<<A good friend of mine said never to sign a card, because then if a forger must sign "for me" it won't look like my signature if the credit card company says it really was me. But hilariously my father in law actually signs "Mickey Mouse" on those electronic pads at Home Depot and so on. And he's never once been asked about it...>>
I've not been around SI for a long time, but I found your post interesting. I don't sign any of the four credit cards I use for various purchases (all of which involve rebates for specific types of purchases I make), but I did get caught up short during the Christmas season at one of the major shopping malls in America (Tysons Corner, McLean, VA) when I went to the mall concierge desk and tried to purchase a mall-wide gift card for a relative, which I've done easily in the past with no problems.
My card was handed back with a request to sign it. I said no way was I going to sign it, and explained that if the card was stolen, I didn't want my handwriting stolen along with it. Concierge-person said my argument was not acceptable, and that my own credit card company states that a card not signed is not a valid card. (Of course, the mall-person was selling a Visa-type gift card, and I was offering an Amex card to pay for the Visa gift card, so that might have something to do with it.)
Funny how that same--unsigned-- Amex card buys just about anything when used over the phone, or over the internet, or in many retail establishments where I use it all the time. The shopping mall-people lost a sale that day. I continue to use the card seamlessly all over the place.
The automated credit card machines at the gas stations I use don't know whether my card is signed, either, and don't seem to care.
We live in a strange financial world. |
