Credit Card... Le Weirdnezz...

[crich70]

Originally Posted by HarryT

To clarify, if someone delivers a parcel to your home, you just have to sign for it, and it's normal for parcels to be left with a neighbour if you're not at home. I was referring to the situation where you go and collect a parcel from somewhere. In that case, you'll always be asked to provide ID.

Yep. When I ordered an external disk burner through Wal-Mart I went to pick it up at their site to store counter and they also asked me for my ID. Presumably to make sure that my purchase was being picked up by the right person.

(I bought it through them online rather than one of their off the shelf burners because it was some $20.00 cheaper that way. Online it was around $30.00 odd bucks and it was $54.00 without tax if bought in the store.)

[calvin-c]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

I would assume that is why they call you to check. And surely it is better to temporarily lose access so that in other situations you don't lose all your money...

Not really. What if that had been my only credit card & I needed it to pay for my return home?

I agree that it's good that they call to check-I simply disagree that, when nobody answers the phone, they assume the card has been stolen. They should use some common sense. If it's being used out of state & nobody answers the phone at home then it's more likely the cardholder is on vacation than that it's been stolen. And having your card seized & destroyed in front of other customers is even more embarrassing than simply having it declined which is another option. If it had been declined I could have contacted the bank/credit card company to find out why-and cleared it for further use. Once it's been destroyed it doesn't matter whether I clear up the problem or not, I still can't use it for my return home.

Needless to say the first thing I did after returning home (fortunately I had another credit card) was close my account at that bank.

[calvin-c]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I'm a credit card merchant, and the terms of my agreement with both MasterCard and Visa prohibit me from sending goods to anything other than the cardholder's registered billing address, for that very reason.

How do you handle gift purchases? As far as that goes can you handle purchases made while staying at a vacation home (and to be delivered there)? These days, with online statements, I don't really care where the paper statements are delivered as long as it's to one of my homes. (Assuming I even get a paper statement-and if I don't then it's even money whether or not I'll remember which address is my registered billing address.)

I'm not saying your approach isn't better than nothing, but I'm thinking there should be something better yet. Probably not something you can do though.

[calvin-c]

Originally Posted by MikeB1972

True, but a lot of comapnies don't have this issue. Most people get stuff ordered online to their work address.

What I never understand is how come people who use stolen cards to order goods online never seem to get arrested, it's not like you can't track where the items ended up.

In the 20+ years I worked our company only accepted personal deliveries at work during Christmas. I suspect what you meant was that most stuff ordered online these days is ordered by a company, for work.

As for catching the crooks, you don't think they take delivery at their homes, do you? Or where they work? I don't know how they handle this (and wouldn't discuss it if I did) but the apparent problem makes me think that there's not a lot of fraud in online ordering of merchandise that must be delivered. Too capable of being tracked. I imagine most stolen cards are used to purchase things at stores-or order things to be picked up at a store.

[calvin-c]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

I am pretty sure you can call them in advance to say you will be in _____ on vacation and any charges from there should be cleared.

Thinking about this aspect, do you really want to tell even your credit card company that nobody will be at your home? Of course it's unlikely a crook with contacts in your area will be working at your credit card company, but not impossible. Crooks do tend to try & get contacts into positions where they can find out when people are on vacation after all.

I don't have my mail or paper held. (I do have mail forwarded when I move to my other home. I probably shouldn't but I do. Convenience outweighs risk for that, IMO.) I have a trusted person stop by daily to check on the house, including putting anything delivered inside.

And yes, I now do tell my credit card company when I go on vacation. I don't want to but they've basically forced me to-and I resent that force.

[MikeB1972]

Originally Posted by calvin-c

In the 20+ years I worked our company only accepted personal deliveries at work during Christmas. I suspect what you meant was that most stuff ordered online these days is ordered by a company, for work.

No, most companies I know are pretty good about accepting deliveries for staff.

Originally Posted by calvin-c

As for catching the crooks, you don't think they take delivery at their homes, do you? Or where they work? I don't know how they handle this (and wouldn't discuss it if I did) but the apparent problem makes me think that there's not a lot of fraud in online ordering of merchandise that must be delivered. Too capable of being tracked. I imagine most stolen cards are used to purchase things at stores-or order things to be picked up at a store.

Well, when my number was swiped a while back it was used at (amongst others) Pixmania, I contacted the bank and they said they would monitor the card, it then got used more times, I assume it would be very simple to arrange the arrest of the person who accepts delivery for these known fraudulant transactions. I also assume there was a reason the bank took a hit for a couple of grand after the incident was discovered, if they made a bit of a song and dance about arresting someone then it should at least cut back on credit card fraud.

[mgbino]

I have almost everything delivered to either my work address or various friend's houses. I live in an s-hole, so any packages left at my door would be stolen within 10 minutes... never had an issue with any of my credit card companies.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by calvin-c

How do you handle gift purchases?

Simple answer is that I don't deliver to non-billing addresses - simple as that. If I were to do so, and the purchaser were then to claim a fraudulent use if the card, I'd be left out of pocket. Large companies can afford this risk, but I can't. I sell only a small number of reasonably big-ticket items each month - my software sells for over $100 - and I just can't run the risk.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Jessica Lares

This is why I do finances the ol' school way... With an app that I fill out manually on my iDevices. It helps when stuff like this comes up.

Am I the only other one here old enough to be amused that any iDevice app can be considered "ol' school?"
I still have ledger paper around here somewhere. And a checkbook with the paper register you're supposed to fill out by hand.

Originally Posted by HarryT

A card that takes money out of someone else's account seems ideal to me!

Originally Posted by gabby98

Yea, unless it's your account or you get caught and have to pay it back to someone else.

That was the premise of a Twilight Zone episode, sort of.

[speakingtohe]

I often order gifts online for my mother who lives on the east coast and I live on the west. As long as my billing address is okay everything goes through.

Helen

[Purple Lady]

I just ordered my mother an additional Mother's day gift on Amazon and designated it as a gift and Amazon had me enter my credit card number again to confirm. I think this is the first time I had to do that. There was a message that they do this the first time shipping to a new address or when shipping to an address you just updated. The last thing I shipped to that address had her husband's name as the deliver to and I changed it to my mother's name.

[xstitchfan]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

There are of course a bunch of ways to have your number compromised without using it online.

Hi all, My first experience with credit card fraud was 15 years ago. We had a group of men custom order a $1200 bed from a furniture store where we used to live. They said they were buying the bed for my husband. The store let them order the bed even though the man wasn't with them! The next week, they came back with (insert my husband's name here) and he showed a fake license with his photo and my husband's name. We called the bank 2 weeks later when we got the card statement. They took the charge off immediately even though the store tried to say he had been in the store and bought the bed. (The store owner's son had sold the bed.) We could only file the fake license part, the bank had to file the actual credit fraud. We lived in a major US city at the time. The detective I called wasn't interested - since they have so many cases - until I mentioned we had the card only 10 days before the fraud happened. When I read him the 7 charges, he told me that my husband's info had been stolen at the grocery store or at the convenience store where we bought gas. A fraud ring pays a store employee to steal the credit card info and ID info. Word to the wise - review your card statements every month. BTW, I saw on the news that fraud rings make millions through fake credit card charges under $5. Most people never notice the small amounts. Happy Reading! Joan