No option to pay with Amex??

pimper · 21 Jan 2014 at 08:34

Looking at making a substantial purchase here and I found that you don't take Amex. Whilst I know I can pay by DC or Paypal etc. I tend to just use CC for online purchases.

Do OcUK not take Amex due to higher charges than other credit card companies?

Jono8 · 21 Jan 2014 at 08:34

You could use your amex card through paypal?

No1newts · 21 Jan 2014 at 08:36

Normally it's the Amex charges which put companies off.

kefan77 · 21 Jan 2014 at 08:41

Jono8 said:
You could use your amex card through paypal?

jon86 · 21 Jan 2014 at 08:47

Jono8 said:
You could use your amex card through paypal?

You'd lose Section 75 protection, so I really wouldn't do that.

Jono8 · 21 Jan 2014 at 08:49

jon86 said:
You'd lose Section 75 protection, so I really wouldn't do that.

Useful when buying from somewhere unknown but a reputable retailer like Overclockers? It isn't like they are going to take your money and do a runner is it? Also, if they do, you have paypal buyer protection.

jon86 · 21 Jan 2014 at 08:55

Jono8 said:
Useful when buying from somewhere unknown but a reputable retailer like Overclockers? It isn't like they are going to take your money and do a runner is it? Also, if they do, you have paypal buyer protection.

You never know. There could be a disagreement about something like a faulty card or something and if Overclockers UK won't budge on an issue (which isn't impossible), you can legally hold the credit card company liable. Paypal Buyer Protection isn't the same as S75 protection.

No1newts said:
Normally it's the Amex charges which put companies off.

Indeed. It's likely that Overclockers UK just doesn't want to pay the Amex merchant fees.

Boycie · 21 Jan 2014 at 09:05

I don't blame them, compared to other provider charges they are extortionate.

marc2003 · 21 Jan 2014 at 09:09

sorry for the slight hijack but can anyone explain why some places don't take visa electron? i use it pretty much everywhere with no problems. but i can recall 2 places that refuse it: cineworld and tesco online (instore is fine).

Martynt74 · 21 Jan 2014 at 09:14

marc2003 said:
sorry for the slight hijack but can anyone explain why some places don't take visa electron? i use it pretty much everywhere with no problems. but i can recall 2 places that refuse it: cineworld and tesco online (instore is fine).

Train companies also don't (at least not on the train) which i found out years ago.

I actually thought they'd phased out Visa Electron and just replaced it with Visa Debit even for young people.

Schlong&Stable · 21 Jan 2014 at 09:18

Marvt74 said:
I actually thought they'd phased out Visa Electron and just replaced it with Visa Debit even for young people.

They have.

[FnG]magnolia · 21 Jan 2014 at 09:20

Amex are the third rate scheme provider in a list of three so I'm not surprised that their coverage and offering is less than the main two.

[TW]Fox · 21 Jan 2014 at 09:22

Boycie said:
I don't blame them, compared to other provider charges they are extortionate.

Interestingly though the fees are lower than that for MasterCard World yet most places that don't take Amex happily take MasterCard World.

[FnG]magnolia · 21 Jan 2014 at 09:22

Fees to who?

marc2003 · 21 Jan 2014 at 09:26

Marvt74 said:
Train companies also don't (at least not on the train) which i found out years ago.

that could be understandable. paying with electron requires some sort of connection to the bank because it checks you have funds available before authorising the transaction. perhaps the equipment on trains couldn't do that? i would not expect this to be an issue for someone like tesco online though.

Thompson_NCL said:
They have.

sauce? this is my account which is for paupers and has no overdraft. it quite clearly states you get a visa electron card.

http://www.halifax.co.uk/bankaccounts/basic-bank-account/

BombayMix · 21 Jan 2014 at 09:29

[FnG]magnolia;25696877 said:
Fees to who?

To the CC company, you don't know that when you use a CC the retailer has to pay a commission fee to the CC company (same with PayPal)

[TW]Fox · 21 Jan 2014 at 09:30

[FnG]magnolia;25696877 said:
Fees to who?

The Merchant, the World versions of the MasterCard have a premium on the processing fee. They are becomingly oddly common, too, my Santander 123 credit card is a MasterCard World for some reason.

pimper · 21 Jan 2014 at 09:30

[FnG]magnolia;25696877 said:
Fees to who?

To Amex and MasterCard businesses have to pay them to accept the cards.

Beaten

Regy53 · 21 Jan 2014 at 09:30

when normal cc charges are so high its no wonder OCUK don't accept AMEX.

We charge a 3% fee for credit card purchases, the amount of customers who moan is unreal but these are charges we cannot absorb when margins are low.

Imagine charging AMEX fees on, I don't even know what they are but if there more than 3% its just a joke.

[FnG]magnolia · 21 Jan 2014 at 09:34

BombayMix said:
To the CC company, you don't know that when you use a CC the retailer has to pay a commission fee to the CC company (same with PayPal)

I'm very familiar with scheme structures.

[TW]Fox;25696913 said:
The Merchant, the World versions of the MasterCard have a premium on the processing fee. They are becomingly oddly common, too, my Santander 123 credit card is a MasterCard World for some reason.

I'm surprised that you're party to the fees charged by the scheme to the merchant. They're almost always individually negotiated unless you're talking about the published rates?