Robbery near the highway

This is not just another rant against rising gas prices. It's been done to death. This is a rant against a more subtle way the gas stations have started to pillage our bank accounts.

Around here, the new trend is for gas stations to recoup the cost of running your credit card by charging six to ten cents extra per gallon for the privilege of paying by credit card. This pradctice annoys the living daylights out of me so I have been trying to swing my business over to the few remaining stations that don't do this.

As though they know what I am thinking, the gas stations have gotten more clever. I pulled into what I thought was the cheapest station in the area yesterday. It was only after the pump was in my tank that I noticed the (much smaller) sign informing me that it was ten cents more per gallon to use a credit card. This was, of course, after the man had already run my card.

I doubt that central New Jersey is the only place in the world where this is happening. Where is the outrage? Imagine the rioting in the streets if the grocery store or a department store started charging people more to pay with a credit card.