Minimum spend on debit card & non bank cash machine charges.

spike7451

Yesterday,I got up & found I was out of bog roll,so I got dressed & jumped into the car & drove thru to Millisle,as the spar there was open whereas the shops in my town wasn't at that time,apart from the garage that is mega expensive.

On getting there I found I hadn't lifted any change & only had my debit card with me,so after getting bog roll & a couple other things,came to around £3.70 all in,the dour faced salesgirl mumbled "minimum five pound spend" & pointed to the cash machine when I asked if the was a cash machine nearby.

When I saw it was a charge of £1.75 to withdraw money,I voted with my feet & apologized to the girl,saying I was !!!!!!ed if I was going to pay a charge of £1.75 to get a tenner out,yes I could have bought items to reach the fiver mark but the wasn't anything else I needed as I'd shopped the day before.

And before anyone asks why I didn't lift money from the cash machines in the town where I live,simple.They were out of service.

mattyprice4004

It costs a set amount per transaction plus a % of the total to process a debit/credit card, hence why they have a minimum spend.

Perfectly reasonable, they shouldn't be out of pocket because people want to buy a Flump on their debit card.

spike7451

mattyprice4004 wrote: »

It costs a set amount per transaction plus a % of the total to process a debit/credit card, hence why they have a minimum spend.

Perfectly reasonable, they shouldn't be out of pocket because people want to buy a Flump on their debit card.

Maybe so,but I've used my debit card in other shops,like my butchers,the chemist ect not to mention the small CoOp & larger retailers to buy things at a value of less than £5 without any bother before,although I wouldn't use it to buy a newspaper & a coffee that'd come to about a quid,as a woman in front of me did not so long ago at the garage...

donnac2558

Most small shops will have a notice up saying min spend £5, most now say £10. They have to pay a fee for transactions.

I refuse to use the ATMs which charge, should I have to walk 5 miles to one that doesn't, I will!:mad:

powerful_Rogue

Had to pop into local chemist the other day as Tesco Pharmacy and Boots were our of stock of the medicine I needed.

Prescription was £7.65, went to pay by card when salesperson pointed out the sign - No debit cards for purchases under £8.00.

Speaking to ther people, they always seem to pop the minimum spend up whenever prescription charges go up.

Cheeky sods, Out of principle I asked for my prescription back and took it to another chemist.

Azari

powerful_Rogue wrote: »

Had to pop into local chemist the other day as Tesco Pharmacy and Boots were our of stock of the medicine I needed.

Prescription was £7.65, went to pay by card when salesperson pointed out the sign - No debit cards for purchases under £8.00.

Speaking to ther people, they always seem to pop the minimum spend up whenever prescription charges go up.

Cheeky sods, Out of principle I asked for my prescription back and took it to another chemist.

Good for you!

I don't object to their setting a minimum spend but to deliberately always set it so that it just exceeds the prescription charge is nasty.

fluffnutter

powerful_Rogue wrote: »

Had to pop into local chemist the other day as Tesco Pharmacy and Boots were our of stock of the medicine I needed.

Prescription was £7.65, went to pay by card when salesperson pointed out the sign - No debit cards for purchases under £8.00.

Speaking to ther people, they always seem to pop the minimum spend up whenever prescription charges go up.

Cheeky sods, Out of principle I asked for my prescription back and took it to another chemist.

Blatant opportunism. You were right to go elsewhere.

fluffnutter

spike7451 wrote: »

Yesterday,I got up & found I was out of bog roll,so I got dressed & jumped into the car & drove thru to Millisle,as the spar there was open whereas the shops in my town wasn't at that time,apart from the garage that is mega expensive.

On getting there I found I hadn't lifted any change & only had my debit card with me,so after getting bog roll & a couple other things,came to around £3.70 all in,the dour faced salesgirl mumbled "minimum five pound spend" & pointed to the cash machine when I asked if the was a cash machine nearby.

When I saw it was a charge of £1.75 to withdraw money,I voted with my feet & apologized to the girl,saying I was !!!!!!ed if I was going to pay a charge of £1.75 to get a tenner out,yes I could have bought items to reach the fiver mark but the wasn't anything else I needed as I'd shopped the day before.

And before anyone asks why I didn't lift money from the cash machines in the town where I live,simple.They were out of service.

In this situation, I'd have bought another pack of loo roll.

Azari

fluffnutter wrote: »

In this situation, I'd have bought another pack of loo roll.

That's what I thought but I was so horrified at the idea of undertaking a round trip in a car for a TR I was unable to type.

People need to get themselves more organised.

How can you not manage to keep a stock of TR?

And it's always a good idea to keep a few £ in reserve just in case your first visit to a cash machine does not yield the results you might have hoped for.

fluffnutter

My friend was forever running out of loo roll. One memorable time I had to use the previous day's newspaper. Whilst on the loo, I flicked through said paper looking for a suitable page and finally settled on a big close-up of Esther Rantzen's face.

Take_it_like_a_man,_sonny

Minds me of holiday in Cornwall, in a pub. Nice food, but everyone seemed to grumble when they paid, they could not take a card, but had a cash machine that the payout maximum was £30, and charged £2.50. Loads of people paid this way. Our meal came to £35. I went to pay, and was told that they took cheque or cash. I said I was not told this when I came in, and pointed to a sign behind the bar. Being short sighted I said I could not read it.

He got slightly adverse, so I sat down. Two others sitting nearby were stooped when they were asked to be fleeced as well, I said do not pay them in cash, if we all do so, he will have to.

After a while he got ruffled, and called the police. When the local plod arrived, he sniffed out the mess, and advised us all to finish our drinks and leave.

We left. We went pass the place on a recent trip to find the lace boarded up.