Ask for ID

Jaybird180

Jaybird180

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Jaybird180
When I worked retail many moons ago, my manager scolded me for asking a customer for ID. I was educated that if the card is signed the merchant can be fined if the customer complains.

Yesterday at Wallyworld, the cashier asked for ID from me after the person in front had difficulty with their card (suspected fraud). Is it still true that they shouldn't ask for ID with a signed card?
 
Jaybird180 said:
When I worked retail many moons ago, my manager scolded me for asking a customer for ID. I was educated that if the card is signed the merchant can be fined if the customer complains.
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Seems unlikely.

Yesterday at Wallyworld, the cashier asked for ID from me after the person in front had difficulty with their card (suspected fraud). Is it still true that they shouldn't ask for ID with a signed card?
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I am never offended by requests for my ID when using a credit card. I'm glad merchants are looking out for people using credit cards that are not their own because one day I might lose a card.
 
Jaybird180 said:
When I worked retail many moons ago, my manager scolded me for asking a customer for ID. I was educated that if the card is signed the merchant can be fined if the customer complains.

Yesterday at Wallyworld, the cashier asked for ID from me after the person in front had difficulty with their card (suspected fraud). Is it still true that they shouldn't ask for ID with a signed card?
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There is so bloody much credit card fraud these days that it has become SOP in many places to ask for ID where paying with a credit card. Here in SoCal, I would say that I am asked to show ID for about 60-75% of transactions.
 
I prefer they ask me for picture ID to verify I'm the human that belongs to the plastic.
 
my picture is on the card. i'm not sure if the card is signed or not. seems like about half the stuff i buy with it doesn't require a signature anyway. i did get one convenience store in iowa that asked for my ID once. it was about 2:30 in the morning and i needed caffeine to make the last 40 miles.
 
The merchant agreements with most major credit cards require that the store not ask for ID from every customer. There are reprocussions from the credit card companies if you are found to be doing that (higher % taken, certain amount of money held for monthly disbursement).

However the policies allow stores to ask for ID in cases of suspected fraud.

Matt
 
My CC is signed "Check ID". Not what the CC company wants, but Id rather have the cashier ask and verify. Guess what, only a handful ever ask.
 
TripleZ said:
My CC is signed "Check ID". Not what the CC company wants, but Id rather have the cashier ask and verify. Guess what, only a handful ever ask.
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Here's the weird thing about that. I just got a new credit card and didn't have to sign an application for it - They said that the signature on the card substituted for the signature on an application. (I actually didn't fill out any paperwork at all - Finally ditched the AOPA card and got one through my Credit Union.) Crazy!
 
What ****es me off is when I go to my bank of 10 years and the tellers there ask for my ID when I deposit a paycheck, and keep out like $50 in cash.
 
EdFred said:
What ****es me off is when I go to my bank of 10 years and the tellers there ask for my ID when I deposit a paycheck, and keep out like $50 in cash.
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Two words: Credit Union.

It's non-profit, so there's very few fees, savings/CD rates tend to be higher, loan rates tend to be lower. They also tend to actually give a crap.

Compare that to the bank with a "Five Star Service Guarantee" that took a thumbprint to cash a two-digit check, drawn on that bank, from that branch, with the writer of the check present. Ridiculous.
 
i'm pretty sure my credit union is that in name only. they have plenty of fees for crap and the interest rates ar no better than any other bank as best i can tell
 
EdFred said:
What ****es me off is when I go to my bank of 10 years and the tellers there ask for my ID when I deposit a paycheck, and keep out like $50 in cash.
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Are these the same tellers or do they have a lot of turnover?

I almost never go to the teller at the bank. I use the ATM.
 
TripleZ said:
My CC is signed "Check ID". Not what the CC company wants, but Id rather have the cashier ask and verify. Guess what, only a handful ever ask.
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Ditto. Keeps everyone straight and level. :wink2:
 
Jaybird180 said:
When I worked retail many moons ago, my manager scolded me for asking a customer for ID. I was educated that if the card is signed the merchant can be fined if the customer complains.

Yesterday at Wallyworld, the cashier asked for ID from me after the person in front had difficulty with their card (suspected fraud). Is it still true that they shouldn't ask for ID with a signed card?
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Correct, they should not be requiring an ID.

If a merchant asks me for my ID, I decline and tell them that it's not required and they can either accept my card as per their merchant agreement or lose the sale. I then file a complaint with Visa/Mastercard.

Why should I have to show my ID to some random cashier whom isn't even going to look at it in the first place and potentially opens me up to identity fraud?

Do you women really want to be handing your address and whatever other information to random people? There is a *REASON* that the credit card companies DO NOT want and prohibit merchants from asking.

It's a credit card. You're not liable for the fraud anyways. I'm not going to go giving more personal information to someone that doesn't need the information.
 
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EdFred said:
What ****es me off is when I go to my bank of 10 years and the tellers there ask for my ID when I deposit a paycheck, and keep out like $50 in cash.
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I worked in a bank one summer, and we got ID from everyone, even the regulars we knew very well. I know my startup checklist by heart, but I pull it out and use it every time, just to be safe and consistent.

Why fault the teller for erring on the side of caution? How do they know you don't have an identical twin who's out to steal your money?
 
jesse said:
It's a credit card. You're not liable for the fraud anyways.
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My understanding is that you can be held liable for up to $50 if the activity is not reported; if your plastic is really a debit card then the liability can go up to $500 if the activity is reported within 60 days, otherwise the liability of the debit card holder is unlimited.
 
Jim Logajan said:
My understanding is that you can be held liable for up to $50 if the activity is not reported; if your plastic is really a debit card then the liability can go up to $500 if the activity is reported within 60 days, otherwise the liability of the debit card holder is unlimited.
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Which is why I don't use debit cards. I primarily use American Express, if that's not taken then it's a Visa credit card.
 
Jim Logajan said:
My understanding is that you can be held liable for up to $50 if the activity is not reported; if your plastic is really a debit card then the liability can go up to $500 if the activity is reported within 60 days, otherwise the liability of the debit card holder is unlimited.
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This is actually incorrect. With a Visa debit card you are limited to ZERO liability for fraud.
 
I'm seeing more and more online and in-person places request or just type in the "security" number on the card.

This is the difference between "card present" and "card not present" in my alerts that come out from the good cards. And I'm about to drop the only card that won't send me an instant text message each time a card is used. It's standard now.

Buh-bye if you don't do it.

Notably this is the Frontier Airlines card I'm dropping anyway for a host of other reasons including that Frontier isn't a local airline anymore, Republic kinda sucks since I flew on them recently, and the whole thing is sending profit to Barclay's bank in the UK? Enough of that silliness. Gone.

I know vendors hate them for their higher fees, but my Costco AMEX has my photo, and consistently AMEX provides the absolute best online experience for reporting, end of year analysis, and customer service ever. I run into one or two places a year that won't take AMEX and a goodly more who scoul and bear it.

It doesn't hurt that AMEX classifies the self-serve pump at the airport as a gas station for the cash back on fuel offer. Yep, it's fuel! And a LOT of it! Phillips 66 is Phillips 66! ;)

A few 182 fill-ups maxes out that annual benefit, quite nicely.

The Costco also has a nice kickback for dining out which I'll admit we do too much of, but I give it back in the tip. I figure I'm costing the restaraunt 5% using AMEX, and putting 3% more cash than my usual good tip -- back in the server's pocket. Ha. Twisted.

We then get an annual check from that to go "blow" at Costco. Bought us most of a nice HDTV one year! :D

As a former "debt junkie" who reformed in my late 20s after amassing an incredible amount of CC debt and later busting butt to pay it off, I find the cards themselves to be almost nothing less than pure evil anyway.

I game their systems and run tons of money through them and pay it all off without any significant fees every year. The Costco costs me what a membership would, roughly.

The Frontier slowly has been edging upwards but I've still gotten more out of it than they've gotten out of me.

Multiple airline tickets for $5 isn't a sustainable business model at today's fuel prices, I'm pretty sure. No idea how Barclays and Republic settle up on that one, or who comes out ahead, but if folks are carrying balances, it's definitely Barclays.

Auto-pay through the things, and then pay 'em right off makes for nice perks with zero work involved.

Screw the CC companies. They got their pound of flesh out of me. I'll slowly and much less efficiently return the favor.

Wonder if Jet A would go through as "gas". LOL. Could hit the benefit limit in a single fill that way if someone handed me the cash. ;)
 
AggieMike88 said:
I prefer they ask me for picture ID to verify I'm the human that belongs to the plastic.
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we really need a photo C/C put your mug shot on the front of the card, If it aint this dude don't do the transaction.
 
denverpilot said:
Screw the CC companies. They got their pound of flesh out of me. I'll slowly and much less efficiently return the favor.
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If only it was so neat and clean.

As vendors, we have been the victim of credit card fraud. When someone fraudulently uses your credit card, YOU are not liable -- but the vendor who accepted it is INSTANTLY charged back every penny of it.

Oh, and if there were multiple charges, as there often is at a hotel, the credit card company lards on a $15 PER CHARGEBACK "fee".

It is then up to us to jump through flaming hoops to "prove" that we did everything necessary to prove that the person who presented the card actually WAS the person who owned the card. I've worked a full day researching a fraudulent charge -- that's just lost money, to us.

Any variance in procedure, and we lose. "Procedure" includes checking I.D. -- I don't care WHAT they have written into their "rules and regulations". If we did not verify the identity of the card-holder, we lose.

I would ban credit cards entirely in my businesses, except for the fact that we often go many days now without seeing any cash. The cards rule the market now -- and they know it.
 
Jaybird180 said:
When I worked retail many moons ago, my manager scolded me for asking a customer for ID. I was educated that if the card is signed the merchant can be fined if the customer complains.

Yesterday at Wallyworld, the cashier asked for ID from me after the person in front had difficulty with their card (suspected fraud). Is it still true that they shouldn't ask for ID with a signed card?
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Yes, it's true. And writing "Ask for ID" in the signature panel is not valid and makes the card invalid.

http://fso.cpasitesolutions.com/premium/le/06_le_ic/fg/fg-merchants.html

The credit card industry getting 205+ APR makes it trivial for them to eat losses rather than slow down the proles by making using the card more of a hassle. Let's not mention that cards in Europe also require he buyer supply PIN but US card suppliers have fought that idea tooth and nail.
 
Jay Honeck said:
If only it was so neat and clean.

As vendors, we have been the victim of credit card fraud. When someone fraudulently uses your credit card, YOU are not liable -- but the vendor who accepted it is INSTANTLY charged back every penny of it.

Oh, and if there were multiple charges, as there often is at a hotel, the credit card company lards on a $15 PER CHARGEBACK "fee".

It is then up to us to jump through flaming hoops to "prove" that we did everything necessary to prove that the person who presented the card actually WAS the person who owned the card. I've worked a full day researching a fraudulent charge -- that's just lost money, to us.

Any variance in procedure, and we lose. "Procedure" includes checking I.D. -- I don't care WHAT they have written into their "rules and regulations". If we did not verify the identity of the card-holder, we lose.

I would ban credit cards entirely in my businesses, except for the fact that we often go many days now without seeing any cash. The cards rule the market now -- and they know it.
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I would have no problem showing my ID to a hotel, it's pretty common. But if you were running a restaurant and asked for my ID we'd have a problem.
 
jesse said:
I would have no problem showing my ID to a hotel, it's pretty common. But if you were running a restaurant and asked for my ID we'd have a problem.
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I've never had a restaurant ask for ID with a credit card, but it is VERY common around here for retailers to ask. Almost to the point of being SOP.
 
Jaybird180 said:
When I worked retail many moons ago, my manager scolded me for asking a customer for ID. I was educated that if the card is signed the merchant can be fined if the customer complains.

Yesterday at Wallyworld, the cashier asked for ID from me after the person in front had difficulty with their card (suspected fraud). Is it still true that they shouldn't ask for ID with a signed card?
Click to expand...

I'd give you hell for it. You're not seeing my license to take my signed credit card. If it is Visa and MasterCard you are enjoined from asking. American Express takes a softer view, but you're still NOT allowed to refuse it because I don't show ID. If you're going to use the cards and logos, you have to accept it under their terms. No minimum charges (and only recently were you allowed to surcharge). It is a violation of your merchant agreement and I'll more likely than not report it.
If you refuse to take my card, you can guarantee I'll have the credit card company on the phone before I leave the store.

I'm not opening myself up to identity theft by some minimum wage clerk who has no business seeing my personal information.
 
flyingron said:
I'm not opening myself up to identity theft by some minimum wage clerk who has no business seeing my personal information.
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Everything has inherent risks but I don't understand the concern with showing your DL. They don't write down the info on your license (and I certainly wouldn't let them), they simply take a quick glance to confirm that the name on the card matches the name on the license and that the photo looks like you. Risk? Very minimal.

Do you really think a minimum wage employee who can't make change without the computer telling them how much to give you back actually has the brain power to memorize your address and Drivers License # with a quick glance?

Personally, I thank them for checking.
 
timwinters said:
Everything has inherent risks but I don't understand the concern with showing your DL. They don't write down the info on your license (and I certainly wouldn't let them), they simply take a quick glance to confirm that the name on the card matches the name on the license and that the photo looks like you. Risk? Very minimal.

Do you really think a minimum wage employee who can't make change without the computer telling them how much to give you back actually has the brain power to memorize your address and Drivers License # with a quick glance?

Personally, I thank them for checking.
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Drivers license's have barcodes on them that can be scanned with a very portable scanner in an instant. How close do you watch them when they're holding your ID? How close does everyone watch them?

There's just no point in it. Why should I have to show my ID?

99% of the people that look at the ID do it because they think they should but they don't pay any attention to it. Then that remaining 1% bad element can get whatever information they need off your ID in an instant. Yes. It happens.

At the end of the day the credit card companies prohibit merchants from requiring ID and I have no interest in doing business with someone whom chooses to ignore or not understand the agreement's they've signed.

It's fake security. It's simply not effective. It wastes my time and it requires I have my drivers license with me. I should be able to use my credit card without carrying my drivers license. My drivers license in my opinion isn't meant to be something everyone in the world can look at simply because they feel like they should be able to.

This isn't for ID cards but they are out there. It's not hard for someone to do a quick swipe through a device like this without you noticing:
http://cgi.ebay.com/MiniDX3-Portabl...571?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cb4187d43
 
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jesse said:
At the end of the day the credit card companies prohibit merchants from asking for ID's and I have no interest in doing business with someone whom chooses to ignore or not understand the agreement's they've signed.
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Do you have a reference for that?

I ask because if that is indeed true, almost all of the retailers around here are doing some illegal stuff.

The only restriction that I am aware of is that (and this is a recent change thanks to Williams Sonoma I believe) is that they are not allowed to ask for your address in the checkout line. Gas stations, however, are still allowed to require your zip code when paying at the pump.
 
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Fearless Tower said:
Do you have a reference for that?.
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http://www.mastercard.us/support/problems-using-mastercard.html
Q: A merchant required me to provide identification to use my MasterCard card
A: There are certain situations when you use your MasterCard card where a merchant may require some personal information: for example for the shipping purposes, . Additionally, if the MasterCard card is unsigned, a merchant should request personal identification (but not record it) and ask the cardholder to sign the card before completing the transaction
If you believe that a merchant has violated the above standard or their actions requesting identification are questionable, you may report it by clicking the following URL and completing a brief online form
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Let me rephrase what I said earlier. The merchant can ask for an ID all they want, but they cannot require the identification.

Here the page where you can file a complaint:
http://www.mastercard.us/support/merchant-violations.html
" The merchant/retailer required identification."
 
timwinters said:
Everything has inherent risks but I don't understand the concern with showing your DL. They don't write down the info on your license (and I certainly wouldn't let them), they simply take a quick glance to confirm that the name on the card matches the name on the license and that the photo looks like you. Risk? Very minimal.

Do you really think a minimum wage employee who can't make change without the computer telling them how much to give you back actually has the brain power to memorize your address and Drivers License # with a quick glance?

Personally, I thank them for checking.
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All he needs is the DL number. Unfortuantely, since people got tigther on SSN's DL numbers are now the defacto electronic banking ID number (try to open an online bank acct. without it).

Pesonally I don't thank them. It does absolutely NOTHING to decrease fraud. If it did, the processors would require it rather than prohibiting it.
 
jesse said:
http://www.mastercard.us/support/problems-using-mastercard.html
Let me rephrase what I said earlier. The merchant can ask for an ID all they want, but they cannot require the identification.

Here the page where you can file a complaint:
http://www.mastercard.us/support/merchant-violations.html
" The merchant/retailer required identification."
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Nope, as a MasterCard acceptor, they can only EVEN ask in certain specific situations. What you say is true of AMEX but not MC or VISA.
 
flyingron said:
Nope, as a MasterCard acceptor, they can only EVEN ask in certain specific situations. What you say is true of AMEX but not MC or VISA.
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I rephrased what I wrote.

Visa and Mastecard say the merchant can ask, but they discourage it, and they absolutely cannot refuse to accept the credit card if you refuse to show them ID.

As you mention AMEX prohibits them from even asking. Most places accept AMEX.
 
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TripleZ said:
My CC is signed "Check ID". Not what the CC company wants, but Id rather have the cashier ask and verify. Guess what, only a handful ever ask.
Click to expand...

Do the same here...if they dont ask I sign it See ID....most times they dont even catch that.
 
timwinters said:
Everything has inherent risks but I don't understand the concern with showing your DL.
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I don't either. I also make many online purchases and almost always need to type in the security code in addition to my credit card number. I just see it as a condition of making online transactions.
 
Everskyward said:
I don't either. I also make many online purchases and almost always need to type in the security code in addition to my credit card number. I just see it as a condition of making online transactions.
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Typing the security code in is fine. That merchant is being smart and has decided to require security codes which decreases their risk of charge-backs and potentially gives them lower rates.

Security codes are never allowed to be stored by any merchant. That means that it's less likely card number theives will get your card number with the security code. Therefore merchants that require the security code are less likely to be processing stolen cards.
 
jesse said:
I would have no problem showing my ID to a hotel, it's pretty common. But if you were running a restaurant and asked for my ID we'd have a problem.
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Be careful, Jesse. Two times that I've had my identity stolen were hotels that insisted on seeing ID. The desk clerk copied the number, and within an hour charges were popping up on my Amex card, and within 24 hours the had accounts set up with phone companies and other creditors. It took months to clean up, and came back again 8 years later when a collection agency sold the bad debt but neglected to send the identity theft information.

This happened at a 5 star hotel in NYC, and also a 4 star. I thwarted an effort in San Antonio by showing a passport - the desk clerk refused to give me a room unless I allowed him to copy my driving license (i went to another hotel).


via Tapatalk
 
GMascelli said:
Do the same here...if they dont ask I sign it See ID....most times they dont even catch that.
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According to their contract they aren't to accept the card then until you sign it (and in this case they are required to see id).

Sorry Jay and the others, but this ID doesn't do squat for anything. Jay may remember what my driver's license looked like (full beard, sort of Charles Mansonish) but I've been clean shaven for over a decade. Nobody much commented on the difference in appearance.

If I steal or find your wallet, then I'll have your ID.
If I steal your card number and make my own card, I'll make my own license.
 
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