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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU in a big chain like NEXT you should be able to pay for a coffee by debit card?

28 replies

dottytablecloth · 21/01/2015 14:49

I was out with baby this morning and decided to treat myself to a latte in the coffee shop of our local NEXT.

Got to the till and man said I couldn't pay with debit card. He suggested I got something to eat as it had to be over £5 before using a debit card. I said I didn't want anything to eat and didn't have cash.

He helpfully suggested I go back down escalator, with double buggy, and walk a substantial distance to the nearest cash machine! I said no thanks I'll go to M&S where you can pay with debit card without a hassle!

Is this some sort of made up rule? I've bought cards etc in NEXT before that have cost less than £5 and I haven't been told to spend more Confused

Are all NEXT coffee shops like this?

AIBU? They were left with a latte that would have to be thrown out, seems a bizarre rule.

OP posts:
Fudgeface123 · 21/01/2015 14:52

Our local Spar won't accept DB for anything up to £5...that's the only store where I've had a problem. I don't carry cash with me as I have a habit of losing things

CockBollocks · 21/01/2015 14:53

Coffee shops in next are not part of next.

LurkingHusband · 21/01/2015 14:56

You will find it's a franchise - not run by NEXT, so with different rules etc.

This sort of thing gets my gander up (a bit). NEXT are quite happy for them to use the NEXT brand to attract custom - right up till there's an issue. The all of a sudden it's "that's nothing to do with us" etc.

Slightly different gripe, but "Costa" in Tescos, isn't really "Costa". Just try and use your loyalty card. (You can use your clubcard if you keep the receipt and go to customer services)

toothlessoldhag · 21/01/2015 14:56

It's because of card charges. Small amounts eat into the profit of the sale. So, whilst they could have waived the rule in your circumstances, it's fair enough.

evmil · 21/01/2015 14:56

I assume it's because it costs them to process the transaction? Quite a few independent shops/cafes where I live have a minimum card payment of £5.

And second that the coffee shop is not part of next

GreyjoysAnatomy · 21/01/2015 14:59

NEXT have coffee shops? Confused

Sunnymeg · 21/01/2015 15:26

It is perfectly OK for any shop to impose a minimum for card payments, but I believe they also have to display a notice advising customers. I had a disagreement about this in a shop once as there wasn't a notice and they ended up having to let me pay the £4.50 or whatever it was by card.

squoosh · 21/01/2015 15:28

Next sell coffee??

daisychain01 · 21/01/2015 15:33

dotty, it may be worth enquiring with your bank about getting one of the new contactless debit cards. They are for 'trivial' cashless transactions under 20, and are just made for the type of purchase you were trying to make.

I have only just received my new Debit card from Santander and it came with a letter to say it is enabled with the contactless function. I think it just needs to be used once at a hole-in-the-wall (ATM) and then you can use it anywhere that does the cashless purchasing. I'm sure NEXT would accept them.

Noodledoodledoo · 21/01/2015 15:34

LurkingHusband we have at least 3 Costas in Tesco that we use and all of them take our Costa card no problem not sure whats going on with yours.

Am with the others having never seen a Coffee shop in Next.

AnnoyedByAlfieBear · 21/01/2015 15:37

I've never seen a Next coffee shop, but I have been to a Costa inside a Next (and used my Costa loyalty card there).

LocalEditorMerton · 21/01/2015 15:43

The Next in-store ones seem to be run by Caffe Nero - at least the one in Merton (Tandem Centre, Colliers Wood SW19) is!

BauerTime · 21/01/2015 15:49

Ive used a debit card for a coffee in a Costa in Next. Pretty sure it cost less than a fiver.

LurkingHusband · 21/01/2015 15:53

Noodledoodledoo

maybe they've changed it since I last tried (sometime last year). Of course once it was refused (whether correctly or not) you tend not to try a second time ...

onthematleavecountdown · 21/01/2015 15:58

Ridiculous. I would have walked out too.

SistersOfPercy · 21/01/2015 16:13

My local Next store has a Costa and you can use debit for under a fiver. I'd have walked out as well OP.

Marynary · 21/01/2015 16:17

I think that is reasonable for them not to accept your debit card if it would mean that they wouldn't make any money because the cost of the debit card transaction is so high. Shops like M&S might have decided that it is worth not making a profit on coffee if those who use the cafe are also likely to buy stuff in the shop but that doesn't mean they should have to do it.

hiccupgirl · 21/01/2015 16:20

The only Next I know off with a coffee shop inside has a Starbucks and it takes cards.

And the 2 Tescos in town with Costas in both take the Costa loyalty cards so don't know why some of them don't.

ClaraM · 21/01/2015 16:25

Transaction charges for a debit card are typically around 25p to the seller. Sounds very little but the smaller the transaction, the more it makes a dent into the profit margin. They should definitely display a notice.

EvansOvalPiesYumYum · 21/01/2015 16:32

Because business bank charges are so high, the cost to the retailer processing a card payment is about 30p (I believe - depends on the bank, but it's about that). Retailer is charged per transaction. Pretty hefty charges for the retailer to have to suck this up every time a customer hasn't got as much as £2 in his/her pocket to pay for a coffee.

MissDuke · 21/01/2015 16:33

I would always check before ordering that I have a way of paying - round here it is common to not be able to use debit card for sales under a fiver. Sorry, but I personally think yabu.

EvansOvalPiesYumYum · 21/01/2015 16:39

Yes, a £5 limit on debit card transactions has been in place for a very long time (and previously on cheques, before most places stopped accepting them). To pay a cheque into a business account costs around 30p too, so you can understand why retailers impose a £5 limit. Suppose you wanted to just buy a cookie (for example) costing 30p. If you paid by debit card, the retailer would be making a loss.

LurkingHusband · 21/01/2015 16:43

Card charges are usually a %age of total take, with a minimum transaction charge.

Big stores that take thousands a day probably pay 1-2% to the bank.

But if you only take £100 a day (in cards) in 20 separate transactions, then it could be at a cost of £5 - effectively a rate of 5% !

You'd almost think it was more expensive to handle electrons, than cash Hmm

juneybean · 21/01/2015 16:47

Our next has a starbucks, which is so expensive I've never had a problem with the £5 issue...

Aridane · 21/01/2015 17:03

A reasonable financial decision by the coffee concession business

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