MasterCard/Visa rules

[starrc]

Did you know, that while retailers *can* ask you to show your ID when you use your MasterCard or Visa at checkout, they can NOT make it a REQUIREMENT for completing the transaction?

Check it outWhile at SuperTarget last night, buying Birthday clothes with the teenager, I swiped my MasterCard Debit card for the $138 transaction. The smarmy clerk

Comments

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[curtishart]

Refuse to show your receipt when exiting stores. Fry's doesn't really care, Best Buy and Wal-mart gets their panties in a bog ol'wad when you refuse. I even had to tel this smarmy guy at BB to go ahead and call the cops if he believes I stole anything and then I'd sure for wrongful assumption. Finally I said to him, 'Better stop me now.' and walked out to my car.

[tudor_diva]

While his smarmy attitude wasn't warranted, as the victim of identity theft that took years to clear up, I'm perfectly fine with showing my ID when I make purchases. Of course the people that stole my wallet all those years ago altered my driver's license, which would explain why they were able to write all of the checks in my checkbook that was in my wallet.

Still, it is to prevent theft, and ultimately your good name.

Just wanted to give you another perspective.

[starrc]

If he would have looked at the picture, then looked at me, then compared the names/signatures, maybe that would have been at least an attempt at "protecting me" from ID theft. But I watched him. He looked at the name on my ID, and the name on my card, never once looking up at me. I still don't really see how him looking at the name on my ID and credit card are supposed to protect me from ID Theft. I protect myself by closely monitoring my accounts and checking my credit report regularly.

I probably wouldn't have done anything if he hadn't had such a bad attitude, or if I had been asked one of the other gajillian times I've spent over $100 at Target. This felt more like we were being singled out for some odd reason. We did look awfully suspicious, with our 14 year old, our 1 year old, and our suspicious purchase of 3 shirts, a pair of jeans, a toy vacuum cleaner, and a kite!! ;-)

[curtishart]

I have to agree on this. My driver's license looks almost nothing like me now. It's almost 10 years old, my hair is buzzed, I have a van dyke and my glasses are different. Yet, no one makes a double-take when comparing my ID.

[cgronlund]

> and a kite!! ;-)

In the right hands, a kite can be a weapon of mass destruction!

I am glad they checked your ID because it's obvious you and Joe are breeding the next generation of enemy combatants... :)

Just LOOK at that picture of Alex...so young, and he's already being taught how to attack America's cyber infrastructure...

And Troy...he's a musician. George Bush told me jazz musicians are more likely to be Marxists than country musicians.

We're onto you guys! I'd call the government to tell on you all, but we're fortunate enough to live in a country where they collect and read all our online correspondence...

[meamgrimlock]

Now, see -
I have the opposite problem.

The Signature block on the back of all my Cards says 'See Identification.' (For the record, according to the credit agreement between you and your card provider, this technically invalidates the card.)

Most clerks take the card, look at the signature block, look at me like I've sprouted a second head, assume that if I'm handing them a card that says 'See ID' that I am, in fact, who I say I am, and hand me back the card without ever asking to see my ID.

And allow me to hijack your block at this point with the following soapbox addenddum:

I hate, hate, hate the 'do it yourself' Card readers that permeate nearly every retail establishment these days. Maybe I'm very much in the minority when it comes to this, but I want to physically hand my card to a cashier, have the cashier look at my ID and Signatures, make sure everything looks kosher, zap my card for the transaction, then hand it back to me

[ravenared]

I have to go with meamgrimlock and tudor_diva here...
having been the victim of identity theft, which caused me some serious damage, I also have "ask for ID" on the back of my card and am very pleased when a cashier actually pays attention to that.
There is no excuse for his smarmy attitude though.

[starrc]

Yeah, but I didn't make those rules, Visa and Mastercard did. I was just annoyed by their blatant disregard for them. What cheesed me off was mine was NOT a signed transaction. I used a PIN. The day that someone that steals my identity is able to use my secret-only-in-my-head PIN... that's a day I've been way too free with my personal information! I should be able to freely use my debit card with a PIN for $1000.00 per transaction if I want to, without being hassled.

[ravenared]

Oh...well, if you swiped the card yourself and put in the PIN.....NO excuse...he was just an ass.
That has never happened when I put my PIN in myself...right there with you then.