This seems to be the suggestion over at http://www.merchantfraud.org/, a web site offering stickers to those who feel they need them in order to combat the inappropriate practice of requiring a minimum purchase amount in order to use a credit card. Worried that stickers are a little too easy to remove? Based on the FAQ, you’re not the only one.
Q: How do I make sure the sticker sticks?
What does the site say about that?
A: We recommend first wiping the surface with a cloth moistened with rubbing alcohol, then letting it dry, then placing the sticker.
Huh. Sound advice, I suppose. Everyone knows that adhesive materials do better with a clean surface, right? But that’s not really enough for some people who go on to ask…
Q: What if I really want the sticker to stay put?
Oh, hey! That’s a good question. (Because we were assuming, perhaps, that the original question meant you only kind of really wanted to make sure it would stick?) Well, surely there’s a good answer to that, right?
A: We’ve heard that spraying it with a clear lacquer can help with that, though we’ve never tried it.
Of course! Heck, that would probably work almost as well as just spray painting something onto the door. Now, before you get all up in arms about this being wrong, let’s be sure to point out just why, exactly, this web site has taken it upon itself to attack those businesses which persist in this minimum purchase practice.
Visa has certain regulations that all merchants that accept Visa cards must follow. One of those rules is that Visa merchants are not permitted to establish minimum transaction amounts, even on sale items.
Well. Surely a little vigilante vandalism is appropriate then. Can’t be letting these guys get away with this unpunished. That quote actually comes from VISA themselves. Of course, the next bit in the same quote doesn’t seem to make mention of stickers at all in it’s master plan for taking down these would be fraudsters.
If you run into a problem like this with a merchant, please notify your Visa card-issuing bank. Visa member banks have access to the appropriate Visa rules and regulations as well as to the Notification of Customer Complaint forms which should be used by the bank to document and file merchant complaints.
At least they aren’t condoning violence. Yet.