Credit Cards

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larryl

Senior Member
Location
wrentham ma.
Spel Chek

Spel Chek

hardworkingstiff said:
I miss it too, but I purchased a laptop for when I'm out of town (like now) and low and behold, it has spell check on the tool bar of my IE browser. WOW that is cooooollll.

is da spel chec reely gone,,i reely nede it,i dont wunt to lok like a idiot,,
 

petersonra

Senior Member
Location
Northern illinois
Occupation
engineer
77401 said:
Yea!! My armored truck problems LOL
I agree with the banking time/cashier time .. I had to close out my account @ Bank of America as there drive up teller time was taking 5-10 minutes a day. I found a small new bank just starting out that everyone knows me, no lines,and save me 20 minutes a week now.

But I can honestly say I might loose one call a year by not taking credit cards. People who can't afford cash or checks always ask first if you take credit cards.

I write very few checks anymore, except as the treasurer of a club I belong to.

Virtually all my purchases go on either an Amex card or a debit card. I have not used an actual credit card in years.

The debit card is connected directly to my bank account, and my wife pays the Amex bill each month online.

My mortgage and all my utility bills are paid automatically, except my water bill. Local water district is way behind the times. We send them a $50 check a couple times a year so most of the time I have a credit balance there.

It is a big time savings not to have to write out checks. The cost of having to buy postage and checks themselves is a savings as well.
 

speedystevie

Senior Member
Location
Long Island, NY
Quick Books

Quick Books

We use the merchant services in Quick Books. You don't have to swipe or have a signature. Started using it about 3 months ago and glad we did. Takes about 48hrs for the funds to hit the bank.
 

don_resqcapt19

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Illinois
Occupation
retired electrician
Bob,
Be careful with debit cards. Many of the protections that are available to credit card users are not in place for the use of debit cards.
Don
 

goldstar

Senior Member
Location
New Jersey
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
Sorry I'm jumping in on this thread so late. Many credit card companies today are offering "frequent flier miles" for using their credit cards and it's based on the $$ amount charged and not # of transactions. That's why you get customers charging big ticket items on their cards. A plumber friend of mine began accepting them for emergency type jobs (like hot water heaters) figuring that if he had to pay 2% to the CC companies for jobs under $1K, that would be an acceptable expense. However, he ended up with a customer that used his CC to charge over $20K for rough-in plumbing work. $400.00 is a hefty hit to take.

BTW, those of you who are adding the 2% to fees you would normally charge, don't forget to divide the $ amount you actually want by 0.98 instead of multiplying by 1.02 so the math will work out correctly when the CC companies take their 2%
 

LarryFine

Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
Location
Henrico County, VA
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
goldstar said:
. . . if he had to pay 2% to the CC companies for jobs under $1K, that would be an acceptable expense. However, he ended up with a customer that used his CC to charge over $20K for rough-in plumbing work. $400.00 is a hefty hit to take.
Oh, I dunno. I'd rather take a $400 hit to get a $20K job than a $20 hit for a $1K job. Maybe I'm just weird that way, but one $20K job probably has less overall overhead costs than twenty $1K jobs.
 

iwire

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Massachusetts
don_resqcapt19 said:
Bob,
Be careful with debit cards. Many of the protections that are available to credit card users are not in place for the use of debit cards.
Don

Definitely a problem in the past however I believe that has been changing recently.

To many people getting burned by fraudulent charges to debit cards.
 

iwire

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Massachusetts
I did some hunting and found that debit card liability is now capped at $50 if you notify within 2 business days or $500 if you do not notify within two days.

You can find the info here

? 205.6
 

don_resqcapt19

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Illinois
Occupation
retired electrician
Bob,
The credit card fraud limit is capped at $50. It would be rare that you knew of the debit card fraud within the 2 day limit, so in reality, the debit card limit fraud loss is 10 times that of a credit card. There are a number of other problems such as a the "hold" placed on your debit card by some gas stations, hotels and rental card companies. These "holds" can result in overdraft charges. The credit card fraud limit is capped at $50. If you don't report the debit card fraud until after 60 days you may be liable for the complete amount of the fraud.
If you pay your credit card bill in full each month, I see no reason to use a debit card.
Don
 

iwire

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Massachusetts
don_resqcapt19 said:
Bob,
If you pay your credit card bill in full each month, I see no reason to use a debit card.
Don

To each their own....my wife and I use our debit card almost exclusively, we carry very little cash. :)

I like the fact there is no bill at the end of the month.

BTW the reporting time limit is based on when you lost the card not when (or if) fraudulent charges appear.
 

don_resqcapt19

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Illinois
Occupation
retired electrician
Bob,
We have just switched from cash and checks to credit cards. Ones that give 5% back for gas, grocery store and drug store purchases and 2% on all other purchases.
Don
 
credit cards

credit cards

I had a few call regarding credit cards. I finally gave in, and bought the stupid old fashioned machine (swipe card accross paper receipt kind), used it 2 months with customers. THEN guess what? yep! people quit using cards and started paying by cash or check. go figure?
 

LarryFine

Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
Location
Henrico County, VA
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
don_resqcapt19 said:
There are a number of other problems such as a the "hold" placed on your debit card by some gas stations, hotels and rental card companies. These "holds" can result in overdraft charges.
Yes, they sure can! I had that out with our old bank, and got our charges reversed, then we changed banks to one that doesn't deduct charges until they actually post. To me, if the bank is not going to credit a deposit until it actually clears, they shouldn't deduct a purchase until it clears (or "posts" to) your account.

The old bank's response is that it's not fair that we get to leave the store with our merchandise and the money stay in the account for 2 or 3 more days. I countered with saying that, if the bank doesn't have to give up the money until the charge posts, then what happens before that is between us and the store.

Besides, when you use a card to secure a car rental, but actually pay with cash, they still deduct the charges from your account, and don't credit it back in until the end of the month, when the charge does not appear in that month's business. In my opinion, it's not fair to charge us overdraw fees if the money is never deducted.
 

JohnE

Senior Member
Location
Milford, MA
I'm wondering if anyone pays their supply bill with a credit card. American Express has some good rewards programs if you sign up for them. They called me and suggested I use them. The only problem is that if I use it, I'd lose my 2% discount. I need to review the reward program and see what's better.
 

JohnE

Senior Member
Location
Milford, MA
Just enrolled in the amex rewards program. Checked with my supplier with whom I do the most business and can pay w/ amex and still take my 2%. Good deal.
 

willybud

Member
Location
mass
Hi John,
We also use American express to pay our suppliers. In the past 3 months we have gained over 50,000 points. What A Country!
We also accept credit cards which is about 60% of our business.
 

JohnE

Senior Member
Location
Milford, MA
Willybud,

What do you cash in for rewards? I took a quick look and there is some nice golf equipment. Home Depot cards seem like a good idea, too. Really makes me wish I signed up sooner.

John
 

ox110

Member
Pierre: The USA is far more tech advanced than Japan or any other country
so you should not make such silly statements. They are great at copying
but not at designing. When was the last time you flew in a commerical
jetliner built in Japan. I am very sorry that you do not see our great country for the leader that we are.
 
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