We're in NY - and yes, our merchant agreements prohibit us from asking the customer for anything except their signature for transactions with card present.

We are required to match the sigs - and if they match (or if they are so close that a regular person couldn't tell), we are protected from chargebacks.

Most people don't realize that EXECPT for in-person, card present transactions, MERCHANTS are the ones ultimately responsible for making good on fraud. Not the banks... Internet/Mail/Phone order credit card fraud is huge - and it's the merchants that are paying the price.

If you encounter gun-shy merchants, it's because we're being burned every day.

I will never ask a cusotmer for ID (I can't) - but if the customer calls and asks me to ship the merch, i'll do an address verification - and only ship to either the billing address, or an approved ship-to address that the customer has established with their credit card. If we have proof of delivery to the customer's address, it's unlikely to be fraud. This is why were are a little hesitant to ship out of the country to customers not known to us, since we can't track it as well (and AVS is next to impossible in many countries).

I have numerous addresses on file with AMEX and my major credit cards, so that I can do ship-to transactions while on the road. This is not an invasion of my privacy, rather a preventative measure to simplify my life. Trust me, chasing this stuff down is a PITA.

But we're off track here... just wanted to clarify this point.

cpd

We're in NY - and yes, our merchant agreements prohibit us from asking the customer for anything except their signature for transactions with card present.

We are required to match the sigs - and if they match (or if they are so close that a regular person couldn't tell), we are protected from chargebacks.

Most people don't realize that EXECPT for in-person, card present transactions, MERCHANTS are the ones ultimately responsible for making good on fraud. Not the banks... Internet/Mail/Phone order credit card fraud is huge - and it's the merchants that are paying the price.

If you encounter gun-shy merchants, it's because we're being burned every day.

I will never ask a cusotmer for ID (I can't) - but if the customer calls and asks me to ship the merch, i'll do an address verification - and only ship to either the billing address, or an approved ship-to address that the customer has established with their credit card. If we have proof of delivery to the customer's address, it's unlikely to be fraud. This is why were are a little hesitant to ship out of the country to customers not known to us, since we can't track it as well (and AVS is next to impossible in many countries).

I have numerous addresses on file with AMEX and my major credit cards, so that I can do ship-to transactions while on the road. This is not an invasion of my privacy, rather a preventative measure to simplify my life. Trust me, chasing this stuff down is a PITA.

But we're off track here... just wanted to clarify this point.

cpd

pointman -

i did misunderstand. thats what i get for posting before i had enough coffee in my system. i apologize...

They still do - at least in Canada. My Citibank Mastercard (used to be Visa) has not only my picture but also my signature on the front of the card.

BTW, I find that the signature strips on the back are kind of useless after some months of use. They wear off; they're too narrow for my signature; and, after a while, the signature strip might show some part of a scribble (my "signature") but to be able to make any kind of comparison to the actual signature would be pretty difficult.

It seems there is some justice after all:

http://www.cleveland.com/newsflash/i...lash-financial

I would assume that the VP of Quality Assurance is high enough up the food chain that this effects him....

I'm not sure about Ohio, but my KS drivers license has a signature on it. They can compare the signature on the charge slip with the signature on my drivers license, which ALSO HAS MY PHOTO ON IT. The point of putting 'Ask for ID' is to get them to not only look at the signature, but to look at a photo ID as well. Like duxfan, I find it works less than 50% of the time, unfortunately.

How're you gonna get your employer to pay you in cash? That should be interesting.

That's odd. I only have 1 address registered with my credit card company -- my billing address. When I'm on the road, I have stuff shipped to me all the time, using an address like:

Rich Holland
c/o Some Hotel
Hotel Street Address
City, State, Zip+4

I've yet to have a problem with this.

For about six years I have carried an article in my wallet that I cut out of a newspaper, which states that additional ID is not required for a purchase with a signed credit card. I have had to show this article a number of times and, even then, some will insist it is "store policy". If that happens, they lose a sale.

One thing I wish is that credit cards provide a slightly taller block for to sign in, and that they would NOT place your card number squarely in the middle of that signature block!

Ohio DL has a big ole signature right on the front. Luckily, we are now able to opt out of having to put our Soc. Sec. number on the card.

I don't understand why it's a big deal to simply ask to see a second ID in order to verify the user.

Circuit City did try to make a copy of my DL once. Ended that sale right there! No different than asking for a fingerprint, IMHO. Both are seemingly harmless bits of information which could be dangerous if allowed to fall into the wrong hands. And unlike your credit card, if someone is able to steal your identity, you not off the hook after the first $50.

It goes on too much anymore. Last year on my birthday, I received a phone call from my local Hollywood Video. They told me that because it was my birthday, I could come in and pick out a free rental. That means some pimply faced mananger trainee at best was given access to the stores data base to search for birthdays. That means that emplyee was given access to every customers personal information. Doesn't anyone else see the potential for misuse? Needless to say, Hollywood got ripped a new one, and I cancelled my account.

A merchant may not ask you for ID for a credit card PURCHASE transaction in which you are receiving the goods which you have purchased at the point of sale. However, the rental car agencies are not selling you a car you are going to keep, and charging you $20,000 on your credit card. Rather, for a measly $20-50 per day, they are renting this car to you, and expecting its safe return. The rental car agency can certainly ask for your drivers license (and other identification if they want to) as security to protect their investment (i.e., that $20,000 car they are about to loan to you, a stranger with a credit card). While some may object to providing fingerprints or other identification, I do not believe that a car rental firm violates anything by asking for it.

Djlawman

If I'm not terribly mistaken, I think the rental car companies ask for your driver's license to make sure you're actually *eligible* to drive the car.

As for the fingerprint, it's far too intrusive.

I agree, Taucher, *far* too intrusive.

Any merchant who ships to a non-billing address is at risk of a chargeback. My company won't do this.

If one of my employees ships to a hotel room that is not the billing address or on-file with the issuing bank, that will be the last transaction they do for me.

I have not lost a sale yet - my customers understand and they simply call their issuing bank and advise of the alternate ship-to.

A thief may read this and figure out a loophole in the system... it's big and wide. That's why merchants have to be careful, and customers understanding of why merchants have to be careful.

cpd

Well, you won't be getting any business from me. You can't honestly expect that people who stay in 30 hotels a year are going to call their credit card companies and get new addresses put on file every time they need to order something. I'd do it once, if I had a second house, for instance, but not 5 times a year with different hotels. What a hassle, call the credit card company, get a hotel address put on file, buy goods and receive them at the hotel, then call the credit card company and get the address taken off?

Nope, there are too many other retailers out there who don't give customers the run around. A merchant lost my business for this same reason a few weeks ago.

d

My response to Dollar:

F--- YOU ------ My business will be elsewhere