/410832 "2007-07-07T11:15:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![bett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9c0ed/32.png) [@bett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bett)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-mom-pop-stores-visa-related/410832/181 "2007-07-11T16:02:31Z")
If you want to have minimums for your CC charges, you need to put that on the big VISA/MC/AMEX sticker that’s on your front door so I know your policy when I walk in. It’s usually the case that it’s written on a post-it on the cash register that there’s a minimum charge. I see that after I’ve done my business in the store and am ready to pay. And again, the businesses that do this are being short-sighted. They are so concerned about not losing money on a given sale that they risk losing all future business from that customer. Maybe today I’m just buying a $1.50 cable, but next month I’ll buy a $800 computer. If you reject my initial $1.50 sale, I’ll likely never return. The issue is that they have the CC sticker on the front door but they’re not honoring the expectations that the customer has. When I see the VISA sticker on the door, I assume I can buy whatever I want and put it on my card. If the business doesn’t want meet that expectation, then don’t take VISA. ---
**Author:** ![Autumn\_Almanac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d26b3c/32.png) [@Autumn\_Almanac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autumn_Almanac)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-mom-pop-stores-visa-related/410832/182 "2007-07-11T16:03:31Z")
[QUOTE=cosmosdan] The local merchant is not just a store and a company. They represent real people that live locally. I’m suggesting that _people_ deserve a little understanding and consideration, especially a small business trying to compete in the age of cooperate giants. [/QUOTE] Thanks for the response. I’m all for supporting small/local businesses when they can provide better or more personal service than a chain, which is often. I prefer stores that accept credit cards, because that’s what I prefer to use, but if they don’t, I don’t hold it against them. The minimum purchase requirement steams me because it’s like a bait-and-switch. When I enter a store with the Visa logo on the window, I expect to be able to pay with my Visa card. Seeing that sticker may even have been part of the reason I chose to go into this store instead of a different one. Then, when I try to make my purchase, I get the run-around. Sorry, no. If you want to honestly advertise that you accept credit cards, then _accept them_, period. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-mom-pop-stores-visa-related/410832/183 "2007-07-11T16:03:59Z")
Seems to me that you guys are all more angry about merchants breaking their contract with Visa than Visa itself is. Think about that for a moment and decide whether or not the merchant is really the problem in this situation. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-mom-pop-stores-visa-related/410832/184 "2007-07-11T16:06:33Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > Reality is that the only thing that matters (or should matter) is that money in is greater than money out at the end of the day. For fuck’s sake. Do you honestly think that a small store owner is running on some different principle than that? Do you think they get into the business for their love of micro-managing? ---
**Author:** ![Autumn\_Almanac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d26b3c/32.png) [@Autumn\_Almanac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autumn_Almanac)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-mom-pop-stores-visa-related/410832/185 "2007-07-11T16:08:16Z")
[QUOTE=Cheesesteak] Seems to me that you guys are all more angry about merchants breaking their contract with Visa than Visa itself is. Think about that for a moment and decide whether or not the merchant is really the problem in this situation. [/QUOTE] I don’t care what Visa thinks. I care about _my_ experience. I care that _my_ time is wasted when I try to make a purchase, and the merchant refuses to accept my legitimate payment. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_British\_Shop\_Owner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@Small\_British\_Shop\_Owner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_British_Shop_Owner)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-mom-pop-stores-visa-related/410832/186 "2007-07-11T16:12:07Z")
[QUOTE=Autumn Almanac] Thanks for the response. I’m all for supporting small/local businesses when they can provide better or more personal service than a chain, which is often. I prefer stores that accept credit cards, because that’s what I prefer to use, but if they don’t, I don’t hold it against them. The minimum purchase requirement steams me because it’s like a bait-and-switch. When I enter a store with the Visa logo on the window, I expect to be able to pay with my Visa card. Seeing that sticker may even have been part of the reason I chose to go into this store instead of a different one. Then, when I try to make my purchase, I get the run-around. Sorry, no. If you want to honestly advertise that you accept credit cards, then _accept them_, period. [/QUOTE] If you visited Amsterdam, would you be shocked to see a coffee shop selling cannabis? ---
**Author:** ![Small\_British\_Shop\_Owner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@Small\_British\_Shop\_Owner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_British_Shop_Owner)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-mom-pop-stores-visa-related/410832/187 "2007-07-11T16:13:12Z")
[QUOTE=Autumn Almanac] I don’t care what Visa thinks. I care about _my_ experience. I care that _my_ time is wasted when I try to make a purchase, and the merchant refuses to accept my legitimate payment. [/QUOTE] How about if you tried to pay for a car in one cent pieces? ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-mom-pop-stores-visa-related/410832/188 "2007-07-11T16:23:07Z")
[QUOTE=storyteller0910] You know what? _Fuck you._ The only people who sound whiny and selfish in this thread are the people who are ladling on the bullshit in order to make a virtue out of singing a contract with no intention of living up to its terms. [/QUOTE] Once again, your indignation seems misplaced. Why do you suppose the CC companies have little or no intention of forcing that detail of the agreement upon the merchant? It’s money, and they don’t give a dam about the consumers convince or enforcing the details of the agreement. We’ve had discussions here about merchants asking for ID as well and if I followed the agreement to the letter in that area then the same whiners in this thread now would be calling me a fucking asshole for inconveniencing them rather than waiting patiently with respect for the fact that “Hey, I’m only following the contract as written” > [@](#): > > Shit, it doesn’t even fucking affect me. I carry cash everywhere, because the cafeteria here at work doesn’t take cards at all, and neither do soda or vending machines, and because I never know when I might want or need to tip someone for something. > > So this: > > …is irrelevant. To **YOU** ,which is my point. > [@](#): > > That’s nice. You know what, it would be nice if everyone got to pick and choose which aspects of a contract to which they agree. It’d be fucking _awesome_ if I could just arbitrarily decide that, hey, my MasterCard APR is a little too high for me - makes it kind of hard to get by - so from here on out, I’m not going to pay the interest. I’d love to give myself an extra hour for lunch every day at work. I could get away with it, too; no one’s watching, and my work gets done. But I _don’t,_ because I signed a contract that said 8:30-5:00 with a half hour lunch break in exchange for X dollars in salary, and since I take all of X, I comply with the provisions of the contract that don’t benefit me, too. A load of irrelevant crap. So you comply exactly to the letter? You never stop and chat for a few minutes with a coworker on company time because you diligently want to make sure they get every dimes worth from you that they are paying for? bullshit. My guess is the same whiners in this thread would be willing to see the strict letter of certain contracts overlooked if it benefits them in some way and if they can get away with it without a lot of shit coming down. Get off your unrealistic high horse. The details are only as enforceable as is practical for all parties involved. If the CC companies strictly enforced this detail we wouldn’t have this thread. They don’t and we know why. > [@](#): > > Oh, please. I don’t give a flying fuck if you want to be dishonest; it’s your right. Just _stop trying to paint it as a noble thing._ **Foxy40** signed a contract, decided her signature wasn’t worth anything, and ignored the elements of the contract she doesn’t like while accepting all of its benefits. Fine. But it’s not a noble decision. It’s a pragmatic one, and while I accept that people make ethically questionable pragmatic decisions all the time, few of them boast about it the way I’m seeing in this thread. You’re not Rosa Parks, people; you are absolutely no different than the tax cheat or the guy who defrauds his insurance company. Nobody made any such comparison except you jerk. This whole focus on how dishonest merchants are for not going strictly by the letter of the contract is a nit pickin POS. They are looking for a compromise that helps their business survive and the fact that the CC companies don’t really enforce that detail means they’ve accepted the compromise. I don’t see anyone here ready to cut their cards in half and send them back out of outrage about the CC company not enforcing their inalienable right for shopping to be convenient. I wonder why. > [@](#): > > “Help them out to survive beside corporate giants?” Why is that my responsibility? If the corporate giants take my card, provide pleasant and knowledgable customer service, and offer reasonable prices on quality products, I see no particular reason not to give them my business. If the local liquor store _won’t_ take my credit card, and gives me the kind of attitude I’m hearing in this thread - why on Earth should I give them my business? To support some ideal? The ideal of the “small business,” the supposed advantage, is that the small business cares about its customers _more_ than the corporate giant. Seeing any of that in this thread? It is totally not your responsibility to be considerate of your local merchants. It’s your inalienable right to be inconsiderate of your neighbors in favor of somebody someplace else. There’s no give a shit about others law in place. You’re safe. btw, your total misrepresentation of the points being argued here by going to extremes is just one more load of crap. Nobody is asking anyone to put up with rudeness such as the thrown out of the bar story. Merchants are trying to find a _reasonable_ compromise that causes at most a very minor inconvenience to some customers but still we get folks in here bitching about it as if someone kicked their dog. I stand by my position. It’s whiny petty inconsiderate BS. > [@](#): > > So fucking _what?_ On what planet does it become my responsibility to worry about the bottom line of Joe’s Liquor Mart? Isn’t that Joe’s job? Jesus, I have my own job and my own family and I have to keep _them_ above water, and some months that’s not as easy as it sounds. If I get a benefit from a credit card that helps keep my personal financial situation solvent, you’re _damn right_ I’ll use it. Why wouldn’t I? Do you truly not see any connection or are you just arguing for the fun of being an asshole? Here’s an example that might sink in. My sister and her husband were long time employees of Dexter Shoe Co. in Dexter Maine. Eventually Dexter succumbed to price wars with imports and closed it’s factory there putting thousands out of work. About a year later I was having a discussion like one with my brother in law and he said “Hey if I can save a couple of bucks by purchasing at Wal Mart then why shouldn’t I” I was dumbfounded. The very person who lost his job because of that kind of short sightedness couldn’t make the connection. Believe me I know it’s hard to make ends meet. I’m just saying we should be aware that it’s not impersonal and our decisions do affect other real people like theirs affect me. We can go through life saying “It’s not my responsibility or my problem” or we can try to find an acceptable compromise where we show others a little consideration. > [@](#): > > In this thread (which admittedly does not represent the whole world), I have seen a host of “small business” owners and their supporters expressing nothing but absolute, venomous disdain for their customers. The OP was thrown out of a “small business” bar for complaining about its policies. “Small businesses” are arguing for their right to ignore the contract they sign and inconvienience (some of) their customers in the name of increasing revenue. > > Explain to me, exactly, how all this differentiates them from those impersonal corporate giants “who don’t give a flying fuck about me.” Venomous disdain huh? Who exactly did they express that to? The customers who were saying , fuck you and your profitability neighbor. You dishonest motherfuckers need to do what’s easy for me me me. That thrown out of the bar thing is one extreme example and not relevant to the point at hand. That bartender was wrong and pretty much admitted it when he had to lie to everyone to cover his ass. All I’m suggesting is a modicum of consideration for the real people on the other side of the counter. If someone said to me that they understand my trying to make a profit but they were in a spot and would appreciate it if I let them slide this one I’d do it with a big smile on my face and thank them sincerely for their understanding and their business. That’s the human relationship side of being in business. If a customer shows me repeatedly that they don’t give a rat’s ass about me as a person or my business then I can gauge my response to them accordingly. How about if I abide by the strict letter of the agreement but go extra slow when processing CC purchases under $10. “Whoops dropped my pen, hmmm it’s around here somewhere. Be right with ya” I wouldn’t be dishonest about the contract but I’d bet they’d be just as mad and whiny. My point is that regardless of the details of the agreement both parties involved {you know, the human beings} ought to show the other a little consideration. Sales are about money but also about a relationship that works for both parties. A good customer isn’t just one that comes in frequently but one who understands and respects the fact that we’re in it for profit and we have to make money to continue to provide the service we do. Most of my customers understand that and that mutual respect and consideration means I’ll go the extra mile for them when they need me to and they won’t begrudge me making a buck and get all pissy over a minor inconvenience. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-mom-pop-stores-visa-related/410832/189 "2007-07-11T16:23:55Z")
[QUOTE=Small British Shop Owner] How about if you tried to pay for a car in one cent pieces? [/QUOTE] Car dealers are not obligated by a contract (or by law) to accept one cent pieces. ---
**Author:** ![Autumn\_Almanac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d26b3c/32.png) [@Autumn\_Almanac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autumn_Almanac)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-mom-pop-stores-visa-related/410832/190 "2007-07-11T16:24:39Z")
[QUOTE=Small British Shop Owner] If you visited Amsterdam, would you be shocked to see a coffee shop selling cannabis? [/QUOTE] 😕😕😕 [QUOTE=Small British Shop Owner] How about if you tried to pay for a car in one cent pieces? [/QUOTE] Or if I declined to tip at a restaurant because it wasn’t strictly required? I would be a huge jerk in either case. I get your point that just because something is technically within the rules, doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do. I guess we just draw that line in different places. For me, paying for a car with pennies = unacceptable, expecting to be able to make any size purchase with the payment method of my choice = acceptable. If you don’t agree, well, I guess you don’t want my business, so you aren’t going to get it. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-mom-pop-stores-visa-related/410832/191 "2007-07-11T16:29:25Z")
[QUOTE=BwanaBob] No the problem is merchants micromanaging every frickin transaction. Reality is that the only thing that matters (or should matter) is that money in is greater than money out at the end of the day. The lion’s share of transactions make money, a few loose it. That’s the nature of the beast. Trying to rig things otherwise just creates ill will and lost future sales. There are too many merchants out there for me to be easy-going about any one of them giving me any hassle to do business with them. **One strike and you’re out**. Give 'em hell OP! [/QUOTE] If this is true I predict that soon you will have no place to shop at. Pretty unrealistic IMHO ---
**Author:** ![Small\_British\_Shop\_Owner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@Small\_British\_Shop\_Owner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_British_Shop_Owner)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-mom-pop-stores-visa-related/410832/192 "2007-07-11T16:33:38Z")
[QUOTE=Autumn Almanac] 😕😕😕 [/QUOTE] Cannabis is actually illegal there. The rules are ignored because people appreciate the benefits of ignoring the rules to their society. I think the same arguement can be made for CC micropayments. [QUOTE=Autumn Almanac] Or if I declined to tip at a restaurant because it wasn’t strictly required? I would be a huge jerk in either case. I get your point that just because something is technically within the rules, doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do. I guess we just draw that line in different places. For me, paying for a car with pennies = unacceptable, expecting to be able to make any size purchase with the payment method of my choice = acceptable. If you don’t agree, well, I guess you don’t want my business, so you aren’t going to get it. [/QUOTE] You’re absolutely right, I don’t want someone paying me under ten pounds on a credit card! ---
**Author:** ![Small\_British\_Shop\_Owner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@Small\_British\_Shop\_Owner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_British_Shop_Owner)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-mom-pop-stores-visa-related/410832/193 "2007-07-11T16:34:49Z")
[QUOTE=Fear Itself] Car dealers are not obligated by a contract (or by law) to accept one cent pieces. [/QUOTE] No, but they would be obliged by law to take it all in pound coins after the sale has been agreed, at least in the uk. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-mom-pop-stores-visa-related/410832/194 "2007-07-11T16:37:52Z")
[QUOTE=CarnalK] For fuck’s sake. Do you honestly think that a small store owner is running on some different principle than that? Do you think they get into the business for their love of micro-managing? [/QUOTE] They appear to be ‘examining’ each transaction and deciding their business will collapse if each and every one of those transaction is not a positive one. You’re only a loser if all the transactions add up as a loss. Offering use of the plastic is supposed to attract more customers. If that’s not the case, the merchant shouldn’t bother offering the service, since they say they lose money on the smaller transactions. ---
**Author:** ![bett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9c0ed/32.png) [@bett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bett)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-mom-pop-stores-visa-related/410832/195 "2007-07-11T16:40:45Z")
[QUOTE=CarnalK] For fuck’s sake. Do you honestly think that a small store owner is running on some different principle than that? Do you think they get into the business for their love of micro-managing? [/QUOTE] Those businesses with minimum charges have lost sight of Total Profit = Total Revenues - Total Expenses. Those businesses are instead operating in a business model of Total Profit = Sum of Profits From Each Sale. Would a business rather have 1000 sales a week where 100 sales were not profitable or have 800 sales a week where every sale was profitable? The answer depends on the total numbers. Some businesses are illogically focused on the latter case (800 profitable sales) when they might make more profit with the former case (1000 sales/100 not profitable). Those businesses are assuming that a customer is a customer for life and that they can force the customer to jump through hoops to complete the transaction. But customers will go to businesses which offer the best overall value. Hassling a customer about a minimum charge will lower the value the customer gets from the business and make it more likely they switch to another provider. I have no problem going to businesses which don’t accept credit cards. But with them, I know that going in and I make sure to bring cash or my checkbook. Or I go to another vendor if I only have my CC with me. A business with a CC minimum better provide a lot of value to not lose my business for dealing with that hassle. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-mom-pop-stores-visa-related/410832/196 "2007-07-11T16:48:14Z")
[QUOTE=Small British Shop Owner] No, but they would be obliged by law to take it all in pound coins after the sale has been agreed, at least in the uk. [/QUOTE] [Not in the USA:](http://www.treas.gov/education/faq/currency/legal-tender.shtml) > [@](#): > > The pertinent portion of law that applies to your question is the Coinage Act of 1965, specifically Section 31 U.S.C. 5103, entitled “Legal tender,” which states: “United States coins and currency (including Federal reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal reserve banks and national banks) are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues.” > > This statute means that all United States money as identified above are a valid and legal offer of payment for debts when tendered to a creditor. \*\*There is, however, no Federal statute mandating that a private business, a person or an organization must accept currency or coins as for payment for goods and/or services. \*\* Private businesses are free to develop their own policies on whether or not to accept cash unless there is a State law which says otherwise. For example, a bus line may prohibit payment of fares in pennies or dollar bills. In addition, movie theaters, convenience stores and gas stations may refuse to accept large denomination currency (usually notes above $20) as a matter of policy. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-mom-pop-stores-visa-related/410832/197 "2007-07-11T16:49:51Z")
[QUOTE=bett] Would a business rather have 1000 sales a week where 100 sales were not profitable or have 800 sales a week where every sale was profitable? [/QUOTE] Does it make a difference whether those 100 sales represent _losses_ vs. _not a profit_? ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-mom-pop-stores-visa-related/410832/198 "2007-07-11T16:51:14Z")
[QUOTE=BwanaBob] They appear to be ‘examining’ each transaction and deciding their business will collapse if each and every one of those transaction is not a positive one. You’re only a loser if all the transactions add up as a loss. Offering use of the plastic is supposed to attract more customers. If that’s not the case, the merchant shouldn’t bother offering the service, since they say they lose money on the smaller transactions. [/QUOTE] Well, your first bit is simply silly. Any decent shop owner is going to look at the whole picture. Maybe look up the concept of a “loss leader”, which every corner store is going to know about. Different businesses are going to get different benefits from accepting a card. An electronics store can probably expect larger or more impulsive purchases, but a local corner store not so much. However, with the way society is moving towards cashless, lots of consumers expect every store to accept cards. Minimum charges is how little stores try to split the difference. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-mom-pop-stores-visa-related/410832/199 "2007-07-11T16:54:50Z")
[QUOTE=Autumn Almanac] I don’t care what Visa thinks. I care about _my_ experience. I care that _my_ time is wasted when I try to make a purchase, and the merchant refuses to accept my legitimate payment. [/QUOTE] If the Visa merchant agreement specifically allowed a minimum required charge, would you still be angry with the merchant? Or, would you be upset at Visa for making their card less convenient? ---
**Author:** ![Small\_British\_Shop\_Owner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@Small\_British\_Shop\_Owner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_British_Shop_Owner)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-mom-pop-stores-visa-related/410832/200 "2007-07-11T16:58:59Z")
[QUOTE=Fear Itself] [Not in the USA:](http://www.treas.gov/education/faq/currency/legal-tender.shtml) [/QUOTE] It is the same situation in the UK. But once the customer has taken the car, what is there left to do but sue for the payment? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-mom-pop-stores-visa-related/410832.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-mom-pop-stores-visa-related/410832.md?page=11)