I've run into the chip & pin issue a few times in the UK by uniformed cashiers who didn't know they could take a non-chipped card, but it's not as bad as it used to be. That could be because I shop certain places quite often, so they've gotten used it.

I carry around a copy of the info from the chip & pin website about signature only cards with me just in case, but some places still refuse them.

Any UK-based folks know if you request a chip & signature card, can you still get a pin to use in the ATMs? I'm not thrilled with the whole shifting the liability to the consumer, but I don't know if a chip & signature card would help with this or even if you could still get a pin for the cashpoint.