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Originally Posted by Lady Sage
You want quotes I suggest you pull them out and read them word for word.
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I'm sorry, it's not the job of the person questioning information to prove your case for you.
Since I'm feeling investigative, however, I went ahead and did research to prove MY point. I have credit through Mastercard (my bank), Visa, and I called customer service for American Express, as well, just to round it out to 3 sources.
All three persons I spoke to said that the signature is a security measure only, for the merchant, and is used to identify you as the cardholder. Along with proper ID, it doesn't matter what you sign on the paper or electronic device- it's up to the merchant to either accept it or not. While technically against the rules, they say, the rule is there simply for the protection of the merchant, to verify identity without having to submit an ID card. I also asked if it constituted fraud, and they all answered no. The Amercian Express rep pointed out that while the rule was to sign your own name, "I've never seen an account cancelled for it." I then said, "certainly if they are denying the charges?" to which she replied, "well if you made the purchase and then deny the charge, that is fraud no matter what you sign."
When asked if signing "Elmer Fudd" on a receipt could be unlawful or in any way legally actionable, the Mastercard rep said, "oh no, no.. absolutely not. it's just there for the retailer". The rep from Visa said, after she finished laughing, "no it's not illegal." The rep from American Express said, "unlawful? no no no..." to which I specifically said, "so if someone comes into my store and signs something false, like a fake name, that's not illegal, you can't be arrested for that or anything, right?" and he replied, "no, you can't get arrested... it's for you and the store... so they know you're the cardholder."
So there you go. Against cardholder rules? Sure. Why? As a security measure between you and the retailer.
Fraud? No. Not illegal. Can't get arrested.
I'm glad that's cleared up for everyone.
This is a great discussion, i'm really enjoying it. Thanks for posting so much, everyone, keep it up!