http://consumerist.com/tag/credit-cards/?i=5023643&t=10-things-you-might-not-know-about-your-credit-card

Quote :

"4) Merchants Cannot Require A Minimum Transaction Amount It's a violation of the credit card company's merchant agreement to refuse a transaction because it is below the "minumum.""

Man, I could list the businesses...

7/11/2008 12:12:17 AM

I Heart NYP

All the Indian convenience stores

Sakura Express

7/11/2008 12:13:20 AM

this shit can't be correct

you don't have to sign your credit card

7/11/2008 12:14:10 AM

For a while I only signed fake names (or, like, Darth Vader or something) on my debit/credit card receipts to see what would happen.

Yep. Nothing.

7/11/2008 1:10:25 AM

#8 >>>>>>>> #4

7/11/2008 1:11:26 AM

this shit is totally correct

i've broken the news to a few business owners in my time (friends mostly)

^^ i sign a straight line sometimes

doesn't matter at all

may as well make smiley faces

[Edited on July 11, 2008 at 1:12 AM. Reason : .]

7/11/2008 1:11:59 AM

I dot the "I" in my name with a little heart. Always gets double-takes.

[Edited on July 11, 2008 at 1:13 AM. Reason : double takes?]

7/11/2008 1:13:40 AM

I get charged double at the bar's I usually go to, apparently that's illegal (to cover a tip, then it gets put back)

and what's a chargeback?

[Edited on July 11, 2008 at 1:19 AM. Reason : c]

7/11/2008 1:18:39 AM

oh fuck

i'm so gonna call out companies for this shit when they do it

namely best buy (they ask for ID whenever you use a credit card)
and the chinese place on maynard that requires a $10 minimum purchase

7/11/2008 1:19:12 AM

illegal?

No.
In violation of the merchant's agreement with the CC? Yes. But that != illegal


^Even better - program the violation hotline into your phone. Call them, on speakerphone, in the restaurant.

[Edited on July 11, 2008 at 1:19 AM. Reason : aslkjd]

7/11/2008 1:19:18 AM

there's a Subway in Carrboro that has a minimum $4 purchase

7/11/2008 1:20:08 AM

oh, well yeah i didn't mean illegal. but they shouldn't be doing it.

7/11/2008 1:20:49 AM

^ how teh fuck do u spend less than $4 at subway???

7/11/2008 1:22:56 AM

Quote :

"No. In violation of the merchant's agreement with the CC? Yes. But that != illegal"

if its failure to comply with a legally binding contract, its awfully close

7/11/2008 1:28:02 AM

Quote :

"If a merchant tries to require ID, immediately call 1-800-VISA-911, press 1, then press 6, then press 0 twice, and ask to file an incident report. "

fyi

7/11/2008 1:29:20 AM

Quote :

"how teh fuck do u spend less than $4 at subway???"

2.99 sub of the month, duh

7/11/2008 1:32:11 AM

Quote :

"not excepting american express"

7/11/2008 1:33:26 AM

Quote :

"if its failure to comply with a legally binding contract, its awfully close"

You're thinking of breach of contract. Not automatically illegal

Private entities do not (in theory, at least) get to determine what's legal or not. That's a legislative body's job, and let me tell you, as much as they'd like to be, Visa and MC don't get to write bills (officially ), and they certainly don't get to vote them into law.

7/11/2008 1:34:28 AM

Quote :

"how teh fuck do u spend less than $4 at subway???"

all kinds of ways

I had a giftcard with a couple bucks left on it, and that took my total down below $4

7/11/2008 1:35:31 AM

^^ unless you're talking bankruptcy laws

but that's for soap box

[Edited on July 11, 2008 at 1:36 AM. Reason : .]

7/11/2008 1:35:49 AM

don't be rollin' yo eyes at me!

7/11/2008 1:36:45 AM

7/11/2008 1:37:43 AM

1)

Quote :

"and what's a chargeback?"

2) Can i get up in the shit of places like EV that double-charge and then later drop the second one?

3) How about when hotel double-charge if it is a debit and not a credit card? This happened a couple times when I was in college and it totally boned my checking account (read: all my money) by taking, like, 600 instead of 300 bucks after a trip.

7/11/2008 2:28:00 AM

Quote :

"You're thinking of breach of contract. Not automatically illegal "

I know what you're trying to say, and i guess it's a semantics issue, but it's an important distinction.

breach of a contract is illegal

it may not be criminal, though.

7/11/2008 2:34:14 AM

I've had EV do the double charge thing on me once.

Also, Grocery Boy Jr. has a $5 minimum purchase if you use your card in the store. Wish I knew this before.

7/11/2008 2:35:18 AM

Quote :

"All the Indian convenience stores"

wow surprised they allow a credit card at all

7/11/2008 8:26:54 AM

Not illegal, but they can get the CRAP finned out of them for doing one of these things.

I have a vigilante friend who told me about these things. They have a big system set up for dealing with this, involving warnings, fines (laid out in the contract), and stopping the company from taking cards. Believe it or not, there are plenty of shops out there that don't take cards b/c they fucked up.

But mostly, it's like "don't charge me the extra 25 cents or I'll report you". Sometimes that works. The other times they get reported.

7/11/2008 8:34:50 AM

So what would happen if someone stole your card and charged a bunch of stuff on it and signed random names on the card of someone who always signs random names? Wouldn't it be hard to prove it wasn't really you? Since you never actually sign your own name ... or does the signature not even matter in cases like that? I don't see any other way for the company to really verify it was fraud.

7/11/2008 9:12:56 AM

Does anyone actually know the answer to ^? I have wondered this before and want to know.

7/11/2008 11:15:48 AM

^^ i always sign my credit card the same way...it's not my name, but it's a phrase that i seriously doubt anyone would EVER try to use on a credit card signature...so for me, that's how i could tell if someone was falsely using it - because they would try to sign either my name or a fake name, neither of which i ever use

credit cards are surprisingly lax in their usage guidelines...i guess the whole point is that they want anyone and everyone to use the service so that they make money, and so they try to make it as easy as possible...the companies who require minimum purchases are trying to make up for the fee associated with running the credit card (as opposed to debit cards, whose fees are paid by the bank, not the merchant)...the companies who require identification are trying to do YOU, the consumer, a favor (i mean, i'd rather they check ID than let just anyone use my card)...that said, all my cards have my picture on them, so that makes it more difficult

7/11/2008 11:23:07 AM

^ I put a sticker on THE FRONT of my card that says ASK FOR I.D. I always thank the merchants that do it.

7/11/2008 11:27:53 AM

I should probably make my signature more legible. Because as it is, its pretty scribbly.


I think it would only matter at places where you sign the pin pad. I'm not sure what they do with the slips of paper at the end of the night at the store I work at, but they're not kept for records or anything. I would guess that places where you sign the pin pad would be able to keep those records more accessible.

7/11/2008 12:46:25 PM

i would decline cards at the bookstore that werent signed because it violated the merchant agreement

hell, i made someone pull out their passport to compare signatures

oh and the best one...some kid had completely scratched out their picture and their middle initial on their ncsu id...declined

i always enjoyed that

[Edited on July 11, 2008 at 12:54 PM. Reason : 

7/11/2008 12:53:24 PM

I sign the card and write "check id" in the signature panel

sure, you have to squish your signature a bit, but they you're doing what you have to do and asking the merchant to check id

7/11/2008 1:05:19 PM

^ i do the same thing, and while i've never been called on it, i don't think that's actually valid

oh, and for what it's worth, this "no minimum transaction" bit is only valid here in the US...i'm sure that was common sense to most people, but the rules are different abroad and A LOT of places have minimum amounts in other countries

[Edited on July 11, 2008 at 4:04 PM. Reason : .]

7/11/2008 4:03:24 PM

theres a minimum because merchants get charged on each transaction if the buyer uses a card... apart from taxes they get charged a percentage of the sale or in some cases ( depending on what credit machine company they're with ) its a solid fee for each transaction.

and again, its not illegal.

[Edited on July 11, 2008 at 4:21 PM. Reason : x]

7/11/2008 4:12:54 PM

Quote :

"I'm not sure what they do with the slips of paper at the end of the night at the store I work at, but they're not kept for records or anything."

the stores i worked at stapled each cashier's credit slips together at the end of the day and they all went in this box. i don't know how long they kept them and i never heard of them having to go through it to find a slip or anything.

7/11/2008 4:20:53 PM

i can answer all questions in this thread.. i really dont have time tho

ask and i'll post answers later

7/11/2008 4:23:14 PM

Quote :

"I put a sticker on THE FRONT of my card that says ASK FOR I.D."

dont you think the thief would take the sticker off?

i write a fake pin number on my ATM card hoping they will try it at a location with cameras.

7/11/2008 4:51:37 PM

i'd like to know the percentage of ppl who use their birth date as their pin in some form

[Edited on July 11, 2008 at 4:56 PM. Reason : asdf]

7/11/2008 4:56:19 PM

if ppl would fucking use cash for day to day items, this shit would not even matter!

7/11/2008 5:18:04 PM

do you have a point?

7/11/2008 5:20:02 PM

News flash. If you act like a prickshaft they can also refuse to sell things to you. They aren't required to let you buy anything.

7/11/2008 5:28:24 PM

wait a minute, so you put something on your card that prompts cashiers to ask for your ID?

that would annoy me

7/11/2008 5:37:51 PM

^^^^the only reason we even really need cash at all is for person to person transactions (like buying a used book from someone on tdub or something)

[Edited on July 11, 2008 at 5:38 PM. Reason : carat]

[Edited on July 11, 2008 at 5:39 PM. Reason : ^most places now the cashier doesn't even touch your card]

7/11/2008 5:37:57 PM

Quote :

"8) Merchants Are Not Allowed To Place A Hold For The Estimated Tip Because so many consumers have instant access to their account information, merchants aren't allowed to place an "authorization" for an estimated tip. For example, if you go to dinner and the bill is $100 and you pay with a credit card, the restaurant might be tempted to "authorize" your card for $120—a 20% tip. If you choose to leave a 15% tip and then check your balance — it will appear that you have been overcharged. This apparently results in lots of angry customers, so the practice has been forbidden in VISA's merchant agreement."

7/12/2008 12:22:35 AM

Quote :

"credit cards are surprisingly lax in their usage guidelines...i guess the whole point is that they want anyone and everyone to use the service so that they make money, and so they try to make it as easy as possible...the companies who require minimum purchases are trying to make up for the fee associated with running the credit card (as opposed to debit cards, whose fees are paid by the bank, not the merchant)...the companies who require identification are trying to do YOU, the consumer, a favor (i mean, i'd rather they check ID than let just anyone use my card)...that said, all my cards have my picture on them, so that makes it more difficult"

So say I'm a thief who's gotten your card. I get asked for ID.

"By the Visa merchant agreement you're prohibited from asking for ID, run it or I'll take my business elsewhere"

That, and the fact that they can probably scratch out or cover up your message just as easily as your wrote it yourself... it's cool if you want to put that on your card, but it simply doesn't give any added security. You should just understand this before you use the card in such a way.

7/12/2008 12:42:38 AM

most people also dont understand that if you have some else's card and a reader/writer from ebay you can move their information to your card. voila.. you've got a card and ID that match now and when swiped it'll still run up somebody else's account.

credit card security is a fucking joke

7/12/2008 12:44:16 AM

^ sans the merchants that actually check the last 4. Lowes maybe?

Also don't use your debit card for shit like car rentals, hotel rentals, or any other service that is going to put a temporary hold on your funds if you're going to complain about them not being available to you.

[Edited on July 12, 2008 at 12:57 AM. Reason : .]

7/12/2008 12:56:07 AM

set'em up

7/12/2008 2:05:35 AM