You need the card itself, ma'am

[Stormraven]

Personally, I both sign my card and put "ask for id". Honestly, just putting ask for id isn't all that secure.

Indeed. As I said, it was something I recall being presented as a security tip a while back, but every card I've got says 'sign'.

[Catwoman2965]

I agree customers are morons when it comes to credit cards. My store has its own, and we can look up (well, enough to make a purchase) the customer's account, AS LONG AS they give us their license. Our sytem allows us to look it up, but not get the number, and then hit ok, and it will process the transaction.

But there is always someone who doens't have their license either, and then gets pissy when we won't just take their word for it, and enter their name, etc. I always point out, that ANYONE can have access to that info, give it to us, and use their card, adding that its for THEIR protection.

Yesterday we had a funny one; customer asked the manager if she didn't pay her bill in full, would she get charged a finance charge? Um yes...our card works like ANY OTHER credit card, and yes, you will be charged a FC...that's how banks make their money! Amazing that someone so clueless is allowed to have credit cards!

[d962831]

some people...

[AnaKhouri]

My favorite credit card idiot was the one who hadn't signed her card, and when I asked for ID she said "I'll just sign it right now!"

I told her that was fine but I still needed ID. She got all huffy about it. Seriously, if she stole the card and then signed it in front of me, I would still have no way of knowing it was stolen. The ID had the right name and all, she was just being a bitch.

[rerant]

In a way I can sorta understand not understanding needing the card. While its a much different animal, I do much of my grocery shopping at Fry's, and I don't bother to bring the card, I just enter my phone number into the pad and it comes up. Obviously with a credit card you'd want more protection than something as simple as a phone number, but it could be done I suppose.

Our credit cards are treated like Visas, Master Cards, or Amexes, and are handled through a major Canadian bank, so we can't just accept a phone number in place of them.
Especially when some of them have limits of thousands of dollars. Anyone can get a phone number that matches the card owner.

My favorite credit card idiot was the one who hadn't signed her card, and when I asked for ID she said "I'll just sign it right now!"

I told her that was fine but I still needed ID. She got all huffy about it. Seriously, if she stole the card and then signed it in front of me, I would still have no way of knowing it was stolen. The ID had the right name and all, she was just being a bitch.

I've had worse. A woman didn't sign her card and had no ID on her, but handed me her signed debit card that lacked a name as some sort of other-worldly signature identification.
1) Your debit card has no name to match with the name on the card.
2) How am I to know you didn't steal someone's wallet and that's their debit card?
Her argument, "Ask me anything about myself and I can tell you. I'm ME!"
Yeah, because I know anything about her in the first place and would be able to tell if she was lying about her mother's maiden name, her street name and her birthday.
Eventually I decided I wasn't dealing with this anymore and called over a manager, who let her use the card under the logic that, "It's too busy right now and this is holding up the line."
Like I CARE if it's holding up the line; laws are laws and it infuriates me that the manager wouldn't back me up and made me out to be a total ass like that.
Thankfully that manager is no longer with my store.

[Whyme]

i have a question....unless she was getting her card replaced, if she hadn't received her card yet, how would she know the numbers and expiration date? even when you get your card replaced, i thought they changed the numbers on it so you cant use both cards. i could be wrong about that, but i just don't understand how she would know the nuimbers already.

This reminds of the time a lady came in with just the credit card numbers and expiration date on a piece of paper. She said she had lost her credit card and would this info be okay to buy groceries with? I said no, she asked why. I said I don't know if this is your card or not, I had no way to verify the name would match her ID or if the signatures would match, etc, etc. Then she said "I do it in California all the time"How many times has this woman lost her credit card? Besides that, she's not in California anymore. I'm surprised she didn't say "The other store lets me do it all the time!", at least that would have made more sense than telling me she does this in a different state "all the time".

She was starting to get quite snippy. So, smelling either a scam or a stolen credit card number, I continue to politely say no way, no how. Then she asks for a manager. The only one there was an assistant manager, who started to argue with her...then let her use it! I was not a happy camper. I asked him why he let her use numbers from a card that might be stolen. He said "It's probably hers.". I think he just didn't want to argue with her.

[Mikaiyawa]

I think what terrifies me is the fact when I was working as a cashier at a university bookstore we were Required to take those little slips of paper with the numbers written on them.

Ghods forbid the little terrors not be able to get their books for school because Mummy and Daddy couldn't (wouldn't more likely) get them a card with their name on it and wouldn't come with their darling spawn to get their supplies.

Most folks you would think would have better sense.

Mieka

[MadMike]

Ooooh, what so-called mystery stores accepted her "not received in the mail" card.

That wonderful, magical store called "Everywhere Else."

[TryNotToBeThatOne]

Oh yeah, I shop there all the time. That's where I get the parts for my flying car and the feed for my griffin.

[Zeeko]

I sign the back of my card, but I also hard write "Photo ID required" just for extra security. Most cashiers will ask for my ID which I already have out in expectation.

I'm very wary of Credit Card Security and I will never let it out of my sight. Even at restaurants that take it up to the register while we are still seated - I'll follow them to make sure a swifty sneaky swipe hasn't been done.

[StarsAreFixed]

Ehhh, does America not have chip-and-pin or something?

[pyxee]

Most of my gas station jobs have required us to take just the card info for some customers. Some trucking companies are an example, the drivers will just have the companies credit card info on a piece of paper. I would have no problems with these people since they were regulars most of the time, who would stop in every week around the same time on their routs. But every once in a while I would get Jackasses who find out about the exceptions for the drivers or whoever and expect me to do if for them. It gets old explaining why I wont sell Joe Pothead his blunt wraps with some random numbers, even though the regular truck driver in line in front of him could.

[Broomjockey]

Ehhh, does America not have chip-and-pin or something?

Not as a general rule, no. There's several different systems in place, but there's only one system that works the majority of places. Good ol' swiping.

[reformedwaitress]

I'm very wary of Credit Card Security and I will never let it out of my sight. Even at restaurants that take it up to the register while we are still seated - I'll follow them to make sure a swifty sneaky swipe hasn't been done.

I would suggest, then, never trying to use your credit card at a bar because if you try to come behind the bar to watch me run your card, there will be problems.

I guess I understand and should blame the people who HAVE done this is the past, but something about the fact that you assume your server is going to do something illegal and steal your card info bothers me. I would never do that. No one I know would ever do that. And that there are people that think I would? Yes, that offends me.

*shrug* guess I'm just weird.

(sorry for the off topic, that just bothered me)

[blas]

It's so awesome when an SC takes the time to whip out the cell phone and proceed to dial up Betty and Sue and bitch about you right in front of you!

That happened once at the gas station. There was a line, this girl didn't have ID, I denied the sale, she backed out of line, whipped out her phone, and said "Oh my GOD I cannot believe this! I got carded and the fucking bitch wouldn't sell me cigarettes. That FUCKING BRAT! NO ONE cards me, I'm 25 FUCKING years old!"

Cry me a river, Poopsie.

Forgive the language, she was a very foul mouthed woman of pure white trash proportions.