Some restaurants passing on extra credit card fees to customers

When you’re eating out, how closely do you examine the check?

You may want to start looking more closely. A NewsChannel 13 producer went to two restaurants over the weekend, and noticed an extra charge.

When a business accepts credit or debit cards, it pays a percentage fee to the card processor. The fee can be anywhere from 1% to 5%.

You may not have had to pay that fee – but some restaurants are starting to pass the credit card fees along to consumers. Can they do that? The short answer is yes.

The practice of surcharge is prohibited by New York state under section 518 of the General Business Law, unless businesses utilize the exceptions.

For example, businesses would have to post the higher credit card price labeled as the “regular price,” but may offer a discount to people who pay in cash.

NewsChannel 13 reached out to the New York State Attorney General’s Office to ask what consumers should be aware about. They provided us a link to file a complaint if there are any issues.

MORE: Consumer Frauds Bureau Online Complaint Form