New Yorkers Riled Over Restaurants Charging More for CC Transactions

New York City restaurants won the right in court in January to charge more for credit card transactions – and New Yorkers are pissed.

The verdict in a court case said that the extra charges may be applied as long as they are clearly stated.

It appears that some restaurant operators may be taking advantage. Or as the New York Post put it in a recent article, “Instead, some businesses are slipping in sneaky fees or trumpeting non-existent cash “discounts.”

“Pay by Cash and Save!” read one notice at AlMar, an Italian restaurant in Dumbo. But the cash tab for the portobello mushroom panini was $14.50 — exactly the price on the menu — with no discount. Paying with a credit card added 4 percent to the price,” the Post reported.

A more blunt appraisal was offered by dailyvoice.com, with a story headlined “’Sneaky’ Surcharges Reported After Court Gives NY Merchants Right To Charge For Credit Card Use.”

“Merchants called for the surcharges, saying they pay a processing fee of around two percent for each credit card transaction, with the maximum surcharge being four percent,” the web site points out. “Some businesses are slipping in sneaky fees or promoting non-existent pay by cash and save “discounts,” according to this report by the New York Post. The court battle over the fees ended when a New York State appellate court ruled that merchants have the right to levy the charges.”

Another news site, WHEC.com, asked the same question in its headline: “Are you being overcharged illegally?”

“When News10NBC last tackled this issue more than a year ago, charging you extra for using a credit card was technically against state law. But, things have changed,” its investigative piece says. “Now you can do it, just as long as you tell people,” said Attorney David Sieling with Brenna Boyce P.L.L.C.”

The clarification, WHEC.com notes, “comes from a recent Court of Appeals’ ruling which came down at the beginning of the year. According to the majority ruling, surcharges are allowed as long as a business tell people exactly what they’ll be paying. “The court ruled you can do it but must list both your cash price and your credit price in dollars and cents conspicuously,” Sieling said. Gas stations already do this. They give you a cash price and a credit card price. It’s clear some other businesses aren’t following the court’s interpretation of the law.

Howland said she only found out about her fee from a recent visit to a store after she got the receipt. That is called single sticker pricing.”