The "Fuck my life" thread

[zaneyard]

debit transactions can be made with a signature, and at some vendors any purchase under a certain amount does not require a signature.
Generally the only thing that a debit PIN is required for is for ATM transactions.

[Vlambo]

How can unauthorized purchases be made from your debit card? Doesn't it require a pin?

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

I think a debit card to Yanks is a credit card to us

[zaneyard]

Debit card -> linked to your bank account, is your money
Credit card -> linked to a line of credit, is someone elses money
charge card -> similar to a credit card, but has to be paid off in full monthly.

[KarthXLR]

debit transactions can be made with a signature, and at some vendors any purchase under a certain amount does not require a signature.
Generally the only thing that a debit PIN is required for is for ATM transactions.

Yeah, I was about to say. Some purchases require a pin and some don't. I suppose it depends on the store/machine. It's fairly rare when I need to sign for a purchase.

[HeK]

So your debit cards have no security at all?
Anyone can skim your card and empty your account in purchases?

Wow......

Canadian debit cards have required a pin since day one. We are currently moving away from magnetic strips to smart-card chips which negotiate directly with the bank.
Even in the case of theft, any unauthorized purchases made by debit or credit cards in Canada are protected by law.

[KarthXLR]

So your debit cards have no security at all?
Anyone can skim your card and empty your account in purchases?

Wow......

Canadian debit cards have required a pin since day one. We are currently moving away from magnetic strips to smart-card chips which negotiate directly with the bank.
Even in the case of theft, any unauthorized purchases made by debit or credit cards in Canada are protected by law.

Grocery/retail stores almost always require a pin. Restaurants and fast food places usually don't.

[A. Crow]

Glad you got your stuff back.  Sucks that they used the debit instead of your credit card. 

I'd whoop the shit out of your roommates if you catch them not securing your apartment again. 

[zaneyard]

[quote author=HeK link=topic=3709.msg253964#msg253964 date=1347846761]
So your debit cards have no security at all?
Anyone can skim your card and empty your account in purchases?

Wow......

Canadian debit cards have required a pin since day one. We are currently moving away from magnetic strips to smart-card chips which negotiate directly with the bank.
Even in the case of theft, any unauthorized purchases made by debit or credit cards in Canada are protected by law.

Grocery/retail stores almost always require a pin. Restaurants and fast food places usually don't.
[/quote]
All terminals allow the use of a debit card as a credit transaction (requiring a signature instead of a PIN)

[Eightball]

Yup HeK, it depends on the transaction. Buying groceries? PIN. Gas? PIN. Restaurant? Signature. A few others don't require a PIN, for example online purchases and vending machines (yes, vending machines here accept debit & credit cards; the one fradulent purchase was done at such a machine selling transit tickets). However, non-PIN transactions usually take a few days to a week to clear. It's because the purchase was made during this timeframe that I'm not responsible for it. Maybe the vendor eats the cost in this case, maybe the bank does. I'm not sure. EDIT: Looks like the merchant eats it.

And I've probably contributed to this lax security as much as they have, Crow. I also can't rule out the possibility that my stuff left my person between entering the building and entering my apartment unit, but I'd think it highly unlikely.

[Vlambo]

Y'all folks are weird. Like fuck I'd have my debit card approved with a signature

[at0m]

[quote author=Karth link=topic=3709.msg253968#msg253968 date=1347852499]
[quote author=HeK link=topic=3709.msg253964#msg253964 date=1347846761]
So your debit cards have no security at all?
Anyone can skim your card and empty your account in purchases?

Wow......

Canadian debit cards have required a pin since day one. We are currently moving away from magnetic strips to smart-card chips which negotiate directly with the bank.
Even in the case of theft, any unauthorized purchases made by debit or credit cards in Canada are protected by law.

Grocery/retail stores almost always require a pin. Restaurants and fast food places usually don't.
[/quote]
All terminals allow the use of a debit card as a credit transaction (requiring a signature instead of a PIN)
[/quote]^this, but only so long as the debit card has a Visa/Mastercard logo, which nearly all of them do. There _IS_ such a thing as just a debit card, but most people don't want one because it means you can't use it for online purchases (since they would require a PIN). Upside is if they run it as signature, you're covered under Visa/Mastercard's fraud protection, which is generally pretty good (although it takes a while for them to get your money back to you).

The only reason some venues use different default methods of payment is because it costs them less (transaction fees are lower on debit transactions, fewer chargebacks, better for grocery stores since you're right there; would need to purchase handheld PIN entry pad for you to enter PIN and tip, that costs money, cheaper to use credit where you can preauth for X dollars over the transaction to cover possible tip then fill in the X later).

[Luinbariel]

You might as well be writing cheques by the sound of it. Payment transactions that take several days to clear? Sounds familiar.

[Versus]

You might as well be writing cheques by the sound of it. Payment transactions that take several days to clear? Sounds familiar.

i've heard them called check cards

[Luinbariel]

[quote author=Luinbariel link=topic=3709.msg253994#msg253994 date=1347896089]
You might as well be writing cheques by the sound of it. Payment transactions that take several days to clear? Sounds familiar.

i've heard them called check cards
[/quote]

That would make some sense.

[A. Crow]

[quote author=versus link=topic=3709.msg254009#msg254009 date=1347899453]
[quote author=Luinbariel link=topic=3709.msg253994#msg253994 date=1347896089]
You might as well be writing cheques by the sound of it. Payment transactions that take several days to clear? Sounds familiar.

i've heard them called check cards
[/quote]

That would make some sense.

[/quote]

Yet, if you write an actual check at a walmart or similar big box store, they're run it through their magical cash register and the money is instantly removed from your account. 

[Neptune]

[quote author=Luinbariel link=topic=3709.msg254016#msg254016 date=1347907606]
[quote author=versus link=topic=3709.msg254009#msg254009 date=1347899453]
[quote author=Luinbariel link=topic=3709.msg253994#msg253994 date=1347896089]
You might as well be writing cheques by the sound of it. Payment transactions that take several days to clear? Sounds familiar.

i've heard them called check cards
[/quote]

That would make some sense.

[/quote]

Yet, if you write an actual check at a walmart or similar big box store, they're run it through their magical cash register and the money is instantly removed from your account. 
[/quote]

This whole part of the thread makes me so freaking twitchy.  I actually work at a Credit Union and while I don't directly handle the debit/credit cards, I work closely with those that do.  That said, I lack enough specific knowledge to describe how it works.  I can tell you that we have two people that only do debit/credit card disputes and get our member's money back.  Hell, I once heard one of them call up Girls Gone Wild and bitch them out for a member.

Cards are perfectly safe if you're not a complete fuckwad.  Most of the time, it's family who steals your shit.  Frequently, we have people call us back and go "Oh, it's little Jimmy.  He used it on his XBox.  I'll go take it out of his hide."  Other than that, it's the result of phishing and those people deserve what they get (but we still fix it for them so that they can just do it again later).

The only time my wife's card was compromised was when hackers stole information from Hannaford Bros. and then again from TJX stores.  VISA was on top of that and my workplace was able to block and reorder all of the plastic.

Yes, American's dont need to sign for much of anything.  I process my debit card transactions as credit just so I don't have to enter my PIN, either.  I'm surprised if a cashier wants to look at my card.  I don't even think I signed the back of it.  But you know what?  My financial institution is there for me.  I can block and reorder it with little to no work if I think I need to.

Debit transaction are taken out of your account when the store processes them.  If there's a delay, that means the store hasn't sent the info to their financial institution, yet.  Checks take a day or two.  If they don't, then they're not clearing as a check.  The store is using the check's MICR line to originate an electronic transaction...which still takes a day or two.  NOTHING is instantaneous.  The hold (or 'authorization') may go on your account right away, but the money isn't taken out until a human being says so.  This person usually works for the store in question, so they're the ones to blame.

But anyway, fuck checks.  Why do people still use these?  Every time you hand someone a check, you're handing them your account information.  It's right there at the bottom!  Please, please, please get plastic.  Use your financial institution's online products.  Hell, use cash.  Stop writing checks.  Your handwriting is terrible, anyway, and I'm the one who has to decipher it.

...

Alright, I'm ranting so hard that my head hurts.  Fuck work.  Our ACH file was duplicated for some reason.  We didn't even do it!  It was some SNAFU with our vendor and 1700 transactions were duplicated.  It looked like it was our fault and we had to fix it.  I wasn't even directly involved with it and I'm tired. 

I just blame everyone who's not me.  Seems to work.

[/rant]

[zaneyard]

yeah we stopped accepting checks at DQ when I worked there because so many people bounced them. Also, it slows down business.

[Luinbariel]

I didn't say anyone was/should write checks. Just that the way debit cards in the US are handled reminds me of them.

[at0m]

I didn't say anyone was/should write checks. Just that the way debit cards in the US are handled reminds me of them.

That's because thats what they're supposed to emulate :/

[Neptune]

I wasn't pointing at anyone and screaming, I was just expounding in general.

Related: We had a SNAFU at work and a file double posted.  It affected 1700 members and their payments went through twice.  Oh well, nothing is foolproof, especially when you're migrating to a new system.  We fixed it at the end of the day, but someone, somewhere spread the nasty rumor that we weren't communicating with the rest of the company.  That wasn't it.  We just didn't know what was going on for a while.  THEN we sent out an email when we knew what was up.

Emails were sent, management was told.  When higher-ups are told, that's always a bad thing because they always have little to no clue what is actually happening.  We got a meeting at work and were instructed to be officially vague when communicating problems so that people don't get the wrong idea.