Interesting. I was at the post office the other day and I noticed that they had a big sign that said “Your Credit/Debit cards with not be accepted if unsigned.” Finding this preposterous, I asked about it. The joyful postal clerk explained to me that, unless the cards are signed they are illegal, subject to detainment by postal staff, and you must present I.D. and sign them before you can conduct any business. (gotta love the gov’t.!) But !, I protested, what if I have check I.D. written on there and a valid ID? No dice she says. I immediately launched into soapbox oratory number 37 and started hollerin’ about governmental stupidy, assinine rules and the like. SHe said that is “The Way It Is” with that note of finality that we have all come to love about any sort of governmental institution. But I have my picture on my card even! I told her. SHe said the only reason the pictured cards are passable is, next to the picture, is a small copy of my signature. The whole thing seemed surreal to me. I started looking for someone to fill a bathtub with brighlty colored bicycles or something. Anyway, to the point- was this sad twisted example of government loyalty correct? Are the cards in fact, not legal unless signed and, somehow it is one of those laws that everyone seems to ignore? any comments welcomed!
JerSlingsTheBooze@yahoo.com
Look at the back of your card. It says something like “Not valid unless signed”. Yes, a merchant can refuse an unsigned card. Some “experts” advise you to write “Ask for ID” in the signature space, but they are wrong. If you don’t sign your cards, you can be fully held resposible for any charges incurred even if your card is stolen. As a former retail employee I would NEVER accept a card that was unsigned. If they didn’t like it, they could kiss my ass.
Further, the merchant is required by the terms of their merchant agreement to compare the customer’s signature on the sales slip with the one on the back of the card. Further, the merchant agreement forbids the merchant requiring other identification - i.e. the customer’s matched signature is proof enough of identity.
If there is a dispute and the credit card company believes the merchant did not do a signature comparison, the merchant is on the hook for the charge (there are special rules for phone sales and the like which don’t have signatures).
The article referred to:
Should you sign the back of your credit cards?
AmbushBug has the correct answer. I have dealt with this for years. It is in your merchant agreement. If you do NOT have a signature the credit card company is released from any liabity. Saying Check ID isn’t valid. Your merchant agreement (the contract between the Credit Card company and the merchant --not you) says this.
We have lost disputes for the See ID, we have lost disputes for when we take a fax and the signature isn’t legible.
This drives me nuts as my former controller would take anything and we lost out tons of money every year and the hotel didn’t care. The GM and Controller were “we’ll lose too much business if we don’t trust them. Or they will go to another hotel” But we lost tens of thousands of dollars (no kidding honestly) thru disputes. <end rant>
I could never see the reasoning about not signing it. Then anyone who found it could sign it and the signature would match perfectly.
This should actually be less of an issue as Visa and Amex are hoping by 2005 to require pin numbers with each credit card purchase. My bank does that now. Regardless of ID or signature if you go up to the teller you have to put your PIN number into the account for a withdrawl.
Just sign your receipts “Please see id”. Now both are correct.
Years ago, in our store, we had a customer come in, and use a credit card. His signature matched the back of the card. He walked out with his 300 dollars plus of goods. Then the owner of the card came in (And asked if anyone has seen his card… I think, years ago, and it wasnt my sale) We realized what had happened, but it was to late. Because the card was not signed (left blank) the person stealing the card signed it with the name on front. And since both card and receipts signatures matched, what could we have done?
Im not saying you have to sign it, but just make sure no one else does.
On a side note, Our boss instructed us to tell customers to put “See I.D.” on their cards, if it was blank. I had one guy do just that he wrote " C. I. D."
Honestly!!!
Apparently, the credit card companies have changed the rules since the Staff Report was written.
We are looking into a revision.
And, welcome to the Straight Dope Message Board, JerSlings, glad to have you with us. Note that, when you open a thread about a Staff Report, it’s helpful to provide a link to that report. Keeps everyone on the same page. Ice Wolf has kindly provided the link for you. No biggie, just so you’ll know for next time. Again, welcome!
It will be interesting to see the outcome here. Will the venerable SDSTAFFsters Dex and Ken, who wrote that the smart bet was NOT to sign credit cards, be required to kiss upstart newcomer Q.E.D.'s ass? Will Q.E.D.'s proclamation turn out to be so much hooey? Will all my existing credit cards (on which I’ve written “Ask for photo ID”, and which in many years have never once been turned down by anybody for being unsigned) suddenly be determined to be illegal, immoral, and fattening? Do all credit card companies have the same policy regarding this issue? Do any cashiers (or managers) in any retail establishments have the slightest clue what any given credit card company’s policy is? Is there anybody who really has the Straight Dope on this? Or will the entire purchase-on-credit economy come to a screeching halt in lip-tugging indecision and uncertainty?
Stay tuned, fellow droogies!
If you follow the links that AmbushBug provided to the theads where this was discussed you’ll find that all your questions have been answered. Basically, you’ve gotten away with not signing your cards, but it’s wrong and you may be refused someday.
Yeah, I saw the threads. And the SDSTAFF article referred to by Ice Wolf. What I see is a bunch of conflicting “trust me, I know what I’m talking about” assertions by various people, some of whom claim to have stone tablets handed down from on high or something, but clearly some of whom must be wrong. A sheriff’s office, some former store clerks, contradictory statements from staffers, and yada yada: hardly the material for the One True Answer To All That Is Right And Holy About Signing Credit Cards. Not that it really matters; my previous post was a wry comment on the variety of expressed expert opinions, not a serious attempt to glean any rock-solid, absolute, definitive, blinding-light-on-the-road-to-Damascus answer, which I suspect does not in fact exist. The way I interpret it is that any self-important noodge with minimal knowledge and a minimum-wage job punching a cash register can decide whether to accept any given credit card or not, and that’s about that. I don’t really care; anybody who doesn’t want to accept my card doesn’t get my business. The teapot tempest needn’t get any bigger than that, as far as I’m concerned.
The Straight Dope Staff Report was old – many, many years. Well, four or five, roughly. It is possible that credit card companies have revised their policies. There’s not necessarily a conflict here, perhaps just a change. We’ll try to dig into it.