Credit/debit card questions

[VenomX]

Our new gas pumps at work do not require the customer to sign anything.

We ask how much gas they want and how they will pay.

If by credit/debit card we swipe the card, pump the gas, give them the receipt and card back.

A woman came in today and said someone stole her card from her mail box and made lots of charges. They charged $66.75 in gas at our station. We MIGHT have the car on video but other than that what else can we do for her?

We cant check signatures since theres nothign to sign. Boss has told us not to ask for ID.

Will us not asking for ID be held against us? Should we be checking IDs?
Someone meantioned in another thread that its illegal to check IDs for VISAs.. This true?

Wont really hurt me any since I am just an employee but I have always felt this was a very unsecure way of doing things.... Any suggestions on making it more secure?

As it is now customers get really pissed when the card will not work. We dont get a reason, just a "Can not AUTH." error. Had a guy today threaten to punch a co-worker in his face because his card wouldnt work.

[marasbaras]

Nothing about taking or not taking VISA/MC is illegal. It's an contractual arrangement your company has with those companies.

Not asking for ID is bound to cause issues. But, what can you do?

Physical violence against a co-worker? Call the cops.

[VenomX]

Physical violence against a co-worker? Call the cops.

If you have read any of my other posts you would know thats a mute point. The cops think everything is a civil matter and wont do anything.

My co-worker simply told the guy this....

"Do me a favor, go home, get your gun, and come back and f*cking shoot me. Now get the hell out of here!."

[Gurndigarn]

A woman came in today and said someone stole her card from her mail box and made lots of charges. They charged $66.75 in gas at our station. We MIGHT have the car on video but other than that what else can we do for her?

From her mail box? Visa doesn't have that call-in-to-verify-its-you before we activate the card? Sounds suspicious... however, mostly I wouldn't worry about it. Your store chose to not require signatures (probably for convenience for pay-at-pump), so they're the ones who have to suck it down when they lose money.

[Slytovhand]

:confused: Me lost...

down in this part of the world, hwen I worked at the servo, if they chose credit from their Visa or M/C, then they have to sign - if the sig matches, then authorise - if not, then don't.

If they chose to pay by debit, then they need to use a pin.

As for asking for ID, you should have the right (and it should be written up all over the place anyway) to refuse service for whatever reason - so if you ask for ID and they refuse, then refuse to give them the fuel :)

If in doubt - don't

Slyt

[Dreamstalker]

From her mail box? Visa doesn't have that call-in-to-verify-its-you before we activate the card?
I've always had to call from my home phone # in order to activate a CC; I would assume they can link account and phone to verify.

[wagegoth]

Normally, if you get your new card, you have to call from the phone number on the account to activate it. If you don't, then you're transferred to a CSR who asks you identifying questions.

It sounds to me like someone who knows the woman, probably even a family member, took the card and activated it (one of the reasons activation was set up was because of cards being stolen from the mail), and had a lovely shopping time for a week or two. My guess is that some store will have the thief on camera somewhere. In the meantime, the card has been frozen.

I don't know if credit card companies still do floor limits or not. Floor limits were the amount that a business could allow a charge for and not clear it with the CC company if the computers were down or they couldn't call it in. If your employer still has a floor limit, that may be why he doesn't really care.

Since every gas station where I live is prepay, the pumps are set up to take cards, some even take cash. The cards are swiped or push-pulled, then you enter your zip code for verification.

*I'll bet the woman suspects one of her kids; that's why she's going around asking questions on her own, because she's not liable for the charges.*

[cj1991]

What will probably happen is that she'll file a chargeback with her credit card company.

I'm not sure how it works for your type of business. At my job, I get a letter asking me for proof that the person used the card. Our business is either phone or internet (only rarely do we get someone in who will sign anything), so it's up to me to prove as best I can that they really did order the item. I usually win, but every now and again I lose, and we lose our money.

But again, not sure how it works with your type of business - whether it goes to your personal store, or your "head office". Do you have the person on videotape? I'd say that's about your best bet.

Also, I know that our local convenience stores have signs out stating you may initially see a larger charge for gas, which will later drop - it's how their pumps work, and I know that I've seen like $65 in gas, only to have it drop to $30 a few days later. Maybe that's what happened.

Good luck.

[Eric the Grey]

I doubt that the no signature thing will bite the company. Almost all gas stations around here let you pay at the pump, which does the authorization right there, and spits out a receipt for the customer. Quite often, we don't even have to go into the stores.

Chances are, the store will pull the video from the day it happened, and try to narrow it down. If your customers come in to pay with their cards though, it might prove difficult to determine which car was the one who actually bought the gas.



:cool: Eric the Grey

[digilight]

The option for no signature at the pump like that is freelly available thru the merchant processor (the company that acts as a clearing house between the customers CC companies and your bank acct). This option does come at a higher service fee charged (for example if it was 1.6% with a sig then it would be maybe 2.4 without it).

And remember the CC Company is going to review the persons story before proceding with the chargeback. If something isn't right then they won't get their money back for it.

Now my question to people within the CC Industry. If someones CC is stolen and fraudulant charges are made on it. Once the fraudulant charges are noticed and it is cancelled, who pays for the charges made. Is it the CC Company or does the merchant eat the cost.

I can understand if it is a Emily Smith type name on the card, and the purchase was made by a man of say Purple descent with 3 horns and speaking with a heavy Sanscrit accent (yup made up a bullshit race just cause I can....and cause it's only an example). Would the merchant be stuck eating the charge in this case?

[cj1991]

The option for no signature at the pump like that is freelly available thru the merchant processor (the company that acts as a clearing house between the customers CC companies and your bank acct). This option does come at a higher service fee charged (for example if it was 1.6% with a sig then it would be maybe 2.4 without it).

And remember the CC Company is going to review the persons story before proceding with the chargeback. If something isn't right then they won't get their money back for it.

Now my question to people within the CC Industry. If someones CC is stolen and fraudulant charges are made on it. Once the fraudulant charges are noticed and it is cancelled, who pays for the charges made. Is it the CC Company or does the merchant eat the cost.

I can understand if it is a Emily Smith type name on the card, and the purchase was made by a man of say Purple descent with 3 horns and speaking with a heavy Sanscrit accent (yup made up a bullshit race just cause I can....and cause it's only an example). Would the merchant be stuck eating the charge in this case?

I can tell you that when we had someone claim that they didn't authorize the charge to their card (which was BS because it was shipped to her business), and we lost the chargeback, we had to eat the charge. Thank heaven it was only $125.

Almost all of our business is done over the phone or over the internet, but they still ask us for signatures (they always do). You don't need much to inititate a chargeback. Most of the ones I get are simply "I didn't get the item" or "I don't recognize this charge".

I initiated a chargeback once on my end for merchandise I never received, and they don't ask for much in the way of proof. The burden is always on the merchant who processed the charge.

[Dreamstalker]

Not always. When my CC got jacked a few years ago, the merchant claimed that since they had a delivery signature it was good (obvious forgery as I was halfway across the country) and thus the burden of proof was tossed on me. When I started fighting the charge, my bank at the time sided with the merchant--in this case the fraud could not have been more obvious (I was 1500 miles away and had proof, the order was placed from a phone that I did not recognize, an arrest and conviction had been made, etc).

However, said merchant was severely negligent in verifying things over the phone (thief had only the card number from a statement stolen from my mailbox, nothing else).

Eventually it was resolved (10 months after the fact) after I threatened to sue the bank for harassment...they claimed all along that I was trying to defraud them, even after myself and the detective investigating the theft buried them in paperwork proving otherwise.

[tamezin]

Your store chose to not require signatures (probably for convenience for pay-at-pump), so they're the ones who have to suck it down when they lose money.

That isn't quite accurate, the woman would have to file a fraud report with the police, then visa/mastercard will reverse the charges from her account, the merchant seldom gets burned, in these situations the card company normally does.