I don’t sign my credit cards-I write check ID on the back. When I was in college a police officer told us not to sign our credit cards-it makes it easier for people to forge your signature if your signature is on the back of the card.
If you write “check ID” on the back, ideally, the clerks will actually look at your ID and make sure that the the name on the card matches the name on the ID, and that the photo on the ID matches the the person standing in front of them. (I have read that this doesn’t work if anyone with access to your cards has a similar name-say Bob and Bob Jr, and also has the desire to steal your credit cards. I’ve also read that in Europe they will not take your credit cards unless they have your signature on them, check ID won’t work. )
I’ve been doing this for at least 5 years, and the only people who consistently ask for ID are the post office employees. Even if someone is holding the card in their hand, looking at the check ID they don’t always ask for the ID.
Of course, with the new unassisted checkout lanes, and the little boxes that you slide your credit cards through instead of handing them to the cashier, no one except the post office usually touches the card anyways.
I’ve been to the post office a lot since I joined White Lily in May. Almost every time, I pay with my credit card (I have no balance, pay off the bill each month, and I get cash back when I use it, so why not?), and I’ve never had a problem. I’ve even had conversations with some of the employees about the fact that they are the only people who check the ID, even if they’re holding the card in their hand, reading the “check ID.”
Today, while I was at the post office, I handed the lady my card, and as she handed me the receipt to sign, she told me that it was against the post office’s policy to take unsigned credit cards, even if they say check ID!
If it’s against their policy, then why did she take the card? And if she was going to take the card although it’s against their policy, why bother to tell me about the policy that she obviously doesn’t care enough about to implement.
I just don’t understand! What was the point of the whole conversation?
