1. Why is it not legally mandatory for all merchants to check identification when the customer presents a credit card? How much credit card fraud could that prevent each year? Why would a customer ever complain when a retailer checks his or her ID?
2. A bunch of kids from a local high school were standing in the middle of the street on one of the busiest highways in town holding out buckets just to collect money for their schools. I don't remember my schools ever doing that. We washed cars, ran bake sales, sold magazines, candy, nuts, candles... As far as I can remember, we never stood in the middle of a busy highway begging for change. Plus, I just gave them over $600 in taxes when I don't even USE the school and probably never will.
3. Why is it that the people we know the best are also the hardest to buy presents for?
4 months ago
2 comments:
Check ID for a credit card sale?
First, let's define the term "legal." It would be prefectly _legal_ for them to do so. I know of no law on the books that forbids it and there are certainly none in my home State of Pennsylvania. However - it is a violation of a merchant's contract with the credit card company to do so in most cases.
Quoting directly from "Rules for Merchants:"
Requesting Cardholder ID
When should you ask a cardholder for an official government ID? In most cases,
merchants may not ask for an ID as part of their regular card acceptance
procedures, either when a valid card is first presented or to complete a sale.
Laws in several states also make it illegal for merchants to write a cardholder’s
personal information, such as an address or phone number, on a sales receipt.
-END QUOTE-
In addition, a merchant should not accept a card that has "See ID" written in the signature block, although, in this case, the merchant is supposed to ask for ID and require that the card be signed before accepting the card for payment. An unsigned card is NOT valid and a merchant is not permitted to accept it - although most will.
As to how much fraud would be prevented, probably not all that much and, other than the inconvenience involved, it wouldn't hurt the card holder anyhow. They are protected.
Tom Mahoney, Director
Merchant911.org
In response to #1: This past month, I had to go to Micheal's Crafts an infinity of times for the numerous projects I was working on. (Scrapbook paper is not only for scrapbooking, folks.)
The first time I went, I was in for a little surprise. "Debit or Credit?" she asked. Debit. She took my card, swped it and that was it. No ID, no code had to be punched in, simply take and swipe. Scared the shit out of me. If all businesses were like that, fraud would be as common as the sun in the sky.
Thank god not many theives choose a craft store for their splurge store...though I do need to watch out for those grandmas...
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