<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by GeorgeBurdell:
7. Online merchants who's website prominently features DC logo, payment options include DC on order form, but system mysteriously rejects order with "unable to authorize CC" message. Many phone calls/emails later, someone figures out they really don't take DC.</font>
One problem I ran into once was that the online merchant's accounting department was set up to take DC, but that the web developer who worked on the credit card acceptance page made a blanket assumption that any card that starts with 3 must have 15 digits, and rejected the DC card number since it was only 14 digits long before it even got to the credit card processing software.
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">It really ticks me off when I have to scramble to come up with another payment method like debit card or cash when I was expecting to use DC. There's been times when I spent more than I would have if I was using cash or other method because I knew DC would be 60 days out being paid. </font>
I don't know if this would work everywhere, but it would probably work in Texas (note, I'm not an attorney, so I'm not recommending this or even saying that it's correct):
Tell the cashier that you were planning on using DC, and that you'll have to mail them a check when you get home. Explain the situation to the manager, give them your correct name and address, and walk out (of course, you actually do have to send them the check!). I've seen this play out in person (not with DC, but with another credit card that for whatever reason wouldn't authorize). The store called the police, but the officer said that as long as the person made a genuine attempt to pay, no crime was committed in this situation and the store just has to live with it. Of course, you have to give your correct information, then actually pay later, or it's theft.
I don't think I'd have the nerve to do this myself, but it would no doubt create quite a scene, and probably teach the restaurant a lesson about displaying credit card stickers for cards that they don't actually accept.
What's most frustrating about these situations is that the merchant always seems to act as if it's the customer's problem and that the customer is acting unreasonably in trying to pay with a card they don't accept, even when they are displaying the acceptance sticker. It would be a lot less frustrating if they were apologetic.