During the last year, I have found that more and more businesses are imposing a credit card surcharge, and I don’t like it.

I also find the businesses which do this are alienating their clientele unnecessarily. Up until now, businesses accepted credit card payments without a surcharge as part of the cost of doing business, but now some are saying that the credit card companies are charging more, so they have no alternative except to pass along some or all of the costs to the customer.

Of course, the two-tier pricing originally started at gasoline stations, which charge a several-cents differential between those who pay cash and those who charge their purchase.

A credit card surcharge is an additional fee the merchants can generally tack on to help them cover the cost of credit card processing.

For example, if you’re buying an item for $20, and there is a 3% surcharge, you’ll pay $20.60 if you use a credit card, but the surcharge will not apply if you pay cash or with a check, debit card or prepaid card. The surcharges are allowed only for credit card purchases. Just to be clear, a majority of merchants do not charge the fee yet.

Some friends, who have been equally annoyed by this nickel-and-diming strategy, have asked me whether this is legal. It is in many states, including Pennsylvania. Surcharges are capped at 4% even if the merchant’s processing costs are higher.

Some merchants won’t allow credit card purchases unless the bill is at least $10, but, then, on top of that, some of these same merchants add the credit card surcharge.

When I go into a grocery store and buy a breakfast roll for 85 cents, my only purchase, I charge it to my credit card, just as I do any other grocery purchases, and there is no surcharge.

To follow the letter of the law, a merchant must make customers aware of the credit card surcharge with appropriate signage. The amount of the surcharge also needs to be noted and isolated on the customer’s receipt. The state Attorney General’s office confirmed this requirement. “Any surcharges incurred as part of the transaction should be sufficiently disclosed to the consumers before they pay for the service or goods,” I was told in a statement from the AG’s office.

My family and I had breakfast at Goldberg’s, a bagel shop in East Stroudsburg recently. I was unaware of the surcharge until I saw it on my receipt notifying me that I had been assessed an additional 4% of my total bill, less sales tax, totaling 94 cents.

I usually have business lunches at local restaurants, such as Sapore’s in Lehighton, which some months ago began imposing a credit card surcharge. To Sapore’s credit, it has three 8½ x 11 signs - one on the outside entrance door, one where customers wait to be seated and one near where customers enter the dining room.

“Due to unforeseen circumstances, the credit card rates are rising immensely,” the sign starts out. “We will from here forward be adding the percentage directly to your bill.” The sign did not say what the percentage is, so I asked our server and found it is 3.9%. “We hope all of our customers are understanding in this matter, as these times are not easy for anyone,” the sign concludes.

What should you do if you incur an illegal credit card surcharge? Quite frankly, most people feel it just isn’t worth the time and hassle required to undo the problem, especially since in most cases the amount that we are talking about is less than a dollar or two.

If you object as a matter of principle, as I often do, you can contact the merchant in an attempt to make it right. If that doesn’t work, call the state attorney general’s office, which may then reach out to the merchant to note the problem and explain what needs to be done. If there are repeated violations by the same merchant, the state could take punitive action against the violator.

I propose a simple solution to the surcharge problem: Integrate the cost of credit card use into a business’ price structure, then give discounts for cash, check, debit card and prepaid card payments, just as service stations do now.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com