rcd@opus.UUCP (08/30/84)
>Re using travellers' checks instead of cash or personal checks: > >About the only places I have been able to use travellers' checks without >giving just the same sort of ID you'd need for a personal check (drivers >license, credit card, whatever) have been restaurants in tourist-catering >areas (like San Francisco). Most other places I've cashed them, including >some restaurants, have asked for ID. (I once even encountered a gas station >that WOULDN'T take travellers' checks at all! -- a local discount independent >small chain.) Maybe the problem here is really careless employees. There is no earthly reason for requiring a separate ID on traveler's checks. For one thing, if if they watch you countersign the check and the signatures match, the merchant has done all that's necessary to satisfy the requirements of the check issuer. For another, if they don't watch you countersign and/or the signatures don't match, all the ID's in the world won't make the check good! One thing I've found out along the way is that some fair number of ID requirements that YOU have to satisfy are actually imposed to try to get careless/lazy employees to do enough checking to be sure they're accepting proper payment. I haven't had too much trouble with traveler's checks. However, I always ask before using them just because some businesses don't give a damn about training the people who take the money, and if they don't understand how a traveler's check works, it's not worth the hassle. -- Dick Dunn {hao,ucbvax,allegra}!nbires!rcd (303)444-5710 x3086 ...I'm not cynical - just experienced.