Sign for what?
Is there a point to signing credit card receipts?
I was at Home Depot yesterday buying a plumbing part we needed. I used the self check-out (I love self check-out). When I got to the part where you use the little light saber to sign your name, something a little odd happened. The screen where you sign your credit card ‘receipt’ was mounted at an odd angle. As a result, my signature looked nothing like it normally does.
(My signature as far as Home Depot knows)
Then it hit me.
Why the hell do we sign credit card receipts, let alone electronic ones?
Seriously, what difference does it make? Obviously it’s not legally required (e.g. you don’t sign at a gas pump). No one ever checks to see if how you signed looks even remotely like the signature on the card. (For a great post on signing the back of credit cards, see what Money, Matter, and More Musings has to say about it.)
So what’s the point?
October 26th, 2007 at 7:31 am
In case of lawsuits? That’s all I’m coming up with. Because if you sue and say “I didn’t buy this” they can say “Oh yeah?” and wave your signature.
(In the case of this signature, however, I think you could argue the point that they have no way of proving it!)
October 26th, 2007 at 7:48 am
That’s just it - you don’t have to sign for all transactions. On the other hand, those type transactions are small dollar amount. I’d think if you took delivery of the good or service, in case of a dispute, the retailer could just point that out.
November 2nd, 2007 at 11:37 pm
I’ve read that the signature on a receipt is a written agreement from you to the seller saying you will pay the amount. The signature on the card is to say you agree to the credit card company’s rates, or whatnot, at the time you got the card.
I recommend the following “credit card prank” pages for a fun read, and here’s hoping this post doesn’t get too caught up in the spam catcher for having links in it!
http://www.zug.com/pranks/credit/
Quote: “In my lifetime, I have made nearly 15,000 credit card transactions. I purchase almost everything on plastic. What bugs me about credit card transactions is the signing. Who checks the signature? Nobody checks the signature.”
http://www.zug.com/pranks/credit_card/index2.html
Quote: “I thought my days of credit card fraud were coming to an end, until I saw this full-page ad on the back cover of Time magazine. Brought to you by the credit card industry, the ad explains how “your credit card companies are working hard to protect you from fraud and identity theft.” Right.”
And for a little extra fun:
http://www.zug.com/pranks/visa/
Quote: “I’m getting tired of the security questions. You call up the bank or the utility company, and they ask personal details that are none of their business: your mother’s maiden name, the name of your first pet, the town where you lost your virginity. I decided to fight back by making a series of prank calls to Visa, where I have an account, and trying to get around their senseless security questions. In this first prank call, I tried to get by with the wrong mother’s maiden name. ”
At least, I thought they were fun reads, and the first two should be quite relevant!
November 5th, 2007 at 5:21 am
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