By Nadia Oehlsen

7-Eleven Inc. says it has already reached its goal of soliciting 1 million consumer signatures on a petition calling for Congress to regulate interchange fees.

The convenience store chain began collecting signatures at all of its more than 6,300 U.S. stores in late June.

Keith Jones, the Dallas company's director of government affairs, said consumer response to the campaign, which is scheduled to end Aug. 10, has been "absolutely remarkable."

The petition books at checkout counters each hold 270 signatures, and many stores have requested additional copies, Jones said in an interview Tuesday.

"We started off with about 9,500 signature books and then we ordered another 5,000 a week ago," he said.

The checkout displays urge customers to "Ask Congress to stop credit card companies from charging unfair transaction fees to the businesses you shop."

Below the displays are signature books featuring a photos of man in a hard hat, a boy with a Slurpee and two employees. The copy has the heading, "We're not just your 7-Eleven" and continues, "We're neighbors and friends hurt by unfair credit card fees."

Dennis Lane, who owns a 7-Eleven franchise in Quincy, Mass., said that about two of every 10 visitors sign the petition. Many regular customers are coming in less often because they have been laid off from their jobs, and people are becoming more price-conscious and more conscious of the factors that affect end-user prices, including the interchange fees paid by merchants, he said.

"Consumers are more concerned than ever about where their pockets are being picked," said Lane, who is also chairman of the National Coalition of Associations of 7-Eleven Franchisees.

Lane also appears in a video posted online at YouTube that gives the reasons behind the petition. The video ends with the instructions to "Visit www.unfaircreditcardfees.com for more details." The Web site was created by the Merchants Payments Coalition, a trade group that is calling for Congress to regulate card fees.

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