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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2013 - 2014
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | February 11, 2013 04:06 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Anthony M. DeLuca |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Prohibiting credit card surcharges from being passed on to consumers. |
| In the near future, I will be introducing legislation that amends the Unfair Trade Practices Act by adding the “imposition of a credit card surcharge on customers” to the list of unfair trade practice. As many of you may be aware, Visa and MasterCard recently settled a lawsuit in Federal District Court. One of the provisions of the settlement agreement will now allow retailers to impose a surcharge on consumers who wish to use a credit card in lieu of cash. This practice was previously prohibited by MasterCard’s and Visa’s retailer agreements. While retailers are now able to pass these surcharges on to consumers, I do not believe card holders should be forced to pay these unreasonable fees. To date ten states including New York, California and Texas have enacted laws prohibiting these surcharges. My legislation would make Pennsylvania the 11th. The language contained in my bill is similar to California’s statute. Specifically, it prohibits retailers from imposing a surcharge on their credit card customers, and provides that any retailer who does so will be subject to the penalties contained in the Unfair Trade Practices Act. However, retailers would still be permitted to offer discounts to cash customers. Please join me in co-sponsoring this important legislation to protect Pennsylvania’s credit card holders. |