I don't get it

[Moirae]

So we were standing in line at a clothing store yesterday and saw this...

So the whole line was being held up by one woman and it was almost closing time so the line was growing quickly. And then we hear this..

Cashier: "I'm sorry but I can't accept a credit card without your ID".
SC: "But I lost my wallet, and I really need this stuff for tomorrow". She had over $300 of stuff apparently. And she's smirking at the cashier.
Cashier: "I understand, but I can't accept the credit card without your ID"
SC: "This is ridiculous. There's no reason why you can't accept it". Now from that tone of voice, it's getting out of hand and the Cashier calls her Manager who doesn't want to come to the desk.
Cashier: "I have someone that wants to use a credit card but doesn't have her ID" It's obvious the manager said the same thing that the Cashier said and the Cashier agrees, hangs up and tells the SC that she can't accept the card without ID.
SC: This time starting to get irate and whiny "There's no reason you can't accept it. Can't you make an exception just this once?".

Cashier does the intelligent thing this time and calls the Manager to the till over the loudspeaker so the Manager can't refuse. Manager comes walking up, and the situation is explained again, and the Manager says the exact same thing. So the stupid woman stomps out and we go through the till.

On the way out, we see her walking back in with a fist full of cash and that stupid smirk on her face like she just won the lottery. We didn't see what happened after that but my question is that, if she had the cash, why in hell didn't she bring in the cash in the first place? No store with a brain is going to accept a credit card without an ID in this age of identity theft.

[laborcat]

On the way out, we see her walking back in with a fist full of cash and that stupid smirk on her face like she just won the lottery. We didn't see what happened after that but my question is that, if she had the cash, why in hell didn't she bring in the cash in the first place? No store with a brain is going to accept a credit card without an ID in this age of identity theft.

Is it possible that she went to an ATM and withdrew the cash?

[fireheart]

Is it possible that she went to an ATM and withdrew the cash?

I'm putting my money on stolen credit card and getting an advance from the ATM (some do)

[Moirae]

Is it possible that she went to an ATM and withdrew the cash?

I'd say yes but the answer is really no. There was no atm anywhere around and she was walking from a car where a man was sitting in the drivers seat. I'm betting "stolen card" and getting the money from the guy in the car.

[EricKei]

I've seen a number of stores that will accept cards up to a certain amount without ID, and card over that ($300 would definitely qualify as "over that" ) ...Tho it still scares me that many places, esp fast food joints, will take credit without asking for a signature UNDER certain amounts. I guess they figure nobody will bother to dispute a $7 charge for a combo meal ~_~

Thing is, when I cashiered at BoutiqueGrocery back in the early 90's, at a brand new store (second of two locations), the visa/mc people came in to train us on their machines and drilled into our heads that we MUST ALWAYS ON PAIN OF DEATH check ID's on all credit card txns -- tho a number of places since then have insisted that stores must NEVER check for ID, or that it is even illegal in some places... I wish people would just get their stories straight...

[KellyHabersham]

I've seen a number of stores that will accept cards up to a certain amount without ID, and card over that ($300 would definitely qualify as "over that" ) ...Tho it still scares me that many places, esp fast food joints, will take credit without asking for a signature UNDER certain amounts. I guess they figure nobody will bother to dispute a $7 charge for a combo meal ~_~

That's something I've wondered about myself.....many's been the time when I've ordered something at (for example) a mall food court place, and been told by the cashier that they don't need my ID.

[mathnerd]

That's something I've wondered about myself.....many's been the time when I've ordered something at (for example) a mall food court place, and been told by the cashier that they don't need my ID.

It's probably a profit/loss threshold. Asking for ID's and signatures takes time. While it seems like a small amount of time, those few seconds multiplied by thousands of transactions adds up to quite a lot of time that could be used getting more customers through the line. The store figures that there's a threshold where it actually costs them more to research a claim than it does to just pay it out, and then they figure that it's worth that risk to keep the line moving faster.

The bank I used to work for had a similar threshold with deposit account issues. If a customer came in claiming a missing deposit, incorrect deposit, incorrect withdrawal, etc., and it was a below a certain amount and the customer had some sort of reasonable proof of what they were saying (receipt, cancelled check, etc), the front end bankers were to just give the money back, no questions asked. The bank itself funded a particular account for each branch just for this purpose. The cost of my department researching and fixing a claim cost more than that threshold, so the bank just didn't bother.

[Catwoman2965]

I'm very rarely asked for my id when I pay by credit card. It usually happens in certain stores in the outlets when I'm visting my mom, but I also use it in the grocery store, bullseye, and other stores on a regular basis, and am never asked. I guess it depends on the store and corporate policies. Then again, when I am, I'm more than happy to show it.

[Pixilated]

But ... this makes no sense on her part. The whole idea of using a stolen credit card is to get stuff for free. Since she couldn't use the credit card ... and ended up paying cash ...

[scruff]

Depends on the source of the cash - she might have given a sob story to the bloke in the car to get the money. ('here hold on to my credit card, it'll refresh tomorow/next month')
(Yes, I've had 'friends' use lines along this, and had other friends make me out to be the bad guy for not helping them out/falling for this. Sorry dude, I'll cook them a meal or offer crash space, but after being burned a couple of times, there's no way I'm offering cash again.)

[Food Lady]

My company doesn't ID credit cards. On occasion customers have gotten upset about that. Know what? Don't lose your card. And don't yell at me. I didn't make the rules.

[Moirae]

We ID cards at my hotel. There's just too much identity theft out there not to do it.

[NotAlBundy]

Our training videos say that we are supposed to compare the signature on the back of the card to the signature on the receipt. The problem is that our training videos are very old. They haven't been updated since we have started using a pinpad, which all cards are swiped through by the customer. And now we don't even get a signature if it's under $25. Once, at a manager's meeting, we called the corporate helpline to try and settle the issue, and they had no idea what we were talking about.

[raudf]

That's assuming that corporate ever knew what was going on in the first place, NotAlBundy.

I was told and I'll use "" for this, but I was "told" that we were supposed to check identity for sales over $100 at the Mart of Fails. Yeah.. you trying telling a person that just used the pin pad to swipe their card that you need to see it and the card. I dare you, corporate!

Repair center, you needed a valid ID to pick up a repaired item. Plus, we didn't have the pin pad to "help save us time." The register would print the last 4 digits of the card and the name of the card holder, plus the amount paid on the work order, so... *shrug* Apparently, people are much less likely to use stolen credit cards to pay for repaired items. Not much resale value, I take it

[catcul]

I've actually had my card number stolen. It was flagged by my bank when something was charged to it in Syracuse, NY; an hour later, charged in Greensboro, NC; and an hour after that, charged in Rochester, NY.

Either, I could make a 23 hour drive in two hours, or someone was able to steal my credit card number without actually stealing my card. Thankfully, the bank nullified the charges in upstate New York.