Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community  

Go Back   Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community > The Academy > Tilted Life


 
 
LinkBack Thread Tools
Old 02-26-2004, 01:21 PM   #1 (permalink)
Insane
 
Location: Bay Area
Giving out check card info = giving out a blank check?

I had to get an amplifier packed and shipped. Not having a car, my only options were have the UPS Store send someone to pick it it and have them pack and ship for me or find someone who was willing to let me use their car. It turns out my friends are all protective of their cars, as I would be if I had one, so I called up the UPS Store.

The UPS guy said that they wouldn't know the total until they brought it back to the store. There is no way for me to get over there, well unless I got a Taxi. He said I could just pay by giving them my credit card or check card number, or by giving them a blank personal check and they would take care of it.

I don't have a credit card, and my thinking was a blank check is just a terrible idea. So the obvious choice was just giving him my check card info... but then I thought wouldn't that be the same as just giving them a blank check?

I asked if they could just mail me an invoice and I could mail them a check, but the guy started into this "What, you don't trust me?" thing and he said "How do I know your check will clear?". In short, I eventually gave him my check card info. I asked about a reciept as he was getting into his truck, and he said he'd call me when he got back to the store with the total. He called me up 15 minutes later with the total - $122.85, and he said he'd mail me a reciept. (yeah he can mail me a reciept but not an invoice...? He said he wanted to get this packed and shipped right away for me)

So now I'm stuck with the feeling that I've just given the UPS store a blank check. Am I just being paranoid or are they going to loot my checking account? Since I didn't know the total I had to pay, is there a difference between giving out my check card information and letting them take care of the rest vs. giving them a blank check?
westothemax is offline  
Old 02-26-2004, 02:11 PM   #2 (permalink)
Tilted Cat Head
 
Cynthetiq's Avatar
 
Administrator
Location: Manhattan, NY
with check card you can contest any amounts that you did not authorize.

totally different than a fiduciary instrument (check) with your signature on the bottom.
__________________
I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not.
Cynthetiq is offline  
Old 02-26-2004, 03:01 PM   #3 (permalink)
Darth Papa
 
ratbastid's Avatar
 
Location: Yonder
However, with a credit card, you're only liable for a maximum of $50 of fraudulent charges if your account is stolen. There's no such protection with a check card.

On the other hand, a business like a UPS store handles probably hundreds of credit and check-card transactions every day. I wouldn't sweat this too much. It's not like you gave your check card number to Guido to buy a fake ID.
ratbastid is offline  
Old 02-26-2004, 03:11 PM   #4 (permalink)
Tilted Cat Head
 
Cynthetiq's Avatar
 
Administrator
Location: Manhattan, NY
Quote:
Originally posted by ratbastid
However, with a credit card, you're only liable for a maximum of $50 of fraudulent charges if your account is stolen. There's no such protection with a check card.
good point, one should remember that it varies from state to state and institution to institution.

check with your bank to make sure what you are liability is.
Cynthetiq is offline  
Old 02-26-2004, 04:16 PM   #5 (permalink)
Gentlemen Farmer
 
j8ear's Avatar
 
Location: Middle of nowhere, Jersey
Quote:
Originally posted by Cynthetiq
with check card you can contest any amounts that you did not authorize.

totally different than a fiduciary instrument (check) with your signature on the bottom.
My experience here is that this is absolutely incorrect, and having money returned to you is much more complicated then contesting the amounts and will likely involve binding arbitration or civil litigation with a criminal defendant. Not the bank. This is also true for your bank account numbers. With your aba/routing number and account number or check card number, NO PIN or signature required, you can have money withdrawn from your account, and should you want it back, or it be unauthorized, you will need to involve law enforcement. I do not believe that banking institutions have any liability

Same is true for a paper check with a forged signature. Banks are not required to, take no responsiblity for, and DO NOT check your signature card on file at your bank branch before paying a check...EVER. Again, money gone, you don't contest it, you need to fight, involve law enforcement and litigate to get it back.


Re-reading the original posters questions, you could find additional charges down the road, but this is true for EVERY TIME you use your check card or write a check.

I would be comfortable with the UPS store too...if something went askew with an employee they would likely take care of business.


That is what credit cards are for...your protection.

be smart,

-bear
__________________
It's alot easier to ask for forgiveness then it is to ask for permission.
j8ear is offline  
 

Tags
blank, card, check, giving, info

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On



All times are GMT -8. The time now is 04:29 PM.

Tilted Forum Project

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.6.0 PL2
© 2002-2012 Tilted Forum Project

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360