ix21@sdcc6.UUCP (Strokebusters) (09/17/84)
I remember seeing a posting asking that if present a check and use a credit card as ID, can the merchant charge against the card if the check goes bad. Some time ago I bought an telephone answering machine using a check and presented my Visa card and drivers license as ID. I had later that the machine did not have the features that the store claim it had and attempted to return it. They said forget it, and I stopped payment on the check. Later they called about the check and I told them the machine did not have the features in the advertisement and the manager who I was not able to speak to before agreed to take the machine back; it was still in its carton and never used. Then after I returned the machine they charged the purchase to my credit card handwriting the number from the back of the check onto the slip and leaving my signature blank. When I went back to the store the manager who took the machine back from me was not available and once again I had tons of runaround. What I ultimately had to do was call up my bank and they reversed the credit charge. So now I am getting called by the store again with the clerks saying I have a bad credit card. My advice is to be careful when you use a card as identification. By the way the store is a Tandy Radio Shack, but please don't start another slew of antiRadio Shack postings. -- ---- David Whiteman, Strokebusters @ Veteran's Administration Medical Center, La Jolla Dept. of Neurology, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego
essachs@ihuxl.UUCP (Ed Sachs) (09/19/84)
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> This experience of having them try to charge your credit card for the stopped check shows the advantage of using the credit card in the first place. When you buy something with a credit card and then have trouble with the store/mail order house/etc., you can go to the credit card issuer, and they MUST resolve the problem for you (by federal law). This clout has come in handy in the past when mail order houses did not believe in refunding discounts and handling charges on merchandise which was lost or damaged in shipment. -- Ed Sachs AT&T Bell Laboratories Naperville, IL ihnp4!ihuxl!essachs
lf@cornell.UUCP (Larry Fresinski) (09/21/84)
I believe that there's a condition associated with not paying a bill on your MasterCard because of a disagreement. My understanding is that you must have previously been unsuccessful in working out the problem with the vendor and the vendor MUST be within 100 miles and the charge must exceed $50 in order to take advantage of this feature. I've tried not paying a bill of $100 because I returned the item and was going to be credited in the following month. The bank didn't like me doing that, however, they did honor my request and I didn't have to pay any interest on the outstanding balance. So, the rules are bendable.