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HuntHike61

Info Desire: AZ G&F Cannot Charge CC Upfront For Tags

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I've read on this forum and others that the reason the AZ G&F cannot charge credit cards in advance for hunting permits is an AZ banking law.  Not sure if a lawsuit occurred or simply a government assessment of the law that resulted in the process we are forced to live with.  Personally, I'd like to at least have the option to pay up front (others may hate lending their money for a few weeks).  Regardless- does anyone know specifically what law it is, or even better someone at the G&F who is knowledgeable on the subject?

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Looks like we will find out on New Mexico tags before Az. Az should work on that law and do it like New Mexico. Much less stress other than not getting drawn yet. 

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21 minutes ago, I love AZ said:

You get charged for every credit card you process so it's actually smarter not to run them all then refund them like New Mexico.

With the amount of money they are making from app fees, they can afford it.

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27 minutes ago, I love AZ said:

You get charged for every credit card you process so it's actually smarter not to run them all then refund them like New Mexico.

They just charge a processing fee to cover it. 

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What is the benefit of switching?

Why would you want to just waste more money on fees?

You get drawn when you get drawn wether the money is in your pocket or not.

51 minutes ago, yotebuster said:

They just charge a processing fee to cover it.

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I would prefer that they charge upfront for the entire cost of the tags like they used to.  But if I remember correctly there was a big lawsuit back in the USO days that now prevents them from doing that.  If they can find a way to start charging up front again then it would prevent issues like we see now but more importantly it would help with true hunting opportunities by preventing a lot of folks from abusing the bonus point and Point Guard system.  As it stands, there are a lot of people that put everyone in their family in for tags or points (even if they don't hunt) because they're only out the cost of the application.  If you had to front the total cost of each tag for each person you would see that go down quite a bit.

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53 minutes ago, bigorange said:

When it was all on paper didn’t they cash all the checks up-front?

Checks don’t fall under the same AZ state rules as credit cards. Checks are same as cash.

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19 minutes ago, plang00 said:

Checks don’t fall under the same AZ state rules as credit cards. Checks are same as cash.

Is that a yes or a no to my question? I honestly can’t remember how it worked with paper apps. And to the OP’s question...can you reference the specific rules involved?

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6 minutes ago, bigorange said:

Is that a yes or a no to my question? I honestly can’t remember how it worked with paper apps. And to the OP’s question...can you reference the specific rules involved?

Yes. They cashed the checks up front. After the draw, they mailed out refund checks....minus the application fee.

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When they went to credit cards as opposed to having to front the $$, the number of applicants skyrocketed across the board for all species.

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Another forum just posted to me that it's the Trade and Commerce clause (Title 44) that has some provision that states goods or services must be related to cc charges.  However, they have not been able to point to a specific law.  Not that my ignorant legal opinion matters, but it seems there are multiple effective ways to provide the service that many hunters would appreciate.  1)- offer a check up-front approach (and charge a fee if it costs more to process), 2)- state the full cost of the tag is not actually for a tag, but for the lottery position- or some such legalese garbage, 3) build in a 7 to 10 day period after the computerized draw to complete the cc purchase transaction- I gather Texas does something like that, or 4) just change the law to allow for this specific exemption.  I'm sure there are others...

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