It is exhausting. It would be nice to live somewhere with consumer protections, but shockingly those places aren't particularly enthusiastic about taking immigrants from the US

There WERE laws against this sort of thing. Briefly.

It's exactly like that

It is!

You're really primed to expect to pay so much more than the asking price for literally every transaction. It's fucking awful. Tax. Tip. "Estimated totals" convenience fees. Fuck you fees. Fees for the bees. You got too many fees fees. Subscription fee. "That was the price if you subscribe, it costs more if you don't" fee.

I fucking hate this place

Exactly what I expect from a company that advertises so much

That's customer service for ALL companies. Nothing works any more. Just saying you have a customer service department is enough, it doesn't actually have to be effective. Most of them are just AI chatbots with canned answers. Many of them start with "I'm still learning, so be patient with me!" in a cheery voice. Bitch, I got a problem with your company, I don't want an unfinished computer program, I need HELP!

Target won't let you checkout with PayPal if their margin on a specific sale is too low like their daily deals or whatever they're called.

It's like 3%, which I don't love but I like better than dealing with cash or checks.

No they weren't allowed to charge a fee before. They had to build it into the cost of doing business like every other thing that goes into the price. Visa isn't "allowing" them to SHOW the fee, they're being forced to allow the fee (surcharge) to be added on because of bills the feds passed.

I guarantee this isn't working out in your favor. That's why these businesses fought so hard to have the fee. Visa and MasterCard wanted merchants to not do this because it makes credit cards less attractive if places charge fees. The thing I'm particularly skeptical about is how much they charge. The fees are like 2 to 3 percent. Checks and debit cards are flat like a few cent fees. Allstate charging 5 dollars for debit or 2 dollars for bank transfers is fucking insane.

Seriously, do this.

Also, never, under any circumstances, allow a company to automatically withdraw funds directly from your bank account.

"Ope, we've changed the terms of service, and charged you a backdated amount based on the new terms of service you've already consented to by paying us"

They don't get a dime until I know for damn sure I'm giving it to them. If an organization refuses to do business with you without direct access to your bank account, it's because their business model depends on them being able to fuck you.

Credit cards and physical paper checks only for recurring transactions. Amex if they'll take it. Don't let them keep your debit card on file either.

I worked at a bank and our customers had to pay more money the more checks they brought in. Won't be surprised if they started charging for that too.

The best time to leave Allstate was 20 years ago. The second best time is today.

Also applies to most insurance companies, particularly the ones that do a lot of advertising.

There must be a way to pay without fee.

According to whom? As far as I'm aware, there's no such law in the US regarding private companies. So they can be jerks if they want to.

History lesson: in 1990 I worked at a computer store. If you paid by credit card you paid the listed price. If you paid with cash, you got the CASH DISCOUNT price.

Soon MasterCard and VISA went to court to prevent the cash discount practice.

Soon after, points and cash-back credit cards came out

You can always mail a check, right? Isn't that still a thing?

You can mail a check but postage aint free

It's so messed up that some states legally allow merchants to charge a "credit card fee". Providers of services much like the above can charge if it's a debit, credit, etc. even if they both say "Visa" on them. The concept of money in the US is so obfuscated now.

We did have something resembling competition, maybe a decade or so ago, with the emergence of Venmo and Cashapp and Zelle - basically just digital front-ends for e-checks between bank accounts. They all hit major stumbling blocks, in no small part thanks to how Visa/AMEX/MC conspired to freeze them out.

Capitalism abhors competition.

All insurance companies are evil and will do everything they can to deny any claim.

It’s $2 vs $5 if you pay with bank.

$5 here is the premium price and $2 is the discounted price.

So is Google pay?

It’s actually probably because Apple gets a cut, and so does the issuing card. In apples case, mastercard