By Rep. Anne-Marie Mastraccio
One of my biggest legislative priorities as a member of the Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services Committee is to craft bills that protect consumers from predatory business practices and ensure that Maine businesses are providing their consumers with high-quality products. One of the many ways we have worked to protect customers is to restrict businesses from being able to charge surcharges on credit or debit cards during transactions.
As the cost of living continues to rise in our state, our community members are trying to make every penny count – so when they’re forced to pay surcharges for paying with their credit or debit card, they take notice. What was once a common practice for businesses to maximize profit by charging the consumer for using a credit or debit card has now not only become frowned upon, but it is actually illegal in Maine and has been since 2011.
To learn more about your rights as a consumer, you can go to https://www.maine.gov/ag/consumer/consumer_law_guide.shtml to read the Consumer Law Guide. If you think that you are being unfairly charged, I encourage you to file a complaint with the Maine Attorney General’s Office. You can give them a call at (207) 626-8849 or write to them at Attorney General's Consumer Information and Mediation Service, 6 State House Station, Augusta, Maine 04333.
Rep. Mastraccio is serving her sixth nonconsecutive term in the Maine House of Representatives and serves as the House chair of the Government Oversight Committee and on the Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services Committee. She represents House District 142, which includes part of Sanford and part of the village of Springvale.