Was out at Meadowhall today, went into Sports Soccer to buy a pair of trainers. Anyway i went to the cash desk to pay for them. Handed my new Mastercard which i got this morning to the assistant, she swiped it and i then signed the slip of paper she gave me. Now at this point she was ment to check my signature to see if they match up, which she did.

Now you might think whats wrong with that. Well the next shop i go into to pay for something the assistant tells me my Mastercard hasnt been signed on the back yet. I activated the new card this morning just forgot to sign the back.

I know alot of shops now use chip & pin but in sports soccer there not or they wasnt useing it at the time when i was in there. So how can i pay for something with a credit card that has no signature on the back.

Shop assistants just aren't paid enough to risk challenging a fraudster. And they have no training in how to deal with a fraudulent signature (or a missing one).

I regularly report incidents such as this to the store manager (by phone, afterwards) and if they're not interested - head office are!

The rules have now changed - it's the retailer, not the credit card company who are now liable for the loss in these cases, so it's in their best interests to be more thorough now.

Originally posted by robS35
So how can i pay for something with a credit card that has no signature on the back.
That's easy, just go into Sports Soccer at Meadowhall, they'll accept it, no questions asked. ;)

Shop assistants used to get a reward of £50 for every stolen card they managed to retain; they did in the early nineties at any rate, I got a couple of rewards during that time when I worked in retail.

Wonder if this still happens?

K x

I have lost count of the number of times a shop asistant has handed me my card back at the same time as I hand back the slip I have just signed - in other words - not checking! If you watch them as you pass the signed slip back you may find that very few check the 2 together.

I have for ages contemplated signing 'minnie mouse' on the slip just to see if they are alert - think I could have got away with a fair number of free goodies by now if I had!

I was always tempted to write 'unsigned' whenever an assistant was chatting to a mate instead of paying attention properly

Does anybody else find that rude? (And stupid if they're cash handling/dealing with strangers)

Would you not get in to bother if you signed 'unsigned' !?

Who with? The assistant who didn't look? Or do I say 'I'm a mystery shopper' when I get caught?

This guy had some fun on this very topic:

http://www.thescreamonline.com/cartoons/cartoons3-3/

Originally posted by InvalidUser
This guy had some fun on this very topic:

http://www.thescreamonline.com/cartoons/cartoons3-3/
Fugging brilliant :hihi: :thumbsup:

He won't be in trouble with mastercard - the shops will!

Originally posted by Kristian
Shop assistants used to get a reward of £50 for every stolen card they managed to retain; they did in the early nineties at any rate, I got a couple of rewards during that time when I worked in retail.

Wonder if this still happens?

K x

When I worked in retail and retail security i handled many fraudulent and stolen cards. The reward is still in effect, but I never saw a penny of it. I think it went to the store petty cash tin and if that wasn't spent by the ned of the year it went on a staff night out. Now this was a large retail store in town and i'm sure there is still reward money from when I was there in the tin waiting to be handed out.

I work in Meadowhall and the reason they don`t spend time looking at your card is, the owners of the shops tell them to be fast with the customers, so they don`t hang about and you please the Mystery Shopper.

Money is why we can`t stop and check the card correctly. The retailers want money and lots of it.
You try to see to 15 customers and take time to check each and every card while the other customers stand for ages.

But just so you know I do take time, cause I can`t rush, I like to be pleasent. Most of us do.

Originally posted by rosie
I work in Meadowhall and the reason they don`t spend time looking at your card is, the owners of the shops tell them to be fast with the customers, so they don`t hang about and you please the Mystery Shopper.

Money is why we can`t stop and check the card correctly. The retailers want money and lots of it.
You try to see to 15 customers and take time to check each and every card while the other customers stand for ages.

But just so you know I do take time, cause I can`t rush, I like to be pleasent. Most of us do.

True but if the mystery shopper has the card without the signature, then that would score an instant zero and a call to the manager.

Originally posted by InvalidUser
This guy had some fun on this very topic:

http://www.thescreamonline.com/cartoons/cartoons3-3/

It hasn't escaped my notice either. loads of people look but don't see. if you see what I mean.
I shall be signing the typical X and Imight try a few other odd things. He hehe, will let you know how it goes.

Originally posted by robS35
Was out at Meadowhall today, went into Sports Soccer to buy a pair of trainers. Anyway i went to the cash desk to pay for them. Handed my new Mastercard which i got this morning to the assistant, she swiped it and i then signed the slip of paper she gave me. Now at this point she was ment to check my signature to see if they match up, which she did.

Now you might think whats wrong with that. Well the next shop i go into to pay for something the assistant tells me my Mastercard hasnt been signed on the back yet. I activated the new card this morning just forgot to sign the back.

I know alot of shops now use chip & pin but in sports soccer there not or they wasnt useing it at the time when i was in there. So how can i pay for something with a credit card that has no signature on the back.

if it aint been signed its illegal to take it. They are doing their job properly

Originally posted by robbie
if it aint been signed its illegal to take it. They are doing their job properly
robbie, read the first paragraph again, here it is,

Originally posted by robS35
Was out at Meadowhall today, went into Sports Soccer to buy a pair of trainers. Anyway i went to the cash desk to pay for them. Handed my new Mastercard which i got this morning to the assistant, she swiped it and i then signed the slip of paper she gave me. Now at this point she was ment to check my signature to see if they match up, which she did.
but
Originally posted by robS35
my Mastercard hasnt been signed on the back yet.
I think the point was that they hadn't checked the sig' properly, but had accepted the slip.

Originally posted by duffman
When I worked in retail and retail security i handled many fraudulent and stolen cards. The reward is still in effect, but I never saw a penny of it. I think it went to the store petty cash tin and if that wasn't spent by the ned of the year it went on a staff night out. Now this was a large retail store in town and i'm sure there is still reward money from when I was there in the tin waiting to be handed out.

Surely they're not allowed to keep this from you if it's your reward?!?

K x

Originally posted by Strix

The rules have now changed - it's the retailer, not the credit card company who are now liable for the loss in these cases, so it's in their best interests to be more thorough now.

That's not quite true. Retailers are only liable if they haven't subscribed to the Chip & Pin technology. It doesn't matter whether it's used or not, as long as there is one chip and pin machine on each credit card terminal then the retailer isn't liable for the fraud, if there's no chip & pin then they are liable. This legislation came into force on 1st Jan, and we installed them at my old bar on 30th December, and never been used once, it's just there to protect us!

Originally posted by Kristian
Surely they're not allowed to keep this from you if it's your reward?!?

K x

Well it has been the same in the three retail stores I have worked in, the money went to the store rather than the individual who retained the card.

Originally posted by duffman
Well it has been the same in the three retail stores I have worked in, the money went to the store rather than the individual who retained the card.
Same here. It's to stop naughty shop assistants from 'forgetting' to return the card... Very tempting to some, given the reward compared to their daily pay

Originally posted by robbie
if it aint been signed its illegal to take it. They are doing their job properly

Why was i able to use it in sports soccer then if its illegal to take an unsigned card.

Then whole point i was making was to show just how much attension some sales assistants really take when i comes to useing a credit card.

i work in retail for a large company. one of the first things i was taught was how to spot fraudulant cards and never to accept an unsigned card unless the customer has adequate ID and another signature on a card or drivers licence etc.

i don't know about other shops but where i work we are watched by security just as much as the customers sometimes to make sure we are always doing our job right and checking cards.
some cards come up with 'authourisation required' which is basically a phonecall is needed and trust me, that can be for amounts as little as a pound!! the majority of the time the transaction is ok'ed but you do get the 'retain that card' at times!

i think a lot depends on the individual, i personally check each signature, i was actually praised on a few occaisions by customers because i have spotted that for example they have given me their partners card and i have questioned them as to why their signatures don't match, only for the customer to say 'bloody hell, i've been using that all day' :rolleyes:

:)

i was once serving a customer who was from the states, the signatures didnt match up and i queried her, she said its ok hun its my husbands card, here is my drivers license, everywhere else has been accepting it. im like i dont think so, do you have another card??

obv she gave me another card, but if i can steal my boyfriends card and say its ok he said i can use it, will i get away with it????

Argos give the member of staff the £50 reward for retaining a bad card, i've just not had any slimy customers yet :(

What can be annoying with the quick pay machines is people signing the box before they get to the collection point, where i'll ask them to sign it again, as we need to witness the sig properly.

never have any problems with stuff like that,always use something called cash,that way you know its paid for without all the checks,unless you use the notes with the bearded queen!!

when I worked in shop this girl came to the till, I was putting the transaction thrugh when I noticed it was Mr on the card, so I asked her to sign (not wanted to offend incase she was actually a he!)

The sig was totally different when I pointed this out she said that her boyf had given it her for the day, when I explained to her credit cards don't work like that she looked at me like a piece of filth....then her mother stepped in and said could I not 'let it go' and that she had used it in other shops all day, they grabbed the card off me. So as I had the transaction number I rang the card place to inform them.....

does make you wonder how often people get away with it....

i once got the £50 too!!!

someone using a cancelled card. twas a nice surprise when i got the cash tho

I'd be very wary about allowing a shop assistant to retain my card. I mean, how do I know they're genuine? Rather than be about to go and make fraudulent purchases themselves???

I guess I wouldn't have much choice about it though :confused:

Two points Ive picked up (it is an area Ive worked a lot in this so I do know!):

Retained Cards

If you are asked to retain the card by the machine, then the chances are this is not a stolen card but does belong to the person using it however they have been, shall we say, misusing it. The banks will ask you to retain the card but will not reward you with £50 on this premise.

If, however, you are asked for a voice referral and you are then told to retain the card, the chances are it is a stolen card. In which case, they will reward you with £50. (The actual amount they pay is about £64 but they deduct 22% income tax at base. Therefore, if you are not using your personal allowances you can claim the difference back or if you are a higher rate payer who are supposed to declare in on your return!).

In the latter case, they will ask you for your name and the cheque is normally sent to your company in your name.

Chip & Pin

From Janaury retailers who did not have chip and pin technology installed became liable in case of fraudulent use as mentioned earlier. However, those with chip & pin also became liable in cases where they overrode the chip and pin. So for instance, if you went into a shop and couldnt remember your pin number, the shop is able to override this and let you still charge to the card on signature (usually by the swipe of a supervisor card). However, if they did so and the card was fraudulent then the retailer would be liable and not the credit card companies. If, however, the card was not yet adaptable to chip & pin and still signature based, then they would not be liable.

This topic grabbed my attention because I used to work with someone who is currently at supervisory / management level in Soccer Sports at Meadowhall. Several years ago when we worked together, that person stole one of my cards out of my bag at work and went and had a field day with it!!! Just goes to show you can never 100% trust anyone. Everytime I go in that shop I cringe if I see that person. I'ts not in my nature to tell the employers what happened, it's in the past and hopefully a lesson was learned as a result of getting a police caution.

It also shows that employers don't really check the trustworthiness of staff before employing them in a situation where they are handling credit cards and money.

Liz
xxx

The moral of this story is to use cash!!!! although if your like me you forget your pin number so have to get cash back at the local supermarket!!! but then again I forget my pin number so sometimes thats a no go..... gosh I have so many bloomin numbers and passwords to remember and your not suppose to write anything down. Anyone else feel the same.

Originally posted by technophobe
The moral of this story is to use cash!!!! although if your like me you forget your pin number so have to get cash back at the local supermarket!!! but then again I forget my pin number so sometimes thats a no go..... gosh I have so many bloomin numbers and passwords to remember and your not suppose to write anything down. Anyone else feel the same.

I'd rather be mugged for my cards than cash. With cash there's no way of getting it back.

Originally posted by rosie
I work in Meadowhall and the reason they don`t spend time looking at your card is, the owners of the shops tell them to be fast with the customers, so they don`t hang about and you please the Mystery Shopper.


When i worked in Meadowhall, i worked in one of the busiest stores in there and we were always told to check cards thoroughly and if we thought anything suspicious then we had to inform management, inform the customer that the transaction needed authorising by management (transaction authorisation does happen every now and then so no questions were asked) and then management had to phone authorisation and report a code 10, not sure what else happened after that because i never had to deal with it.

I also work in meadowhall and yes we are given £50 if we manage to obtain a stolen card. Personally speaking i watch the customer sign the slip as i am holding their card and hand them their card as they hand me the slip as this is quicker. I AM still checking it but im checking AS they sign rather than after. I also check the name on the card to make sure its the right sex. Ill get my hands on that £50 if it kills me!

I have worked at sports sovver in meadowhall on the tills, it is a hard job, some staff do make mistakes from time 2 time, like giving more change, less change, over charging & credit card errors. People in the shop do have alot to do. We had to serve customers as quick as we could, we always had management on our backs when they dont do any work at all. We use to get abouse of lots of customers. If anyone is to blame for any problems its the management at the store.

Originally posted by underground1
I have worked at sports sovver in meadowhall on the tills, it is a hard job, some staff do make mistakes from time 2 time, like giving more change, less change, over charging & credit card errors. People in the shop do have alot to do. We had to serve customers as quick as we could, we always had management on our backs when they dont do any work at all. We use to get abouse of lots of customers. If anyone is to blame for any problems its the management at the store.

Sure of course, its always someones elses fault for you lot not doing you job right.

A mate of mine owns a restaurant in birmingham... and we've learned that your signature on the print out will only be checked by the card company if you query the transaction at a later date.

Hence.. we've signed off as Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and various other character! The money still comes out of my account... no questions asked !

Originally posted by robS35
Sure of course, its always someones elses fault for you lot not doing you job right.

you try working in one of the biggest sport retail stores that makes thousands. People flocking to the store....u wouldnt b able to hack it!!!! :loopy: :loopy:

i've worked in sports soccer too and it was hell the customers are well to be quite blunt filth! every customer I served had pretty much no manners to speak of

And as for the management well theres lots i'd love to say about them but I think I shall stop here lol!

Originally posted by underground1
you try working in one of the biggest sport retail stores that makes thousands. People flocking to the store....u wouldnt b able to hack it!!!! :loopy: :loopy:

Funny that, many many years ago i had a weekend job over the Christmas period working on the till at Toys R Us. Now anyone who has been shopping there at Christmas time understands how busy that shop gets.

So i know what serving customers in a busy retail store is like.

As for not been able to hack it, come on its a Retail Sales Assistant job where talking about here, not the most challenging of jobs in the world is it.

Originally posted by robS35
Funny that, many many years ago i had a weekend job over the Christmas period working on the till at Toys R Us. Now anyone who has been shopping there at Christmas time understands how busy that shop gets.

So i know what serving customers in a busy retail store is like.

toys r us have no sense of urgency, twice i have been in and waited over half an hour to get served!!!!

Originally posted by savbaby
toys r us have no sense of urgency, twice i have been in and waited over half an hour to get served!!!!

Well when i was there it was over 11 years ago and i worked for only 8 weeks over Christmas. I can say ive never been in that shop since.

Originally posted by robS35
Well when i was there it was over 11 years ago and i worked for only 8 weeks over Christmas. I can say ive never been in that shop since.
sorry i was just having a rant:rant: :thumbsup:

Originally posted by savbaby
sorry i was just having a rant:rant: :thumbsup:

No you rant away, i could rant all day about a certain cycle shop located on Bramhall Lane.

Originally posted by robS35


As for not been able to hack it, come on its a Retail Sales Assistant job where talking about here, not the most challenging of jobs in the world is it.

Many years ago when I used to work in retail, if we were given an unsigned card we were told to ask for another card in the same name which had already been signed as conformation of the signature and to insist they then signed the unsigned card.

Apart from that I think you're a rude idiot and probably couldn't hack workin in a shop because of your attitude. The most challenging part of working in retail is probably dealing with people like you. What exactly is it that you do that's so 'challenging'? Please enlighten me I'd love to know.

I've worked in retail and a bank. It takes all of a few seconds to check a signature against a card. There are certain details of the signature that stand out. To "check" the signature against a blank card & not notice the card has no signature is not an excuse.

If it's a genuine customer, the majority of the time, they will be more than happy to do their signature again if it's queried. They will be pleased to see the cashier being thorough.

For anyone who thinks that retail is easy I suggest they work a Saturday (from 8.30 till 7) in any of the busy retailers in Meadowhall and still say it is easy.

I very much doubt that anyone would feel anything other than physically and mentally drained.

Originally posted by Fudbeer
For anyone who thinks that retail is easy I suggest they work a Saturday (from 8.30 till 7) in any of the busy retailers in Meadowhall and still say it is easy.

I very much doubt that anyone would feel anything other than physically and mentally drained.
i worked in meadowhall for one of the very busy food shops on saturdays for 9 hours and to be honest its not that bad, bearing in mind the unit i worked in had no air conditioning till recently and even when installed the shop temperature was 38*c or more! i am not so much saying its easy but depends how you let it affect you:thumbsup:

Do we have a thread about how good the sales assistants are in Meadowhall, does anyone know?

Originally posted by robS35
Sure of course, its always someones elses fault for you lot not doing you job right.

To be honest, you don't really have any right to have a go at people for not accepting responsibility for their own actions. Sure the assistant was wrong not to check your card but it was YOU who didn't sign your card and YOU who handed it over. Ultimately that card is YOUR responsibility.

Originally posted by SallyLaLaLa
Many years ago when I used to work in retail, if we were given an unsigned card we were told to ask for another card in the same name which had already been signed as conformation of the signature and to insist they then signed the unsigned card.

Apart from that I think you're a rude idiot and probably couldn't hack workin in a shop because of your attitude. The most challenging part of working in retail is probably dealing with people like you. What exactly is it that you do that's so 'challenging'? Please enlighten me I'd love to know.

Well going way back to my original point which was the Assistant looked at the back of my card before handing it me back nothing wrong there, but card hadnt been signed which
goes to show how much notice she was really taking.

Dealing with people like me, well the reason im a little annoyed was the fact something so simple like checking the signature on the back of a credit card matched and they couldnt even manage that.

It doesnt really matter if i signed the card or not but once my error was pointed out to me i didnt go trying to put the blame on someone else, the fact is it was part of the Assistants job to check weather the card and till slip signatures match up, but to turn the card over and look at the signature strip and still not notice that it was blank really theres no excuse.

As for what i do, well i work in one of the citys busy hospitals.