BloggingThat

And they said it couldn’t be done.

I don’t know why I do this before I fly or SCUBA dive. I freak myself out a little.

Godaddy moved my server, while I was moving RSS. Ouch! A heads up would be nice.

Have you ever tuned on the water hose full-blast and just stuck it in to the ground, the water blasting the dirt and sand in every direction, welcoming the hose to enter the underdirt? <Begin Mischievous Echo> Never to be recovered.</End Mischievous Echo> When I was young, I did this a lot and it was exciting to think that I could water China. While I’m still not convinced it can not be done, I do appreciate the cost of a garden hose. Because, I know, you can never get it back. My kids were adamant about pulling the hose from the ground. First, they asked me to pull it out of the ground. I did give it a tug and at the same time noticed the water was still on. “What a stretchy hose”, I thought. Then, my wife chimed in, “I need that hose.” “Well, honey, then you shouldn’t have let the children bury it, it’s gone now.”, I replied. “They didn’t do it, I did.”, she remarked. Pause [Wild laughter ensues] I wonder if the children, or wives, in China are trying to “hose” to the United States. I’ll be waiting, I could use a new nozzle.

1. Drink alcohol
2. Sleep
3. Change your pants
4. Confess to wife or girlfriend
5. Eat tacos
6. Text message
7. Juggle
8. Sneeze
9. Ahem, you know*
10. Pick buggers**

*This is a PG rated blog, please.

**Unless windows are tinted by a minimum of 85%

Have you ever walked in to a convenience store to buy a drink, gum or other low cost item and use a credit card to pay for it? Have you ever been fed a ration of crap regarding a minimum purchase? A sob story of how expensive it is to process, blah, blah, blah. If you are saying my money is no good here, then i’ll take my business elsewhere. No, not only for gum…gas too. Why?, because it’s wrong.

Many stores display signs of their required minimum purchase, others charge an extra fee to process payment. According to an article from msnbc stores cannot set credit card minimum. “Merchants accepting Visa or MasterCard credit or debit cards are not allowed to set a minimum amount for using the card; that is a violation of the merchant agreement.”

Here it is from the faq straight from Visa. ”

Can merchants set a minimum purchase or charge a fee for using my Visa card?
Visa has certain regulations that all merchants that accept Visa cards must follow. One of those rules is that Visa merchants are not permitted to establish minimum transaction amounts, even on sale items.

If you run into a problem like this with a merchant, please notify your Visa card-issuing bank. Visa member banks have access to the appropriate Visa rules and regulations as well as to the Notification of Customer Complaint forms which should be used by the bank to document and file merchant complaints.”

Still not convinced? Let look at the MasterCard policy. Can a merchant charge me a fee to use my MasterCard card? Can a merchant require a minimum purchase amount to use my MasterCard card? The answer to the first question is almost never; the answer to the second question is not ever.

I think I have made my case here. So, start a fist fight! No, just kidding, perhaps this is a more humane way to deal with this injustice. My personal choice is to mention it and let them know you won’t be back. The workers don’t care, but the owners will. Or, if you’d rather complain with less hoorah, write to Visa at askvisacorporate@visa.com. MasterCard complaints will be accepted at 1-800-300-3069.

[Photo CC by Brett L.]