"Don Wiss" wrote in message

On Thu, 30 Jun 2011 13:58:59 -0500, Usafretcol wrote:

Read a copy of the merchant's agreement with the cc company. They are
forbidden to ask for any ID to use the card. The only requirement is
that the card be signed. If not signed, the card is to be considered
invalid. Read the agreement for further info.

Thanks. I just filed a complaint at:
http://www.mastercard.us/support/mer...iolations.html

Now I don't remember whether the license was just looked at or taken away
with the card. This was some months back. I do know I told my luncheon
companion that I would not eat there again because of it.

Good job! I sincerely hope that I didn't cause you any discomfort by my
response. I see lots of things that we all do and take for granted that
just aren't right. I am such a safety freak (my wife's best friend is a
safety engineer who makes me look casual about safety) that not only will I
not use cards at restaurants, but I also jot down the first few digits of a
$100 bill's serial number on a napkin before handing the cash to a waiter.

My poor departed grandmother got scammed by a clerk taking her twenty dollar
bill, walking in in the back with it, and coming back and claiming it was a
counterfeit. It wasn't and they were unloading one they took in on her
because she was old, frail and spoke English with an accent. I tell that
story to my dining companions and write the serial number fragment down so
that if the waiter comes back with a counterfeit bill, I can make a very
strong case right then and there that a switch was made. So far, so good.
I've only been scammed once at a Thai restaurant that gave me foreign coins
in change so now I even look at that closely.

My knowledge about the Mastercard/VISA rules is rusty at best, but I knew
that walking away with your card and license is just not allowed, especially
now that both card companies are being plagued with skimmers and other forms
of ID theft.

I know that in Europe, they bring an imprinter or an electronic reader to
your table so that your card never leaves your view - at least in almost all
the places I dined at. Many of the credit cards there also have an RF chip
that makes skimming quite a bit harder. I assume from that experience
that's also your right in America, but honestly, that's something I am not
sure about and it seems that you'll be finding out about.

One good reason, beyond the ID theft threat, not to hand over your ID is
that it often gets mixed up and people get the wrong cards back, sometimes
too late to do anything about it immediately because the other patrons have
already left with YOUR card.

I've known too many waiters to trust them with a burned out match, let alone
something of value to me.

--
Bobby G.