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From: ark@alice.UUCP (Andrew Koenig)
Newsgroups: net.consumers
Subject: Re: Amex card fees
Message-ID: <3967@alice.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 10-Jul-85 11:12:30 EDT
Article-I.D.: alice.3967
Posted: Wed Jul 10 11:12:30 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 12-Jul-85 00:23:48 EDT
References: <1605@orca.UUCP>
Organization: Bell Labs, Murray Hill
Lines: 21

> American Express charges 4%.  The difference between 3% and 4% isn't
> enough for a merchant to get bothered about, especially since you're
> less likely to have an AmEx charge go bad than a Visa/Mastercard
> charge.  AmEx REQUIRES that you get the customer's signature, hence no
> AmEx telephone orders.  Visa/Mastercard don't require this, but, if you
> don't have the signature, they can refuse to pay the charge (by
> debiting your bank account) without justification, and the merchant has
> no recourse.  Also, if the charge is more than $50, the consumer can
> challenge the charge even if the merchant got a signature.

I know of several merchants that will take American Express phone orders.

A number of years ago, when I still had an American Express card,
I rented a car for a long trip.  By way of a deposit, the rental
company ran my AmEx card through their imprinter.  I told them
I wasn't going to sign a blank charge ticket.  They said that was
OK; I didn't have to sign it to be obligated to pay it.

They were right.  After the trip was over, and I had paid for everything,
that blank, unsigned charge ticket turned into an extra charge of
$99.10 out of the blue.  It took me months to get it straightened out.