Debit card £20 minimum spend, at a pub.

RossHan · 12 May 2018 at 2:18PM

Hello, Last week I went for a very long walk in the hot sun to enjoy a nice cold pint of Cider at very nice pub. When I finally got there and ordered my pint, the barman told me that I needed to spend at least £20 to use my debit card. Holding back my disgruntled shock, I said "right, okay...where is the nearest cash point?" the reply was that there isn't any locally, a 20 minute walk away at the Tesco supermarket. Last resort was to get the £20 as cashback, He couldn't do that either. So I had to leave and walk home!. To be fair to the barman, he was cringing a little when explaining about there £20 min spend house rule.

Now, given that there is no cash point locally withing walking distance, or shop for that matter, I think this is blatant profiteering. Is there a trading body that I can complain too?

Thanks,

Ross.

greyteam1959 · 12 May 2018 at 3:48PM

The only thing that you can really do is what you did......vote with your feet.
I would have done the same & I bet loads of other people do the same thing.
Even though merchant cards fees are much lower now than they were 10 years ago they are still a cost & the profit margin on a pint of cider might hardly cover the card fee.
The silly thing is that if they had a £5 minimum spend you would probably have had a pint & a pie or something else.......but £20 no way.
Fools to themselves.

z1a · 12 May 2018 at 6:05PM

You say a cashpoint is a 20 minute walk away, then you say there isn't one within walking distance, which is it?

Owain_Moneysaver · 12 May 2018 at 8:28PM

After a long walk in the hot sun, a further 20 minute walk may be unwalkable without refreshment.

greyteam1959 · 13 May 2018 at 8:15AM

Be a bit of a nuisance if the cash point was out of order.

Owain_Moneysaver · 13 May 2018 at 1:14PM

It's at a Tesco supermarket. Even if the cashpoint is out of order payment by card is possible at the till, and they sell soft and alcoholic drinks.

kinger101 · 13 May 2018 at 4:29PM

It's sensible to carry a small amount of cash on you for this very reason. I feel naked if I don't have at least a tenner in my wallet.

gettingtheresometime · 13 May 2018 at 4:55PM

Not sure how it is profiteering.

Surely profiteering is where I sell you goods worth £3 but charge you £10 as an example.

DUTR · 13 May 2018 at 5:03PM

greyteam1959 wrote: »

The only thing that you can really do is what you did......vote with your feet.
I would have done the same & I bet loads of other people do the same thing.
Even though merchant cards fees are much lower now than they were 10 years ago they are still a cost & the profit margin on a pint of cider might hardly cover the card fee.
The silly thing is that if they had a £5 minimum spend you would probably have had a pint & a pie or something else.......but £20 no way.
Fools to themselves.

Whilst the vendor doesn't make a sale, then there is no profit to be had.

peachyprice · 13 May 2018 at 5:35PM

z1a wrote: »

You say a cashpoint is a 20 minute walk away, then you say there isn't one within walking distance, which is it?

Would you walk a 40 min journey just for a pint of cider?

RossHan · 13 May 2018 at 8:02PM

Thanks for the replies. I forgot how pedantic some people are on forums

I gave them a 1 star TripAdvisor along with loads of others for the same reason. A third of their reviews are terrible, probably the only thing to do.

Debit card £20 minimum spend, at a pub.

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