Businesses: do you allow CREDIT CARD payments?

[chopshop]

Looking to see form the other resto (mod) shops if you accept credit card payments?

My credit card company just told me they dont want to accept labor rate charges by credit card anymore because car owners could end up trying to charge back a large amount once they took a finished ride from the shop.(WTF?!)

Who do you use/recommend?:willy:

[tones2SS]

Looking to see form the other resto (mod) shops if you accept credit card payments?

My credit card company just told me they dont want to accept labor rate charges by credit card anymore because car owners could end up trying to charge back a large amount once they took a finished ride from the shop.(WTF?!)

Who do you use/recommend?:willy:

I know of another resto shop that doesn't take credit cards as well. (I personally asked and they said no.)
Never heard of this: My credit card company just told me they dont want to accept labor rate charges by credit card anymore because car owners could end up trying to charge back a large amount once they took a finished ride from the shop.(WTF?!)
That's strange!! lol:_paranoid

[redfire69]

Won't some type of acceptance of services doc signed with the CC receipt cover you? Just a thought...

[wedged]

that's a good idea on their part. That way you couldn't get hit with a chargeback on labor. If someone decides they don't like the labor cost/quality they can dispute the charge with their card holder. Then until the dispute is cleared up, you are out the money.


Thread highjack: In a totally different, non automotive business,
I had a customer dispute a charge AFTER i had refunded their cc account. It can 2-3 days for a credit to show up on someones account. They thought it was instant and got PO'd and disputed the charge. Until it got cleared up, I was out 2x the $. :mad: :willy: . The stupid part is that this person had signed a membership agreement with a 30 days notice cancellation policy. 3 months go by without seeing them as their monthy charge occurs and their in-house credit builds. Then they call all PO'd and demand refund, claim they never signed a contract, blah blah blah. So to be nice, we agree to refund them, even though we are not obligated. That's when they disputed the charges. At some point during this mess they call us back and say they will just come in and start their membership up again in about 1.5 months when they are back in town. We then told them, "sorry, but your money is no good here." :D moral of the story: Contrary to popular belief, the customer is not always right, and some need to be told that fact. No one has the right to mistreat me or my staff and continue to use our service.

[fesler]

We have been doing CC for many years with no problems yet knock on wood. I know people can be bad and this is the first step to the CC telling you what you can and cant do because they need to make sure that they are protected as well.

Just when you thougth you have seen everything, the CC have all the control and at the rate they are going I dont think many people will use them too much longer. They are charging way too many points for everything.

[tones2SS]

We have been doing CC for many years with no problems yet knock on wood. I know people can be bad and this is the first step to the CC telling you what you can and cant do because they need to make sure that they are protected as well.

Just when you thougth you have seen everything, the CC have all the control and at the rate they are going I dont think many people will use them too much longer. They are charging way too many points for everything.

Very good point Chris. Which in turn, may make things worse for the consumer and eventually, businesses. Hopefully not!!:mad:

[GregWeld]

Now here's an issue I've run into.

IF you pay your credit card bill IN FULL each month - you can NOT dispute a prior charge. Payment in full signifies that you are fully satisfied with all the transactions.

Not many people I know pay their bills in full - but I do... I'm lucky and have been retired for many many years now... and I'm not making 12 or 20% on my money - UNLESS I pay my bill in full... in that case I'm making that same amount of interest on my money - because I'm not paying it!

:>)

If a customer has to put their shop charges on a credit card - I'd quit working on their stuff...

My .02

[Flash68]

I prefer to work with a shop that accepts credit cards so I can get the points (although they are worth less these days). Just because someone prefers to use credit card does not mean they cannot pay in cash. You get points and the benefit of 30 days cash flow by using credit cards. It's called personal financial management... assuming you have the discipline to manage it appropriately.

[GregWeld]

Flash --

That's the universal big IF...

Most don't have the discipline...

Seems our banks don't have it either!! LOL

[GregWeld]

Flash --

I wouldn't want to impugn anyones personal preference - and we each have our own. I'm just thinking that if I was working on a guys car - and it was going to be 1000's of dollars - and sometimes that much in one month... and he starts laying out a Visa... I'm going to be real real suspicious of whether or not that can really afford what he's doing.

There are - of course - many reasons why people use credit cards. We use our Alaska Air Visa for lots of big purchases - for the miles we rack up... and all our on line stuff if I can't use PayPal.

But these charges cost the business a fee and I don't think those fees are built in to many shops labor charges. Maybe I'm wrong. But I could certainly see why a shop wouldn't accept it.

[Fluid Power]

Now here's an issue I've run into.

IF you pay your credit card bill IN FULL each month - you can NOT dispute a prior charge. Payment in full signifies that you are fully satisfied with all the transactions.

Not many people I know pay their bills in full - but I do... I'm lucky and have been retired for many many years now... and I'm not making 12 or 20% on my money - UNLESS I pay my bill in full... in that case I'm making that same amount of interest on my money - because I'm not paying it!

:>)

If a customer has to put their shop charges on a credit card - I'd quit working on their stuff...

My .02

With all due respect Greg, paying your bill in full has NO effect on your ability to dispute a prior charge. In most cases it just has to be done within 60 days. Maybe your cards are different. You can read more about your rights here: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre16.shtm

Darren

[GregWeld]

Darren --

You're no doubt correct. I only had this happen one time - and the time frame for disputing the purchase might have elapsed. I can't even think of what the dispute was now.. but I'll NEVER forget the Visa person telling me I can't dispute "whatever" because I'd paid my bill in full. I can't tell you how taken aback I was at that.

It's the same as when my buddy (owns a mortgage company) told me that people that make payments have a higher credit score than people that pay cash. Or even than people that charge but pay off the charge each month. That astounds me...

Anyway - it's all a good discussion! And as usual I usually learn something!

[Flash68]

Good points Greg. I guess if you are in a strong position to demand/only accept cash, then good for that business, but for one of my businesses I would lose sales if I did not accept credit cards/AMEX.

And there was a day when I definitely should NOT have been putting car mods on my credit card but I did it anyway cuz its a disease man! :lol:

And your point about higher FICO score because of carrying a balance is one I have been told is true and well documented. It's why I keep a small balance on my credit cards at all times to keep the ratios all in line that the credit reporting agencies use to determine your "creditworthiness"..

Good talk, Russ. :D

[GregWeld]

Well -- I'm the first one to tell anyone that will listen -- I'm one of those guys that's very very thankful for what has come my way quite by accident! I always say - "better lucky than smart!". I can tell you for certain... I'm luckier than smart!

My wife went to work for Microsoft in 1984 - and was senior management for 19 years.... I quit working at 40 and stayed home and raised our two kids. So I'm the guy they made the movie about - Mister Mom! LOL

I can also tell you that I have NOT forgotten when I didn't have a window or a bucket! Maybe that's why dressing up for me is blue jeans and a t-shirt with a hole in it. And I go down to my shed and do my own work... But I get to jump in my pool when I'm done on the hot days! EEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHAAAAAA

Credit is one of those things that baffles me. I pay cash and have enormous assets... and have a lower credit score than somebody making a grand a week and making payments. Go figure.

I have some european friends - and they just don't understand Americans use of credit. We've had many heated debates on the subject. As Americans - we've certainly witnessed what has happened because of the too liberal use of it - and what is happening to "us" when it dries up! But now I digress.

This has been a good topic....

[Blake Foster]

Try this.
try taking 40,000 in cash to the bank teller for a job and see what happens!!!!!:_paranoid

now that cash is not an acceptble method of payment and CC are no good what is the option????????
interact?? that has now become the only acceptable payment type. cuz you sure ain't gonna take a personal cheque are you.
we normally will have the customer get a certified bank draft. it is a PITA for the customer but thats too bad

[ironworks]

I do very few credit card transactions. I have found the guys who really can't afford to build a car try to use a credit cards. I have customers send me a check every 2 weeks for the work completed in that time frame. They send me a personal check and we start on another invoice. If at any point they are not satisfied they can pull the car or I can get rid of them. The additional expense of credit card charges for doing the transaction, is reason enough to me to not do a credit card transaction.

I understand some customers want the points or mileage for the large expense, but in the car building industry there is not the room in the hourly rate to lose another 2-3% on a regular basis. That margin could make the difference between a successful profit margin and not.

[tones2SS]

All very good and valid points guys!!
Very good topic.:thumbsup:

[Flash68]

Try this.
try taking 40,000 in cash to the bank teller for a job and see what happens!!!!!:_paranoid

now that cash is not an acceptble method of payment and CC are no good what is the option????????
interact?? that has now become the only acceptable payment type. cuz you sure ain't gonna take a personal cheque are you.
we normally will have the customer get a certified bank draft. it is a PITA for the customer but thats too bad

They would not accept your $40k in cash? I don't know why they would not take it. That's strange to me.

I probably would be very annoyed if my builder asked me to get a certified check every time I had to make a payment.

I do very few credit card transactions. I have found the guys who really can't afford to build a car try to use a credit cards. I have customers send me a check every 2 weeks for the work completed in that time frame. They send me a personal check and we start on another invoice. If at any point they are not satisfied they can pull the car or I can get rid of them. The additional expense of credit card charges for doing the transaction, is reason enough to me to not do a credit card transaction.

I understand some customers want the points or mileage for the large expense, but in the car building industry there is not the room in the hourly rate to lose another 2-3% on a regular basis. That margin could make the difference between a successful profit margin and not.

Like I said before, credit cards used wisely are a great tool and apparently you haven't run across any of these type of people. I don't think it's fair to assume they can't afford to pay cash just because they do not, unless of course you ask for their personal financial statements before entering into a build. I have paid my invoices to my builder all with CC's, but I could have paid cash. Did they know that? No, cuz they didn't ask and I didn't tell.

If you don't like the fees for CC merchant fees, tell customers you will add 2-3% to the invoice to take credit cards. That way they still get to decide if they want the points and the benefit of 30 days cash flow. And you don't lose out.

This is a good thread topic and very interesting. Thanks to you builders for chiming in with your opinions. :woot:

[Fluid Power]

Any cash deposit over 10k has to be accompanied by a form at the bank. It is the governments way to try and track money laundering.

Darren

[camcojb]

If you don't like the fees for CC merchant fees, tell customers you will add 2-3% to the invoice to take credit cards. That way they still get to decide if they want the points and the benefit of 30 days cash flow. And you don't lose out.


California doesn't allow you to charge extra to take a credit card, even though there are fees on your end for taking them. They do allow you to discount for cash though, so technically you'd have to add the 3% into all your bills and then deduct if the guy pays by cash or certified check.

[Vegas69]

I sent Frank at Prodigy 3 wire transfers for labor. I have used credit cards for every other purchase for safety purposes. There are so many people that have my credit card numbers it's staggering. I'm just not comfortable with my debit card number floating around. Like Flash, I want to get my points and pay it off every month.

[Flash68]

California doesn't allow you to charge extra to take a credit card, even though there are fees on your end for taking them. They do allow you to discount for cash though, so technically you'd have to add the 3% into all your bills and then deduct if the guy pays by cash or certified check.

Are you sure? We just tried to pay a new vendor for our restaurant with AMEX (cant remember the vendor) but they were going to add 3% to the bill if we did, otherwise check or cash. Maybe they are doing it like you said, quoting us the cash discount price and with AMEX/VISA/MC it's the regular full price. I need to verify that. thanks

EDIT: Jody, I just rememdered... it was the Calif State Board of Equalization. They accept debit only or charge you 3% for credit card!

[Fluid Power]

Are you sure? We just tried to pay a new vendor for our restaurant with AMEX (cant remember the vendor) but they were going to add 3% to the bill if we did, otherwise check or cash. Maybe they are doing it like you said, quoting us the cash discount price and with AMEX/VISA/MC it's the regular full price. I need to verify that. thanks

EDIT: Jody, I just rememdered... it was the Calif State Board of Equalization. They accept debit only or charge you 3% for credit card!

I have seen that in Ohio, Hell we do it when we are working a super thin margin. We don't line item it out as much as increase the price. Making the customer aware that by paying with a credit card we had 3%. Same difference I suppose.

Darren

[Flash68]

I have seen that in Ohio, Hell we do it when we are working a super thin margin. We don't line item it out as much as increase the price. Making the customer aware that by paying with a credit card we had 3%. Same difference I suppose.

Darren

Yeah it makes sense. I don't mind them giving that option... hell, at least it gives the customer another option and the vendor doesn't eat the merchant fees.

[camcojb]

Are you sure? We just tried to pay a new vendor for our restaurant with AMEX (cant remember the vendor) but they were going to add 3% to the bill if we did, otherwise check or cash. Maybe they are doing it like you said, quoting us the cash discount price and with AMEX/VISA/MC it's the regular full price. I need to verify that. thanks

EDIT: Jody, I just rememdered... it was the Calif State Board of Equalization. They accept debit only or charge you 3% for credit card!
yeah, the state can do a lot of things we can't. It may have changed by now, but the scenario I gave was law back when I had my speed shop. I think that's why you see the signs for cash price on gasoline that's less than the price at the pump.

Jody