Debit Card BS

[bubblelittlepally]

So we're renovating our basement and adding a full bathroom downstairs. We got a great deal on a contractor, but we had to handle all the materials. My husband went with the contractor (who we're paying hourly) to get all the plumbing materials we needed. Since he's paying the contractor and purchased several materials already, I'm paying for these items. He takes my debit card and attemps to purchase these items using it as a debit NOT CREDIT, meaning he entered my pin number. The cashier asks for his ID, he's a bit puzzled but he gives it. The casheir refuses to accept the card because it has my name on it even though the last names are the same. He gets annoyed, but calls me at work because I have to come across town to present my ID. He tells the cashier it will be about 40min because I just can't drop everything I'm doing.

I meet my husband outside and come in only to find that they had a clerk return most of it to the shelves and the rest is dumped into a bin along with other stuff. Keep in mind WE'RE paying this contractor still and I'm missing work and $$. It takes about 20 min to find every thing we needed again.

It's been about 3 years since I was a store cashier, but I didn't think you would check an ID on a debit card since you had to use the PIN.

[Red_Dazes]

At our store we ONLY check ID for credit card purchases. Never Debit since you have to know the pin to use it.... I don't know if maybe some stores have different policies though.

[LillFilly]

Yeahhhh, that doesn't really sound right. Probably just a dumb cashier, sorry!

[ditchdj]

Don't know about debit cards but with credit cards (or used as a credit card) the clerk is NOT allowed to ask for your ID unless your card doesn't have a signature on it.

[Ironclad Alibi]

The real suckage here is that the store returned most of your purchase to the shelves even though your husband told them you were coming with proper ID.

[bubblelittlepally]

The funny thing is that we went back to return something and we tried it again, with me outside, and they didn't ask for his ID this time. All this suckage caused the shower to not be finished today and I have to pay the contractor tommorrow. I think this wasted about 2 hours total, give or take a few.

The cashier told him that she thought he was not going to come back because "nobody ever does".

[Dave1982]

Don't know about debit cards but with credit cards (or used as a credit card) the clerk is NOT allowed to ask for your ID unless your card doesn't have a signature on it.

I'm sorry, but that's not correct.

Although Visa rules do not preclude merchants from asking for cardholder ID, merchants cannot make an ID a condition of acceptance . Therefore, merchants cannot refuse to complete a purchase transaction because a cardholder refuses to provide ID. Visa believes merchants should not ask for ID as part of their regular card acceptance procedures

http://usa.visa.com/download/merchan..._merchants.pdf

The MasterCard rules are similar but have a more legalese style of phrasing. However, it is clear that you are NOT forbidden from asking for identification; they only discourage it. The only time you are REQUIRED to is if the card is unsigned (or has "See ID" and no signature. In both cases you are supposed to make them sign the card). They also go on to say that as part of a Code 10 call, you may be asked to request ID by the Code 10 operator.

What I don't like about Visa/MC rules is they don't specify any middle ground between outright acceptance of a card and a Code 10 call. They say if you are at all suspicious to go straight to Code 10, which seems rather extreme when there are times when simply checking ID can resolve the problem without a phone call.

Moving on.....Discover not only allows merchants to ask for ID, but encourages them to do so if there is something suspicious about a transaction.

If you have any doubts about the validity of the Card or the Card presenter, request and review additional identification from the Card presenter.

http://finance.tamu.edu/fmo/apcc/doc...egulations.pdf

American Express rules don't seem to have anything regarding asking for customer ID, however they do require as a condition of accepting an AmEx transaction that the merchant "verify that the customer is the Cardmember." The only way I can think of do to that is to check an ID.


I should also note that local laws may impose their own restrictions on asking customers for ID, and that for store credit cards the rules will obviously be up to the store.

[bainsidhe]

Well, it's a little late now, but hubby should have asked to see a manager. Although management might have balked now that they knew it wasn't his card, he stood a much better chance if he remained polite and firm with someone in authority.

[ThePhoneGoddess]

The cashier probably asked for ID because the card had a woman's name on it while a man was using it. They do have the right to ask for ID if they suspect it isn't his card, and many places require their cashiers to do so.

Yes, even if he is doing a pin based transaction.

And yes, people do it CONSTANTLY and then when they're called on it, they claim someone will be back and no one ever comes.

It happens to me on the phone at least three times a day and I can imagine it happens a lot in a store as well. Hardware stores are particularly hard hit by fraudulent transactions. Low rent construction repair people will often do it to not have to pay for materials, then they can pocket more money from the job itself.

Even though you're his wife and you gave him the pin number, it is still technically illegal for him to use your card. And if you later disputed the charge, the store would have to eat it because they willingly accepted the card from him even though it was obviously not his. This is why they will not accept it.

No offense but gahhhhhhhhhhhh this drives me absolutely bonkers. I talk to people all day long who yell at me because they want to use their spouses card and they don't care if it is illegal, I am supposed to just take their word for it. They have the pin number! They have the same last name! Why can't we let them break the law!

[Anakah]

I don't think the cashier was dumb. She was just doing her job. Maybe the store has a different policy. If the names don't completely match regardless of who knows the pin, I believe they should not be able to make the purchase.

Okay, think of it from her POV. She probably thought she was protecting you. For all she knows you two are split up and he stole your card. That does happen. And even if the last names match you can't prove you really are the husband--it could be anybody's card. I think she was in the right but I don't want to cause a huge issue but she seemed to be saving you from identity theft. He could have gone to an ATM and brought cash.

It could also be that someone did steal a card and knew the pin and maybe the store had a previous problem and told each cashier to card no matter what. There are so many factors that could happen that its better to be safe than sorry.

[Boozy]

Oh, hooray. Another credit card debate thread.

These tend to go downhill pretty quickly, since everyone's been told something different about what is and isn't illegal. Let's please try to keep the discussion civil.

[ditchdj]

I'm sorry, but that's not correct.

Page 29 of the Visa Merchant Agreement says:

"Although Visa rules does not preclude merchants from asking for cardholder ID, merchants cannot make an ID a condition of acceptance. Therefore, merchants cannot refuse to complete a purchase transaction because a cardholder refuses to provide ID."

http://usa.visa.com/download/merchan..._merchants.pdf

[Dave1982]

Page 29 of the Visa Merchant Agreement says:

"Although Visa rules does not preclude merchants from asking for cardholder ID, merchants cannot make an ID a condition of acceptance. Therefore, merchants cannot refuse to complete a purchase transaction because a cardholder refuses to provide ID."

http://usa.visa.com/download/merchan..._merchants.pdf

Doesn't mean they can't ask, though. That's all I'm saying.

[ditchdj]

Oh well then yeah, they can ask. But the customer doesn't have to provide it.

I don't know how it is with Mastercard because I just use my bankcard with the Visa logo on it. I also get "points" through my credit union that I can redeem for cash later if I use it like a credit card.

[bubblelittlepally]

I always wonder what the heck an ID is supposed to prove anyway. It is soo easy to obtain and make fake IDs that look convincing anyway that this "extra" security is just over kill. So if a skinny 21 year old white guy presented a Visa card with the name John Smith on it and had an ID, how are we to know that this John Smith, the owner of the card, is really a 47 year old black man weighing 270 lbs? We don't.

In the case of having the same last name, do they really prevent theft more then they annoy people? Probably not, and with my 4 years as office staff I never made a big deal out of something like this.

When we returned, the cashier (who had "Head Cashier" on her badge") told him it wasn't necessary. This was just an example of poor training, that I've come to expect from this store after this week. It wasn't just the cashier, but the employees who weren't trained to answer simple questions as to "Where can I find X" or the ones that were completely oblivious to the world around them. You'd think that with all the $$ these companies spend making their stores look pretty, they could spend some training people what the difference between a screw and a nail is..