DISCLOSING SURCHARGES FOR USING CREDIT, DEBIT OR PRE-PAID CARDS
NJGCA MEMBER GIVES BACK TO COMMUNITY IN FREE GAS
WAWA DATA BREACH: ARE YOU EMV COMPLIANT?
GIFT CARD SCAM TRAINING MATERIALS AVAILABLE
SURCHARGE NOTICES
Late last week, the Division of Consumer Affairs sent cease and desist warning letters to service, retail and restaurant operators alerting merchants of their duty to disclose total selling price to consumers. This includes surcharges for using credit cards, debit cards or pre-paid cards. This shouldn't be affecting you at the pumps if you are offering a cash discount because there is no surcharge, but if you are adding a surcharge in a repair shop or convenience store, you need to make sure your customers are aware that the surcharge is being applied.
FREE GAS
We are proud to see our members giving back to their community, especially in financially difficult times. Most recently, NJGCA member Tom Critelli partnered with World Outreach Christian Church in Jersey City to offer free gas as a way to help the local community dealing with tough economic times. The Sunoco Corporation also contributed funding to the event after hearing about what Tom and the Church were planning. Together, they were able to give $25 of free gasoline to the first 300 cars at the station. We are proud of his community effort at a time when the motoring public places blame for prices on the gas station owners. We should all appreciate his effort. You can watch the story from News 12 New Jersey HERE.
WAWA DATA BREACH
This week, it was announced that New Jersey will be co-leading an $8 million multistate settlement with Wawa that resolves the states' investigation into a data breach that compromised approximately 34 million payment cards used by consumers to buy food and gas and other items at Wawa stores and fueling locations. Although this breach was not a result of not being EMV compliant, this is an example of the liability that you have as merchants if you are not EMV compliant in your shop, store, and at the pumps. If you are not EMV complaint and customers use their credit card, you are at risk of liability if there's any kind of data breach at your location. Besides being charged back for the sale, you could have liability for the data breach of their personal information. This could be more problematic than the actual chargeback. Identity theft and data breaches have become an increasing issue. The way to protect yourself is to be EMV compliant. If you are not EMV compliant you should contact us immediately so we can help you become compliant in your shop, pumps and store.
GIFT CARD SCAM
As part of a law passed earlier this year, every store which displays gift cards for sale must provide all current employees a brief training on how to detect and respond to gift card fraud. The training is basically just requiring every employee to read the brief materials that have been prepared by the state Attorney General's office, which you can find and download by clicking HERE. If you sell gift cards, all employees that sell them must be given this information by August 1st, and all new employees going forward must be given it within the first 45 days.
All classes held at NJGCA HQ -- 4900 Route 33 West, Wall Township, NJ 07753
ASE Training Course - Reach Out Today!
Are you (or an employee) getting ready to take your A6, A8, or L1 in preparation to recertifying your Emission Repair Technician (ERT) credentials through the State's Emission Technician Education Program (ETEP)?
We can help --- but we need to hear from you, first! NJGCA wants to hear from students interested in our ASE-prep training program, so we can gauge demand and schedule our next session series.
As you know, the NJ Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) has always maintained a "dual-track" system to allow technicians to earn their Emission Repair Technician (ERT) credentials through New Jersey's Emission Technician Education Program (ETEP). In doing so, technicians were allowed to certify as ERTs through either an ASE-test track or an ETEP-educational class track. Starting on January 1, 2020, NJDEP amended the ETEP criteria, and the ETEP-educational class track was abolished.
Today, only the ASE-test track remains, and all ERTs must certify or re-certify their credentials though ASE to remain in the Program.
NJGCA has recently offered an ASE-prep class to help you get ready for the A6, A8, and L1. In doing so, students were welcome to participate in a ten-session preparatory class that covered material for all three ASE exams. We also had a handful of students who joined us only for the A8 or L1 sections.
Once completed, students took their ASE exams with a local ASE-approved test proctor (NJGCA can train you to prepare for the ASE exams, but are not permitted to offer the actual exam - students must make these arrangements individually themselves).
Building on that success, we are now seeking student participation in our next training series session. To make arrangements and organize a session, we need to hear from you!
The men who chair the Legislature's health committees have not given up on their push to enact a statewide ban on menthol cigarettes, despite its failure to advance far before the body's customary summer recess. . .The bill in question would end exemptions for menthol and clove-flavored cigarettes present in a 2008 law that banned all other cigarette flavors. The measure would also outlaw flavored hookah tobacco. . . "For a lot of convenience stores, as much as 50% of your gross sales can be cigarette related. Menthol's 40% of that. You lose that business," said Eric Blomgren, director of government affairs at the New Jersey Gasoline, C-Store, Automotive Association. Blomgren added a ban could reduce other sales by decreasing foot traffic in stores.
Average gas prices in New Jersey reached just over $5 in early and mid-June, according to Gasbuddy.com. They've been dropping ever since, fairly closely following national trends. The average in the Garden State was $4.47 on Friday, and $4.38 nationwide. . .Sal Risalvato, executive director of the New Jersey Gasoline-Convenience-Automotive Association, told Gothamist there are a few factors in play. A few gas stations have benefited from a significant decrease in wholesale costs. But mostly, he said, it's that, people are buying less gas. "The best remedy for high gas prices is high gas prices. As people start to change their driving habits and gasoline volume decreases, it puts downward pressure on the price," he said.
Gov. Phil Murphy announced Monday $60 million in incentive programs designed to increase the number of electric vehicles and charging stations in the Garden State. . . The Charge Up New Jersey program offers up to $4,000 in incentives for New Jersey residents who purchase or lease electric vehicles. The state Board of Public Utilities' program previously provided residents up to $5,000 off the purchase or lease of new, eligible zero-emission vehicles, including battery electric and plug-in hybrid electric models retailing for less than $55,000. The incentive was changed to $4,000, according to the board, to "allow the existing funding to go further and provide more incentives for EVs in New Jersey."
The legislation introduced earlier this year that would allow for a hybrid model of self-serve along with full-serve gas seemed hopeful. Insiders said it had a lot of bipartisan support. It would be the only state in the nation that would mandate larger gas stations had to also offer full-serve which should have allayed the fear of those cleaving to the status quo. It was also coming at an important time when labor shortages due to the pandemic were making an already bad situation among gas stations even worse. Many owners will tell stories of the harsh reality of having to close down gas stations for several hours in the middle of the day or close shop earlier in the evening than they would like all because there aren't even bodies willing to take these jobs. And it was happening long before the pandemic. . . Here's another false narrative, at least according to Sal Risalvato, the head of the New Jersey Gasoline C-Store Automotive Association. The Legislature says self-service stations have "higher general liability insurance premium rates" due to the "dangers" of people leaving their vehicles to pump gas. Risalvato was asked this direct question on our show and he said this is one hundred percent false. Just another talking point for the hordes wanting to waste your time and mine because they think wasting their time is a luxury.
Drivers are making significant changes to cope with record pump prices, with almost two-thirds (64%) of U.S. adults indicating they have changed their driving habits or lifestyle since March, according to AAA. Twenty-three percent indicate they have made "major changes." Eighty-eight percent of those surveyed by AAA are driving less to offset high gas prices-the top change U.S. consumers have made. Other top ways they are counteracting high pump prices include combining errands (74%), reducing shopping or dining out (56%), delaying major purchases (30%), postponing vacations (29%) and saving less (24%).
Each week, the Energy Information Administration publishes a list of average gasoline prices for the previous three weeks. NJGCA will begin including this list with the Weekly Road Warrior. Remember, these prices are reflective of self-serve everywhere except NJ.
Parts For Sale: Incon TS-1000 tank monitor works well just taken out of service. Printer is aprox 2 months old. Also, Incon 8, tank probes. System replaced because on an Exxon upgrade. Call John Twin Towers Exxon (201) 224-8444
