werner@ut-ngp.UUCP (03/10/84)
#@$% bugs the car-rental / credit card topic reminds me of a practice which makes me uneasy, every time: Most (all?) rental companies present you with a slip to sign without an amount. What rights does that give them, actually? Am I signing my soul away? I never raised a stink, as I figure, I have my copy without an amount as proof that I did not sign for $$$$, but ... ???? Did anyone ever find out "the hard way" what happens here ?? werner @ ut-ngp {.UUCP or .ARPA }
rcd@opus.UUCP (03/11/84)
<> > Most (all?) rental companies present you with a slip to sign > without an amount. What rights does that give them, actually? > Am I signing my soul away? Never, NEVER do this. In a sense, no, you are not signing your soul away, because if you get an incorrect charge you can contest it (but be careful; there are limitations on WHICH charges can be contested) and you can always take direct legal action against the merchant/agency BUT all of this assumes that you don't mind taking the chance of a protracted battle involving at least the merchant and the card company. You are giving an opportunity to misuse your charge account - almost inviting it, in fact. Why take the chance? Also, remember, if you sign the blank slip you are trusting not only the merchant but any employee who might see the slip. I'll suggest an alternative - suggest that you sign the slip but take your copy out and carry it with you. That way, the merchant has your card number and a copy of the signature, but you will have a copy of the charge slip which won't have any information that might be forged onto it. When you return and the charges are totalled, your copy of the slip is first inserted in with the rest. Of course, this makes your copy a very precious item while you're carrying it, but I think it's an improvement if you must sign a blank slip. (Opinions?) I'm beginning to find out that merchants will try practices which are neither required nor approved by the card companies. This may be one. -- {hao,ucbvax,allegra}!nbires!rcd
dave@utcsrgv.UUCP (Dave Sherman) (03/12/84)
~| From: werner@ut-ngp.UUCP ~| Most (all?) rental companies present you with a slip to sign ~| without an amount. What rights does that give them, actually? ~| Am I signing my soul away? One thing you can do is to write a limitation next to your signature, corresponding to the amount of cash deposit which would be required by the company, e.g. "NOT OVER $200", or whatever the rental agent will accept. That might reduce your liability if something goes wrong and the voucher is put through for a bundle of $$$. Dave Sherman -- {allegra,cornell,decvax,ihnp4,linus,utzoo}!utcsrgv!dave
zemon@felix.UUCP (03/21/84)
American Express issued a statement directed at exactly this issue. The essence was, yes you should sign if the merchant requests it. Amex claims to have screened merchants so you shouldn't get a dishonest one (not with the 8% fees Amex charges, anyway). If you have problems, Amex wants to hear about it, of course. Coincidentally, on the couple of occasions when I have had problems with my Amex account, a telephone call to an 800 number always solved it within minutes (literally). The solution was always that Amex removed the charge from my account until things settled down. They even did this for $600 worth of airline ticket refunds (which took 60 days!) Art Z.
barryg@sdcrdcf.UUCP (Barry Gold) (03/21/84)
Companies that ask you to sign a credit card slip without an amount JUST PLAIN AREN'T DOING IT RIGHT! The right way to use a credit card as a deposit (as done by most hotels) is to take an impression of the credit card on a blank credit slip (which you DON'T sign) and attach the slip to the registration form (which you DO sign). They then have a credit card impression to back up their claim if you skip, but no signature to use for unauthorized charges. If a merchant asks you to sign a blank credit card slip, I suggest you 1) get his merchant number off the slip 2) get the authorization number (they usually get one for purchases large enough to need a credit card deposit) 3) dig out your credit card company's complaint number (you DO carry that, don't you?) 4) Use the merchant's phone (or a public phone if they're being difficult) to call your credit card company and report this practice. I bet Visa, Mastercard, AMEX, etc. would like to stamp out this sort of thing, as it can involve them with endless hassles under the various federal consumer credit laws. -- Barry Gold usenet: {decvax!allegra|ihnp4}!sdcrdcf!barryg Arpanet: barry@BNL
ron@brl-vgr.ARPA (Ron Natalie <ron>) (03/24/84)
Yes, you are correct, most hotels, just make an "impression" of your card. Really this means they are getting down the number and other information but it's easier to use the little machine than writing it out by hand. If you do skip out without paying, since you have signed responsibility for the charges (on the registration form) they can get it out of the card company. It is just more convenient to submit the normal credit form. Note too, that some hotels have rapid checkout where you just sign a card saying, go ahead and bill me, not the charge slip. -Ron
chip@t4test.UUCP (Chip Rosenthal) (03/29/84)
I wonder what are the ramifications of a merchant requesting an unsigned credit card slip. Is it: o illegal? o legal, but frowned upon by credit card companies? o encouraged by credit card companies? I think that the answer to this question is needed before we can figure out what to do when faced with the request to sign off a blank credit card slip. Anybody have an answer? Chip Rosenthal, Intel/Santa Clara {pur-ee,hplabs,ucbvax!amd70,ogcvax!omsvax}!intelca!t4test!chip