Credit Card Signature

[mickeyd]

I notice that when USAA sent me a new CC because of a compromise in the their CC system, that the instructions were only to call the 800# to activate it. Nowhere was there a mention that I should sign the back of the card as in the past. Since there was still a strip on the back, I signed it anyway.

I believe that this "no signing" is not new, but I always still sign. How does anyone else handle this?

 

[Sunset]

At the grocery store, where they capture your signature, I put down ~~~~~~.

Do I really want my signature specimens keep by dozens of stores with their lack of security for someone to paste on a check.

Nobody even looks at the signature at all.

 

[pacergal]

I always sign my name with permanent ink. DH frequently does not, unless I bring him the pen and stand there while he does it! ;-).
Although, now with card readers, fewer transactions have someone taking your card. And I very rarely see any one looking at the back of my card anyway.

 

[ivinsfan]

It's a faux feeling of security, like someone couldn't scribble a good enough version of your signature if they felt like it.

 

[Aerides]

i cannot remember the last time i handed anyone my card, let alone they looked at the signature, or compared that to my signature on the receipt...heck, i can't remember the last time i signed a receipt that wasn't in a restaurant.

 

[Sunset]

It's a faux feeling of security, like someone couldn't scribble a good enough version of your signature if they felt like it.

Are you saying that store clerks don't have training in hand writing analysis I've been tricked...

 

[Spock]

I don't sign. I write "See Drivers License" in the space.
While most times the card never leaves my paws, when it does a lot of clerks ask to see the ID. If I lose the card and it intimidates the finder from using it, so much the better. If not, it hasn't hurt anything.

 

[Gumby]

I do not sign my cards. As a consequence, I have occasionally been asked for ID by store clerks. I always praise them for their diligence when they do.

 

[jazz4cash]

I used to write "PHOTO ID REQUIRED" in the signature block. No one ever asked for ID, but the US Post Office told me they could not accept the card unless I signed it, so I did.

I am very surprised that Bank Of America's policy of embedding a photo on the card has not caught on. I don't know of anyone else that has this feature.

 

[davebarnes]

Apple Pay (and its competitors) is the way to go.
Cards are for old people. Like checks and cash.

We have been in Milano for 3 days.
Have spent zero cash.
I have used my card once for €1.70 at a farmacia.
My wife has used her Apple Watch to pay for everything else. She is the techno-weenie for all things Appley.

 

[Kwirk]

My understanding is that Visa no longer requires a signature for authorization of charges. If you use a chip card you may be held responsible for any charge, even fraudulent ones, if the chip is used. If you use the card later for a nonfraudulent charge that is taken as proof that your card was not lost.

 

[Kwirk]

Apple Pay (and its competitors) is the way to go.
Cards are for old people. Like checks and cash.

I'd like to agree but, at least in my area, it just isn't feasible.

 

[ivinsfan]

My understanding is that Visa no longer requires a signature for authorization of charges. If you use a chip card you may be held responsible for any charge, even fraudulent ones, if the chip is used. If you use the card later for a nonfraudulent charge that is taken as proof that your card was not lost.

Not sure this is correct do you have a source....

 

[scrabbler1]

It's interesting how the signature requirement varies from store to store. At my local supermarket, purchases under $50 don't require a signature, but purchases $50 and over do. But at the CVS, signatures are still required even on small purchases. Half the time those signature screens or the stylus doesn't work properly, so I have to use my finger and/or end up with some scribble.

 

[Kwirk]

Not sure this is correct do you have a source....

Personal (and painful) experience. Also:

No signature required

 

[CaliKid]

I don't sign the card and write basically a scribbled waivy line when forced to sign at stores. Nobody cares. It's a very antiquated system to worry about signatures in my opinion. I also don't say "see ID" as then I am wasting their time and my time.

 

[ivinsfan]

Personal (and painful) experience. Also:

No signature required

Care to share U find that alarming

 

[harley]

Apple Pay (and its competitors) is the way to go.
Cards are for old people. Like checks and cash.

I don't know. I don't think it's available in much more than half the places I go (mostly restaurants and small shops). I do most of my shopping at Amazon, and certainly don't use Apple Pay there. But I'm sure it's spreading, and probably I'll be using it more in a year or two. I try not to be an early adopter of tech. I like letting other people deal with the beta testing.

Regarding the OP, I haven't signed a credit card in probably 20 years. I used to do the "Photo ID required" thing, but gave that up long ago as nobody ever asked.

 

[braumeister]

I don't sign the card and write basically a scribbled waivy line when forced to sign at stores. Nobody cares. It's a very antiquated system to worry about signatures in my opinion. I also don't say "see ID" as then I am wasting their time and my time.

DW and I both used to write "Ask for ID" in the signature panel of our cards, but I think we may have actually had someone ask two or three times in ten years so we quit doing that. When you use it at a local post office they are always hard over about having a signature on it, so we typically just use a debit card on our rare visits there.

When stores started asking me to sign the incredibly awkward screen, I decided to give them a taste of their own medicine and scrawled "Elvis Presley". Nobody ever blinked at that and I still do it to this day.

 

[CRLLS]

Apple Pay (and its competitors) is the way to go.
Cards are for old people. Like checks and cash.

To buy into my friendly annual poker night, it still takes $20.00 cash. No checks, plastic or digital equivalents of any kind are accepted.

Many people still live, at least partly, in the fringe economy and gladly (only?) take greenbacks of many denominations.

I cannot see cash totally disappearing. I do admit that Apple, Google and other "pay" services are gaining acceptance. Even if I end up joining one of these services, I will still have cash and cards with me. Without these as a backup, one drop of a phone could spoil your whole vacation. P.S. I still print out my boarding passes and itinerary for flights as they are not vulnerable to a dead battery.

 

[Kwirk]

Care to share U find that alarming

I gave my chip credit card to a taxi driver in Santiago, Chile to pay a ~$40 fare. Driver said the card was refused and I paid cash. Later I used the card at a restaurant. Discovered a ~$1300 charge (and disputed it) the next day. No signature, no PIN. I have an unblemished record with no motivation to defraud for this amount. Citibank apparently does not check the complaint history of the "merchant." Despite every indication that this was a fraudulent charge, Citibank (Costco) refuses to cover the charge because I admit that I did not lose the card.

Be careful out there.

 

[ivinsfan]

I gave my chip credit card to a taxi driver in Santiago, Chile to pay a ~$40 fare. Driver said the card was refused and I paid cash. Later I used the card at a restaurant. Discovered a ~$1300 charge (and disputed it) the next day. No signature, no PIN. I have an unblemished record with no motivation to defraud for this amount. Citibank apparently does not check the complaint history of the "merchant." Despite every indication that this was a fraudulent charge, Citibank (Costco) refuses to cover the charge because I admit that I did not lose the card.

Be careful out there.

Dang that's unacceptable.. I have a costco card won't be renewing it now thanks for sharing

 

[CRLLS]

According to the Consumer Trade Commission,

https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0213-lost-or-stolen-credit-atm-and-debit-cards#Transactions

If your credit card number is stolen, but not the card, you are not liable for unauthorized use.

You may want to contact them or at least mention the FTC to your representative at Citibank. Or perhaps a local TV news station. I would not accept the CC company's reply without looking for other forms of remediation.

 

[Kwirk]

According to the Consumer Trade Commission,

https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0213-lost-or-stolen-credit-atm-and-debit-cards#Transactions




You may want to contact them or at least mention the FTC to your representative at Citibank. Or perhaps a local TV news station. I would not accept the CC company's reply without looking for other forms of remediation.

My understanding of their argument is that the actual card was used so this does not apply.

I am working toward arbitration. We'll see how that goes.

I do think credit card users need to be more aware of the situation. Visa has now constructed a situation that requires us to turn over our cards (think restaurants and such) but does not allow us to reliably authorize the amount charged (no signature or PIN required). No friction, no protection.

 

[CRLLS]

That may be their argument. it is most likely wrong. Look up the legal description of "unauthorized use as it relates to credit card in your state. For instance, in California:

(f) "Unauthorized use" means the use of a credit card by a person,
other than the cardholder, (1) who does not have actual, implied, or
apparent authority for that use and (2) from which the cardholder
receives no benefit.

Note that this says nothing about physical card use or not. You received no benefit, and gave no authority for the charge made by that person.

I hope that your arbitration goes well, as it should. And if it doesn't, it is not binding.