kbecker22

The B&B we're staying at in Rome advertised on its website that it accepted credit/debit card payments and now today, a day before we have to check out and pay, we saw a sign behind the counter that their card machine is broken and they now only accept cash. We didn't get an email warning or a warning when we checked in. (We also heard a couple arguing with the receptionist about this this morning but didn't hear the final outcome). The amount is 420 euros and being students, we don't have that much in cash on us -- as we expected to be able to pay with a card.

What is the acceptable thing to do in this situation?

bardo1

Call your bank and tell them you'll need to make a 420E cash withdrawal with your credit card and/or debit card. Then go to an ATM and do so.

janisj

go to an ATM and get cash (if the "machine is broken" story is true -- they should still be process a manual credit slip, so my <i>guess</i> is they simply no longer want to accept cc's)

DonTopaz

Tell them you'll pay by credit card, or not at all. If they object, suggest that they call the tourist police.

If their machine is in fact "broken," they absolutely can still call in the credit card number.

My guess, and I am 99.9% certain of this, is that they don't like to pay the 1.5-3% to the bank for accepting credit cards.

Don

greg

hmm... seems we need a glossary of Hotel/B&B terms...

cc machine problem: We don't want to pay fees to the banks.
plumbing problem: We found someone else to occupy your room willing to pay more. We have a friend of our family/business associates coming that we must accommodate.
must charge U.S. CC in dollars: I want to hit you with DCC fees.

PalenQ

Call your parents or someone back home and tell them to put money in your checking account and if you have your ATM card with you then go to one of zillions of ATMs and take out usually up to about $250 a day. If you have to use your credit card for cash advance watch out for predatory fees. this is assuming your checking accounts currently do not have enough in them that you need.

kayd

You might mention calling the Guardia di Finanza at 117 (911-like phone number for the financial police) to inquire about your rights in the situation. Not that they would be likely to help you directly, but the mere mention might induce the innkeeper to process your card manually rather than risk a visit from the tax police .

Ryan

The back of your credit card should have a toll-free number to call if outside the US or Canada.

Call your credit card customer service. Get them to verify if a merchant can accept your card without a card reader. If so, ask if the merchant can call-in the charge to the merchant service area on a toll-free line. Get that phone number and be firm with the owner that the card issuer accepts non-electronic charges. As others suggested, make sure you know the local nuimber for the tourist police if they still take no for an answer.

bobthenavigator

Call their bluff---that is an old trick to avoid CC charges.

DonTopaz

It actually has nothing whatsoever to do with the bank that issues the credit card. The hotel has to have something called a merchant account to take the card, and that merchant account would almost surely not be with the bank that issued the OP's card.

Ryan

Visa or Mastercard are processors that are between the bank issuing the card and the merchants that agree to accept card issued under the Visa or MC banner.

The card issuer has to accept the extension of credit, understanding if the card issuer will in this case does matter. Card issuers will no doubt have a number for merchants to contact.

It's a toll free call, why not call the card issuer?

Ryan

http://www.mastercard.com/us/merchan...ce/faqs.html#9

Note what Mastercard tells a merchant to do if they can't swipe the card.

What is the procedure when a card is presented but cannot be swiped?
The merchant should manually enter the card in the POS device as well as take an imprint of the card and have the cardholder sign the imprinted copy.

PalenQ

Ryan - we are talking about a business in Italy not the U.s. - Capiche?

Ackislander

I sort of agree with bob the navigator.

I have had to call a number of bluffs in Italy over the years.

Just tell them you have no other way to pay them. Would they like to call the police to detain you? The garda di finanza? Va bene!

Ryan

Wait, they don't accept credit cards issued by US based card associations in Italy sauch as Mastercard and Visa?

Gee, wonder what Visa and Mastercard were thinking in 2009 when they settled with the European union over concerns voiced about their duopoly and the ECB call for an EU based debit card processing for intra-Europe transactions.

Makes one wonder why MC bothered to incorporate a set of rules for Europe in their blanket rules agreement.

http://www.mastercard.com/us/merchan...ual_public.pdf

nytraveler

This is not your problem it is theirs. They can use the card with a phone call - so they are just faking this. Tell them in advance that you don;t have and cannot get the cash - and will be paying by CC as agreed when you booked and checked in.

joannyc

Had the same thing happen in Hallstatt... 'the credit card machine is not working' after a couple of fake swipes from a room behind the desk. Had to laugh, she accidently only charged me for 1 night instead of the 2 nights. I would have been honest and told her if she hadn't tried that old trick!

joannyc

Oh, and btw, the credit card machine was working in the restaurant the previous night!

spaarne

A similar thing happened to me at a small hotel in Duesseldorf years back. When I checked out the *computer was down*. I paid in cash and got a hand written receipt. A few months later I received a bill for the nights I stayed there. I ignored that of course.

Ditto nytraveler. If you don't have the cash you don't have the cash. The place can do a manual CC charge and then there is a record of it.

ParisAmsterdam

If the place is that scammy I'd be loathe to give them my credit card number at all anyway.

Figure out a way to pull cash from an ATM then name and shame the place you're at.