Minimum Spend for Laser Transactions

MysticalSoul

I was in a shop recently, and they had no sign indicating a minimum transaction amount for laser/credit card transactions. Firstly, I had to queue, and it turned out I was 5 cents short of the minimum. I have no problem with the minimum spend, but do have a problem that there was no sign indicating this. I am wondering that if there is no sign if this can be challenged in future?

seamus

No, they're not obliged to have signage up telling you what they do and do not accept. If you're not providing legal tender as payment, then they can effectively apply whatever conditions they like.

MysticalSoul

Ok, thanks for that. I did tell them a sign would be best, as I not only wasted my time, but theirs as well, and had been in the queue for some time too.

Trampas

I seen places usually say €10 min charge.

how much were you trying to spend

MysticalSoul

They said their minimum was €8, I was just 5 cents short. In the same shops other store I have often spent less than that on laser with no problems - usually the €5 mark.

Cabaal

I've seen shops with 5e min spend

ScouseMouse

My shop is a tenner.

Just this morning, a lady tried to buy a litre of milk with a card......

Miaireland

Most of the shops around here have a limit of €10 but to be fair there is always a sign, normally on the door or window as well.

ElNino

There is a fixed transaction cost of around 22c per laser transaction so it is not unreasonable to have a minimum spend amount.

yoyo

My local centra has used the "sorry the laser machine is broken" excuse a few times when I've tried buying a few cans, of course the person in front of me who has a transaction value of 10+ the laser machine works fine :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:, don't mind so much as there is a atm in the shop, but still, very annoying, also why can't shops admit the reason they don't want laser transactions <10 :rolleyes::pac:

Nick

MysticalSoul

ElNino wrote: »

There is a fixed transaction cost of around 22c per laser transaction so it is not unreasonable to have a minimum spend amount.

As already said I don't mind if there is such a stipulation, but would be best if they had a sign indicating this, rather than waiting in the queue for 10 mins as was the case in this instance, and is also a new stipulation, as have often bought things for circa €5 on laser in the same store, and in their other store in town too.

compsys

superscouse wrote: »

My shop is a tenner.

Just this morning, a lady tried to buy a litre of milk with a card......

And? What's your point? In most technically-advanced, Western economies there often isn't ANY minimum spend required on debit-type cards. It's just in Ireland, with our backward banking system and our over reliance on cash (the Irish use cash for making purchases more than almost any other European country) that shops demanded you spend a minimum. Personally, I'd love to see the day where we have an almost cashless economy and you can just whip out your card and pay for anything, no matter how big or small, with the simple swipe of your card. In Japan, for example, they're even able to pay for things with their mobile phones by simply swiping it at the till. Needless to say their economy is far more advanced than ours.

And before people point out the payment charges faced by shops for using Laser they should remember that it costs the shops just as much money to deal with cash on their premises, due to increased security and storage costs etc.

Incidentally, I've been in shops (Tesco, Nando's, H&M, and Topman even) where they've accepted a charge under €5 on my card. It seems to be mainly convenience stores that demand a minimum, but sure these stores are rip offs anyway.

Welease

compsys wrote: »

And? What's your point? In most technically-advanced, Western economies there often isn't ANY minimum spend required on debit-type cards. It's just in Ireland, with our backward banking system and our over reliance on cash (the Irish use cash for making purchases more than almost any other European country) that shops demanded you spend a minimum.

I lived in the UK for over 20 years.. and most shops i used there have a minimum spend on debit-cards.

MysticalSoul

compsys wrote: »

Incidentally, I've been in shops (Tesco, Nando's, H&M, and Topman even) where they've accepted a charge under €5 on my card. It seems to be mainly convenience stores that demand a minimum, but sure these stores are rip offs anyway.

It was not a convenience store - was in Lush where their overall sales would more than makeup for the what it would have cost for the transaction, and in my case, seeing as I was only five cents short, and secondly no sign, I would have thought there would have no problem, especially as I had used my laster two weeks previously for a lesser amount, so if a change in policy there really should be some indication before joining the queue, as their staff time was also wasted, which would have cost more than the cost of the transaction.

Personally thinking I think this is just a ploy to try and get more revenue, whether in this store or another.

Corruptedmorals

I don't see how you wasted their time, it's not as if they sat around doing nothing before you reached the top, they were taking other sales surely? Anyway, I can see why they implement this but yeah should have been a sign. Though in my (department) store there is no charge people whip out the laser for a pocket size vaseline, taking ages to find the card blah blah forgetting pin and then demanding cashback..it can get annoying for such tiny purchases.

watna

In NZ, you can use you're eftpos card to pay for anything. I've used for a transaction that was $1.50. Laser needs to catch up. You can't always be expected to carry cash around with you.

Soundman

Any time I've seen a sign stating you have to spend a certain minimum to use your Laser card it was only if you wanted to get cash back. If you didn't require cash back you could use the card for any amount.

Tim M-U

I noticed it happens in Topaz too. I also noticed in ennis they charge an extra 30c for phone credit.

The laser card website: http://www.lasercard.ie
Fequently Asked Questions: http://lasercard.ie/faq.asp?id=107

compsys

Welease wrote: »

I lived in the UK for over 20 years.. and most shops i used there have a minimum spend on debit-cards.

Well then the UK needs to catch up too.

In America I often whipped out my card for the tiniest of purchases and did the same in Oz and New Zealand.

As has already been mentioned, people shouldn't be expected to carry around cash with them all the time.

Sitric

Perfectly normal to use card instead of cash in Norway and Sweden too, I thought they were completely mad first time I saw someone paying for a pint with a card. Obviously they though my reaction equally strange! No minimum in either country. Cashless economy saves the banks a fortune, no good reason for charges at all.

Shelflife

ive no min purchase but its a pain when they buy a paper and milk and then come back and get bread a min later and do another transaction for that.

laser transactions are slower then cash and its a pain when people use it for small transactions.

ejmaztec

I dealt with a guy who decided to have a go at being a newsagent/confectioner. He had Laser transactions for as little as 75c, meaning that he wasn't even making enough to pay for the cost of most of the feckin stuff, and not making a profit of any of these piddling transactions.

He didn't want to upset his customers, apparently, so I told him that it was a great shame that his customers didn't have the same attitude towards him, and actually spend more in his shop.

Needless to say, within 18 months he was gone.:rolleyes:

compsys

ejmaztec wrote: »

I dealt with a guy who decided to have a go at being a newsagent/confectioner. He had Laser transactions for as little as 75c, meaning that he wasn't even making enough to pay for the cost of most of the feckin stuff, and not making a profit of any of these piddling transactions.

He didn't want to upset his customers, apparently, so I told him that it was a great shame that his customers didn't have the same attitude towards him, and actually spend more in his shop.

Needless to say, within 18 months he was gone.:rolleyes:

Eh, obviously an isolated incident. I sincerely doubt that EVERY single customer who came into his shop bought something with their card for as little as 75 cent and that this was the SOLE reason that his shop went out of business. On the whole, cashless transactions are good for the economy and good for business. TBH, this is probably just another reason for rip-off republic as customers feel obliged to pile extra purchases onto their cards just to make up the min. transaction. I know I've had to do it when I've been caught in a shop with no cash and not an ATM in sight.

silverharp

I used to work for a compay that was involved in the ATM business and it appears to be an expesive operation when you take all the security and crime in to account. Is there any discussions on this from the banks point of view, would it not be in there interest to make everrything as electonic as possible so that you can buy your ltr of milk on a card?

VERYinterested

superscouse wrote: »

My shop is a tenner.

Just this morning, a lady tried to buy a litre of milk with a card......

Then there is the dilemma, you've no cash, you've been made feel small trying to buy something previously, so next time you go to the cash machine, mostly they only give out €50 notes, you present the €50 for a litre of milk, cue post on internet forum, "this morning a lady tried to buy a litre of milk with a €50 note". I know customers buying and paying for things can be a fierce inconvenience and a pain in the ass for some counter staff but sometimes Laser is a handier option for small purchases rather than being scowled at for handing over a fifty. Which option is preferred so we'll know how you like us to pay for things?

Rabies

watna wrote: »

In NZ, you can use you're eftpos card to pay for anything. I've used for a transaction that was $1.50. Laser needs to catch up. You can't always be expected to carry cash around with you.

Same. Sometimes I have no money in my pocket and ATMs are not as common as back back. But you can do cash out in nearly every shop.

MysticalSoul

Tim M-U wrote: »

I noticed it happens in Topaz too. I also noticed in ennis they charge an extra 30c for phone credit.

The laser card website: http://www.lasercard.ie
Fequently Asked Questions: http://lasercard.ie/faq.asp?id=107

Interesting it says on the Laser site that there is no minimum transaction needed, yet shops still do this. Is it against the terms and conditions of the retailer in this case then?

Tim M-U

Proberly they meen above posters: they wont charge you for laser card prosessing if you spend 8 or 9 euro. and you know what theyl charge you, 10 bux!

Corruptedmorals

VERYinterested wrote: »

Then there is the dilemma, you've no cash, you've been made feel small trying to buy something previously, so next time you go to the cash machine, mostly they only give out €50 notes, you present the €50 for a litre of milk, cue post on internet forum, "this morning a lady tried to buy a litre of milk with a €50 note". I know customers buying and paying for things can be a fierce inconvenience and a pain in the ass for some counter staff but sometimes Laser is a handier option for small purchases rather than being scowled at for handing over a fifty. Which option is preferred so we'll know how you like us to pay for things?

Using 50's for tiny purchases is so common it's accepted. They're only annoying if you haven't been on till long enough to cope with them, or if you were able to cope but everyone's paying with them so your float is wiped out. In general nobody cares. I've been handed €500's for transactions under €35 a few times, never by anyone understanding enough to appreciate that I cannot immediately furnish them with their retarded amount of change. In the UK I hear it's a much bigger deal, loads of places won't accept £50 (of course the €50 is less, but €100's are accepted almost everywhere here..)

CyrildoSquirrel

laser card was introduced to reduce the pain of your wallet been stolen,lost or even if you were mugged,so not every penny you have is gone..its much easier to cancel a card than try to find someone who has stole/found your wallet.

so therefore what the shops are doing is illegal.i never pay it at all i tell them they are wrong and ask them do they want my money or am i gonna have to give it to the next shop and 9 times out of 10 they back down.

sure most of their goods are usually at least 10% overpriced so they are creaming off us anyhow

wmpdd3

Easy answer add the 22c onto every purchase, problem solved.

timmywex

No minimum spend where i work, ive put threw transactions for litres of milk and the likes! I always find it funny when they put 1.35 on a card even though they clearly have it in change in their other hand :P

Oh and ive had people buying just a soup roll with a 50 note (Soup roll being 20c now!:D)


Tbh, we've customer accounts for well known locals or whatever. All we need to do is swipe them and get a signiture, its the way to go, a similar system i mean where its fast and handy, the problem with laser is it can take a minute to go through all the motions and cash back is a headache if not put on our system right :P