[IP] Re: Last on this No iPhone Without Credit Card

[David Farber <dave@farber.net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Matthew Snyder" <mwsnyder@gmail.com>
Date: October 30, 2007 12:51:29 AM EDT
To: dave@farber.net
Cc: lauren@vortex.com
Subject: Re: [IP] No iPhone Without Credit Card

Lauren Weinstein wrote:
> Perhaps of more interest, I'm not entirely sure that such a policy
> is actually legal from a purchase nondiscrimination standpoint in
> this case.  The entire area of requiring credit cards for goods
> or services seems rather nebulous.
>
> U.S. currency still supposedly is good for "all debts public and
> private."

It's rather clearly settled by the US Treasury:

http://www.treas.gov/education/faq/currency/legal-tender.shtml
	
  "The pertinent portion of law that applies to
  your question is the Coinage Act of 1965,
  specifically Section 31 U.S.C. 5103, entitled
  "Legal tender," which states: "United States
  coins and currency (including Federal reserve
  notes and circulating notes of Federal reserve
  banks and national banks) are legal tender for
  all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues."

  This statute means that all United States money
  as identified above are a valid and legal offer of
  payment for debts when tendered to a creditor.
  There is, however, no Federal statute mandating
  that a private business, a person or an organization
  must accept currency or coins as for payment for
  goods and/or services. Private businesses are free
  to develop their own policies on whether or not to
  accept cash unless there is a State law which says
  otherwise."


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