It works for me when it’s checked. But… sign it and write that phrase. Some places just flat out refuse to accept it without it being signed.
So, Q.E.D., do you think signing, and putting “ask for photo id” is an acceptable compromise? I’m going to do something other than leave my blank, so want to get thoughts to consider. Thanks.
She didn’t.
I accept credit cards, and my processing company made it clear that a signature is required to have any protection against a disputed charge.
I use credit cards, and I’ve never been asked to sign until after the card has been approved. Like everyone else who uses credit cards, I know that it takes some amount of time to process the card and get approval. I don’t have any problem standing still for that brief interval. Seeing as most folks can write their signature in about two seconds, it strikes me as a ridiculous assertion.
Instead of not signing it, write “Check picture ID” on the back. This actually works in small stores and places that hire clerks with at least a high-school education.
Unfortunately, many merchants seem to be actually trying to make it easier to use stolen credit cards. Gas stations obviously have nobody to look at your card. Grocery stores have you run the card through yourself…the clerk never touches it or looks at it. Restaurants run your card, leave it at the table for you, and don’t watch you sign it or compare the signature. Stores with self-checkout never look at the signature.
I have a card with my photo and signature laminated into the front. My wife has used that card a number of times, signing her own name. Even a casual glance would show that she doesn’t have a beard. :rolleyes:
It’s not clear to me from what you state here whether or not you mean to imply that the card holder should not put their signature on the card. As QED has pointed out several times above, not signing the card violates your agreement with the card issuer. I’ve had card processor contracts (as a merchant) that required me to refuse unsigned cards, regardless of whether or not the holder had photo ID that matched the name on the card.
Does that mean Canadians can’t buy gas?
Signing it properly is really your best option. As pointed out earlier, many merchant agreements do not allow allow merchants to check IDs when accepting credit cards except in the event that the signature panel has become illegible. Unfortunately, all too many merchants are lax to the point of incompetency when it comes to processing credit cards, and it’s all too easy for a thief to get around such measures as writing “See ID”. Putting anything other than your proper signature in the space provided more than likely invalidates the agreement you signed when you accepted the card. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred this won’t really matter in practice, but that one time that it DOES matter could cost you. You can best protect yourself by NEVER letting the card out of your sight. Do not EVER walk away from the counter while the cashier processes the sale–every time I see people do this, I want to smack them. Report lost or stolen cards immediately, and inspect your account statements carefully each month and report any charges you are sure you did not make. Be especially careful when making CC purchases on the internet. Use common sense. If you have any reason to be suspicious, then do NOT make the transaction.
I don’t believe your quote means that the merchant is legally required, by any stretch of the imagination, to take a signature, though. It means that they surrender certain rights to Visa if they don’t, or if they impose regulations contrary to Visa’s.
It’s funny how you act like you’re disagreeing with me without actually saying anything that goes against what I said. You can’t sign for it until after the card clears. As opposed to just running the card and leaving, you have to wait until it clears, so the signing part would (according to the theory that the cashier had) keep me around until they were sure the card was valid.
Based on my experience, that’s not true. The HEB I go to, for certain, requires you to show your credit card to a cashier who basically oversees all the automated checkouts in the store (they’re all in one big aisle, with the cashier at the end of it facing them) before the card will be run. I want to say Kroger does something similar, but it’s been a while since I went there.
I’ve been to stores with self-checkout that look at the card, but I’ve never seen one where someone looks at the signature, much less compares it with what you’ve written on the pad. I’ve never heard of HEB and we don’t have Kroger around here, so maybe they’re different.
No, I didn’t imply that. I put a signature on the card and write “see photo ID.”
I would like to point out that many places where one can order stuff online use the numeral elements of the credit card billing address as additional validation. So if your ID has your CC billing address, you’re giving the potentially unscrupulous clerk the last piece of information they need in order to use your card after copying the number/expiration/name/cvv2.
Yes, I did interpret what you wrote as the actual signing, not waiting until the point where the signature was requested. And it’s still just as ridiculous a contention. What merchant in his right mind is going to let the customer leave with the merchandise before the approval is received?
The reason to get the signature is not to have a pretense for the customer to wait while the card clears. The reason to get the signature is to protect the merchant in case of a dispute.
The reason for the customer to wait for the verification is not because the signature is required. The reason to wait for the verification is because the merchant won’t release the merchandise until it’s received.
So that cashier’s theory is nonsense on both counts.
Alterego provided an amazing link that a lot of people probably missed. It’s a link to the entire Visa Merchant Agreement, spelling out exactly what merchants are and are not permitted and required to do. This can answer almost every credit card question we’ve ever had on the boards, most threads of which end with “I used to work in a position where I saw the merchant agreement once, and this is what I remember” as the most authoritative comment.
I plan to peruse it extensively.
You’d be right if every merchant agreement were identical. They are not. For general purposes, it will likely pertain to most situations in terms of a broad understanding, but for specifics you’d really need a copy of the agreement for the merchant/CC company in question. This is particularly important for the proprietary revolving-charge cards issued by many corporations, such as Sears or Radio Shack. Also, the merchant agreements may differ considerably with some card issuers, such as American Express as opposed to those with MasterCard/Visa.
A nitpick that is not that minor; it’s merchants who take the fall here, NOT banks. If you loose your card and someone uses it to buy a slab of beer and the bottleshop attendant does not check the signature match, here’s what happens when you report that transaction as not being yours:
[ol]
[li]The bank asks you to complete a form that you fax, post or deliver in person, where you identify and deny the charge.[/li][li]The bank sends a letter to the merchant saying that transaction is in question, please provide supporting documentation (ie, the signed chit)[/li][li]The merchant does not have that, cos the attendant was slack, so they ignore the letter[/li][li]A few weeks later, the merchant gets a letter saying, “as you did not provide supporting documentation, we have debited your account for the price of the item, and fined you $x” (usually $30 to $50).[/li][/ol]
I run a company that does a few thousands transactions a week, and we get around 20 of those letters a week (internet based business, so getting signatures is kinda hard). I’d be happy to post a scan of one (sanatised) if anyone is interested.
a
Only partially correct. In cases where fraud results from no demonstrable fault of the merchant (such as the aformentioned situation in which the customer fails to sign his card and the thief puts his own signature forgery there), the CC finance company or bank takes the hit. And guess who they pass THAT on to? And really, regardless of who takes the hit initially, be it merchant or bank, the consumer is the one who ultimately pays for it.
I wonder how true that is, in an era where the bank can charge whatever consumers pay for. Let’s say the most that I’ll ever possibly pay is 15% APR on a credit card. I just won’t use a card more than that. The company can probably profit on my at 8%, but will charge me 15% just because they know I’ll pay it. Fraud has nothing to do with the charge.
I reserve this logic just for credit cards, though. Actually stealing from a store works just as you describe.
Abby, please do. I’m curious.
Not to hijack the thread but…well, I’m hijacking it a bit. I’ve heard the statement that per the Merchant Agreements of Visa/MC/Amex that the merchant would be in violation of the MA if they ask the card holder to produce ID. Is that urban legend or not?
I found this info from a MC website:
In most cases, the merchant agreement allows the merchant to ask for ID with a credit card purchase only in the event that the card is unsigned, if the signature panel has worn off, the signature is otherwise illegible or does not match the signed sales slip.