Question For You Attorneys

[ArcticDiver]

On a recent Hawaiian Airlines flight the cabin crew announced they would only accept credit cards; No Cash. Is this legal? Can a business refuse to accept cash in payment of any debt, or in the normal course of their business?

Of course any person or business has the right to assure themselves that the money tendered is, in fact, legal tender and not counterfeit. But, this was a flat refusal to accept any cash.

 

[Cheekymonkey]

cash for the flight? or cash for drinks and what not on board?

 

[fdog]

I am not an attorney.

I do have a colleague, however, that ended up with a free month's worth of cellular service when the Cingular store refused to take cash.

This was an existing debt, though, and I believe (as a businessman) that I have the right not to do business with someone for just about any reason, including the type of payment they would present. I do not accecpt purchase orders, for example.

All the best, James

 

[RonDawg]

Costco gas stations don't accept cash either, only debit, American Express, or a Costco gift card.

It's for safety reasons; not having cash eliminates the reason for robbery.

I'm not sure what Hawaiian Airlines' reasoning, except perhaps to cut down on employee theft .

 

[JahJahwarrior]

Businesses have the right to do whatever the heck they want. Would yo consider it illegal for Hawaiin Air to not serve your favorite typ eof beverage? Then why would you cnsider it illegal for them to not accept your favoriet type of payment?

I know there are billions of pages of business regulations in the US, the CFR, but really, to be a free economy, the government needs to stay out of the life of businesses. If a business doesn't want to take cash, and the people want to pay cash, that business will suffer and will change their policies or die, to be taken over by a better business that will take cash. It's a natural process much like fires in places. prescribed burning is not nearly as efficient as nature by itself, if we'd just stop moving in and disrupting the cyle. (not that I'm an environmentalist much).

Personally, I prefer to pay cash for almost everything, so I will not support any business that will not take cash. I'll support places I like, and those places will get my business, which might make the other places change their minds. I do the same thing depending on whether or not a place has the exact brand of product I want.

 

[ArcticDiver]

cash for the flight? or cash for drinks and what not on board?

Inflight sales. Cash not accepted.

Don't know their policy about cash for transportation. Ticket for this flight was purchased through a partner airline.

 

[Cheekymonkey]

Hrm, where wer u flying to, was it international, or back to the lower 48

 

[rakkis]

Same policy encountered on LAX <--> ATL <--> IND flights not two weeks ago. Was flying AirTran

 

[Cheekymonkey]

Is it one of those things where you swipe the card at your seat, maybe they just don't trust the flight attendants with the cash?

 

[daniel f aleman]

Under the law one can NOT refuse cash for a debt. But, one can demand payment in advance to be of a certain type other than cash; you can always buy elsewhere.