WARNING!! home depot shoppers

[Bird]

As a credit card merchant, we are told that if a card isn't signed, then we don't have to accept it. If we do accept it, and it is disputed, then we are stuck for the money. I have also been told, but don't have any independent verification of this, but if you don't sign your card and it is lost and signed by someone else, that you might be responsible for the purchases the same as if you gave the card to a family member. I don't understand why people don't want to sign a card, because if you follow all the credit card rules, that you can't be held responsible for more than $50 of purchases. Many credit card issuers even waive this amount. Our policy is that we require identification and that the card be signed. If not, we don't accept it. Here is a site that tells about this Urban Myth. After you read it, you might sign your card.
Dusty

Of course I agree with you that the credit card companies want you to sign the card, but I can't help but wonder if they aren't just very slow to change with the times, and being a bit silly.

1. I'll bet we've all heard stories, whether true or not, of a merchant refusing a card because it wasn't signed, so the customer signs it on the spot and then the merchant accepts it,

2. Most police officers are not handwriting experts, even the "experts" are wrong sometimes, and yet the credit card companies expect a store clerk to compare signatures. Just how ridiculous can you get?

3. We use our credit cards for online shopping and at the gas pumps with no one to inspect the card, the signature, or any other ID, yet we expect a store clerk to check those things for small purchases?????

4. My hen scratching on a credit card receipt looks nothing like the signature on the back of the card that was done sitting at my desk.

5. At many, if not most, stores now, you sign an "electronic pad?" (is that what they call them?) instead of paper. I assume most folks have found that it makes no difference at all what kind of scratch mark you make.

I have no problem with any merchant asking for identification to go with the card, and I've never had a card rejected. I have very very rarely had a store clerk even look at the back of the card, and even more rarely look at the two signatures (which looked absolutely nothing alike but were accepted without comment anyway ).

 

[Chuck52]

Bird,

I suspect that part of your good experiences with credit card acceptance is due to profiling. Your appearance doesn't come close to what the average clerk would consider for a scam artist. My white hair gets me the same kind of treatment usually. Plus senior discounts I'm not qualified for yet. Sigh.

Chuck

 

[Dusty]

There are a few things at play when you sign the card. If you look at the back of the card, there is a statement "Authorized Signature - Not Valid Unless Signed". Now, this isn't rocket science, if the card isn't signed, then it isn't a valid card. If a merchant accepts a invalid card, then the credit card company doesn't have to fund that sale. The merchant isn't responsible for a stole card, because they realize that the merchant isn't a signature expert. Today, the golden rule that the customer is never wrong has gone awry. Today, people expect the merchant to accept anything that they do as acceptable. If you want my goods and for me to trust that your credit card is valid, you have to follow the rules of the Association. Yes, it is the credit card association that makes these rules, not the issuing bank. Each brand of credit card is issued by a bank that is a member of the association, so they all work under the same rules and regulations. When you signed the credit card application you agree to be bound by these rules and regulations. Every time you use the card, you also are signing to be bound by these rules and regulations.
Dusty

 

[EddieWalker]

I have one credit card and I've never signed it. I wanted the clerk to ask for my ID as I assumed that if anybody stole it, they would have to check there ID. Now I realize that doesn't make any sense. If the card was stolen, they could just use it at any auto check out anyway. I can't think of the last time a clerk even touched my card. Everywhere I go, I have to slide it through the little card reader.

After reading all these posts, I'm actualy thinking I'm gonna sign my card. The credit card company requires it and there's no valid reason to fight them on this.

Eddie

 

[MLinOleMiss]

My wife and I always put SEE ID on our credit cards and have never been questioned about signing the card. Of course, we are hardly ever asked for ID either.

 

[Dusty]

Even with the statement See ID or CID, if you loose your card, the person finding it can sign it their way and that is all they need to do, to become you. If a card is signed, we don't ask for an ID. Also, if the card is signed and it has the statement "See ID", we wouldn't ask, because that is what the processing center is for. They are checking all card processing at merchants and if there is a problem with a card, or you have been out on a spending spree, the digital read out will come up with a "call center" message. What I really don't understand is why people are so paranoid. You are protected by law to being only responsible for $50 of purchases on the card. The card issuer is going to absorb the rest of the charges if it is a stolen card. If you think that your diligence is going to save the bank money if the card is stolen, you are wrong. They know the percentages of risk and have ways to protect themselves.
Bird mentioned using the card at stores where they didn't require a signature. This is a "newer" system for stores that want to move the customer through the line faster. These charges are limited in $$ amounts before a signature is required, and the merchant is paying a slightly higher rate for this convenience. The charge is still authorized at the processing center, so they feel that the speed is worth the risk.
Dusty

 

[Bird]

Dusty, I'm certainly not disagreeing with you. I have no doubt you're right. But I think the credit card companies are being silly with obsolete rules that need updating.

Of course I'm so old I can remember when we didn't have Discover, Visa, MasterCard, etc., etc., but the gasoline companies had their own cards. With no computers, they mailed us a list once a month listing all the "cancelled" card numbers. We had to look at that list every time someone presented a credit card, and never once found one on the list. Of course we kept those lists because if we had taken a card and that number was on the list, it would have been our loss, while the company stood the loss if we took a stolen card that was not on the list yet. That only happened one time in 3 years, and Mobil stood the loss for the new tire I had sold.

 

[Ken_CT]

I was recently told about a gift card scam going on. I have no idea if this is a myth or truth... At the gift card display that has a large number of different store cards, the thief takes down card numbers. Later they call the company and inquire what balance is left on the card (assuming someone has purchased it). If there is a balance they can buy at the online store for that card. Gift cards have no name so how can you tell who it belongs to? Supposedly if you want a gift card you should buy it from a clerk, not from a display. This could be bunk, but it makes sense.

 

[jk96]

There's been several incidents of gift card theft. Most cards have an id number that is on the back of the card. You have to scratch off the back of the card where the id is to reveal it. This is how the scam occurs. When buying a card, just make sure the code has not been scratched off and revealed.

jk

 

[Dusty]

There's been several incidents of gift card theft. Most cards have an id number that is on the back of the card. You have to scratch off the back of the card where the id is to reveal it. This is how the scam occurs. When buying a card, just make sure the code has not been scratched off and revealed.

jk

This is a true scam. For more info, read this website that describes it in detail.