Ferrari Mailing List: Re: Business Banking

[Charles G Perry IV (charles]

> We think most people who carry and Amex will also carry a
> "backup" Visa or MC, and don't believe we're missing out on business by
> going that route.

True for personal transactions, but in my case not true for business. Our 
company only uses Amex (although we accept Visa/MC too). I find that for 
in-person transactions, it is extremely rare for me to be in a place that 
won't take AmEx. However, for web transactions it is pretty common, and I 
will certainly avoid vendors that don't take it because it only takes me an 
extra few seconds with Google to find another vendor with the same product 
and price and better acceptance. In some cases, I'll even pay a couple of 
percent more for an item with a vendor that takes Amex because it saves me 
the hassle of having to put it on a personal card and then go through the 
reimbursement process.

I have also, as the purchaser, been screwed numerous times in fraudulent 
transactions where I used a Visa (Fleet Bank, specifically) to make a 
deposit and then couldn't get the product or a refund from the vendor. Fleet 
makes you jump through a bunch of hoops and then every time ruled with the 
vendor despite overwhelming (and in one case, court accepted) evidence to 
the contrary. I don't know how representative Fleet Bank is of all Visa 
disputes, but my experiences have led me to believe that AmEx is decidedly 
more likely to protect the cardholder than the merchant.

-- charles

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                               Charles G. Perry IV
                               Senior Project Engineer

Carolina Sound Communications, Inc.          843-571-4488 voice
1941 Savage Road, Suite 200-G                   843-571-4492 fax
Charleston, SC 29407                                 www.carolina-sound.com

              "Taxation WITH representation isn't so hot either..."
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