I'm curious about "Stores that require you to show ID with a credit card" being on here. I work in retail, and the only time that I ask for ID is when the card is not signed (or the back specifically says "See ID"). Technically, we aren't even supposed to accept cards that aren't signed. Is it common to be asked for your ID when your card is signed? I've never had that happen to me.

I really do not mind of stores ask for my ID when I am using my credit card. My cards all say "SEE ID" on the back of them.

I worked in retail several years ago and we always checked ID.

I can only choose 5? Hrm...

You forgot to add hounding me to give $5 to such and such charity and making me feel like a douche if I don't.

Is there an "all of the above" option...?

Can you make an option #22 - "All of the above"?

@h3llc4t has a slow work day: I wouldn't call it common, but it happens enough. I live in Philadelphia and some stores always do.

@osiris73: Good one. Here in Canada, it's a "toonie for this" or a "toonie for that."

@osiris73: I think that could fall under up-sell

@h3llc4t has a slow work day: I think I've seen people say it's against the merchant contract to ask for ID or something.

That is the first thing that stood out: the check ID when using a credit card. I *want* the store clerk to ask for my ID and I thank the clerk when s/he does ask.

I've actually had a card physically stolen and used; while I did get my money back, it was still a hassle to go through. I now sign the back of my cards "Check ID" and I have seen clerks look at that, and then not ask for the ID anyway.

But, that little act of asking for my ID goes a long way in my eyes; it gives me the impression that the store might, you know, actually care about me as a customer.

Hell... Not even just opening "ALL" the check-out lanes, how about opening one or two extra lanes when there's only one lane open and there are 10 customers waiting in line... The local K-Mart refuses to do this and it is horrible. Only reason I ever shop there is because it's a few blocks away and if I need one or two things it always seems quicker... Usually it isn't because of having to wait forever in line.

Nice pic of a Canadian Loblaws Superstore btw...note the President's Choice logo in the background on the upper wall...

I hate it when the cashiers ask me for my phone number or email address, but they never pursue it after I say no. Some stores are ridiculously aggressive in selling the store credit card, and I admit that when I worked in retail, I was very, very good at selling that credit card...usually to men shopping for their wives or girlfriends.

Stores that require cards for discounts doesn't bother me because I don't usually put real information down anyway. The cards associate a phone number with a card, but it doesn't mean it has to be a real phone number. You can put 555-555-5555 and it will probably work.

@h3llc4t has a slow work day: Oh, wow, I think I'm asked for ID nearly half the time even though all my cards are signed in Sharpie. Happens at big stores and little ones. Setting aside the fact that they're probably violating their seller agreement, I find it especially irritating when cashiers wait for me to scan my card, put away my wallet, and close my bag before they ask for ID.

@h3llc4t has a slow work day: I write "See photo ID" on the back of my card for the simple reason that anyone (with enough time and patience on their hands) can forge my signature if they get a hold of my card. You can't forge my face though. I know it is in the merchant contract, blah blah blah....but I don't see what the super huge deal is for them to ask for your ID. After all, it is for your protection. It could be that the store is in an area known for high rates of stolen credit cards.

When I do show my ID, it never leaves my hands. I hold it up in front of the cashier so they can view my pic and signature and verify it is me and I put my license back in my wallet. No harm, no foul.

All stores should ask for ID when you paying with a CC, that's just a good security policy.

I like it when I'm using my CC, and they ask me for ID, and you know, Best Buy is the only store that ask me for ID.

@osiris73: I got a little stressed over my choices because NONE of the above practices are even vaguely acceptable (and your proposed #22 isn't great either).

@emilymarion333: All of the credit card issues prohibit cardholders from writing "SEE ID" instead of a signature. Merchants are in fact prohibited from accepting cards with "SEE ID" written on them. Google for "see id" (including the quotes) to find out why.

@osiris73: One of the sororities on my campus was trying to get donations for breast cancer research. All fine and good, but they were on EVERY CORNER. So even if you gave 20 bucks to the first group, you look like a dick as you drive past 12 other gaggles of girls to get through campus. Annoying and obnoxious.

@plumenoir: I must agree with plumenoir only because he looks familiar.

@Colonel Jack O'Neill: Unless the cashier looked like a crazed stalker, I don't see any problem. But I suppose to a young woman many cashiers would fit the description

@plumenoir: Why was it a hassle to get your money back? None of the card issuers nowadays hold cardholders liable for fraudulent charges. All you need to do is call them and tell them your card was stolen, and any charges made with it after that point are automatically rejected. If you review your statement every month (you *do* review your statement every month, right?), it's easy to spot the fraudulent charges.

If what you're really talking about is a debit card rather than a credit card, i.e., getting your money back was a hassle because it was taken out of your bank account as soon as the fraudulent charges were made, well, then, the correct solution to that is not to use debit cards, NOT to write "check ID" on the back of your card in violation of the card's terms of use.

@holytrainwreck: Well that makes it sound a little more fun.

@ganzhimself: And then they finally open another one just when you are next, but you think "heck, I'm next, I'll just stay here" only to discover too late that the person in front of you has decided they need to price check every item in the cart.

@ganzhimself: I also despise the self-checkout lanes. Those things never work properly. I wish they'd tear them out and hire one or two humans to work the regular checkout lines.... they aren't saving me any time with automation.

@temporaryscars:

You'd agree with me Here, but probably not on CAG. I respect that about you.

@Burning pakalolo not even noticing the weather: While they can't fake your face, they can fake your ID.

@katstermonster: I just offer to examine their breasts right there for free.

@outlulz: Merchants are allowed to ask for ID, they're just not allowed (in most cases) to *require* it -- if the cardholders refuses to produce ID, they are required by the merchant agreement to accept the card anyway.

An exception to this is if the card is not signed (and "see id" or "check id" on the back is equivalent to "not signed", from the issuer's point of view). In that case, the merchant is supposed to demand to see valid ID with a signature, demand that the cardholder sign the card on the spot, compare the signature on the ID to the signature on the card, and accept the card only if they seem reasonably similar to each other.

If a merchant accepts a card that is not signed, and the charge turns out to be fraudulent, then the merchant is liable for the charge.

@plumenoir: And it is a massive inconvenience for others. Me? Due to my long stay in China I have Chinese bank accounts and by extension Chinese debit cards. These are issued on the spot and therefore are only printed with a number. Personalized debit cards are only issued to "gold-level" members of most banks (and one bank I have an account with says that they only personalize credit cards). I sincerely hope I don't get the police called on me for having a "suspicious" card- one of the others can be explained away as the way Chinese banks do things, but the Citibank card? I get fee-free withdrawals on Citibank ATMs, yes, but it's more convenient to swipe at the register. Looks like I'm relegated to self-check-out.

@pecan 3.14159265: Store credit card pushing is just horrible. I don't like shopping or consider it something to do for fun, but what little enjoyment or excitement I might have at purchasing a new dress gets sucked right out of me the instant the clerk wants me to sign up for a store card.

When they ask me to sign up for a card my brain thinks: card; debt; debt I'm still in; debt I'm still in and not paying down because I'm buying a beautiful $100 dress. Now I feel guilty for shopping here and do not want to come back for a long, long time. Rinse. Repeat.

@katstermonster: That sounds like when the local firemen surround all the major routes of town with their "fill the boot" campaign. I give what change I have sitting around at the first on and then feel like a jerk when I'm sitting at the light by the next group with my window rolled up.

I'm not so against being asked to sponsor a charity when I buy something though. My local grocery store does "checkout hunger" campaigns frequently. Sometimes they ask, sometimes they don't. The idea being that if you can afford to buy food, maybe it would be nice to think of those who can't afford to buy food. If you feel guilty for not donating, it's not the cashier's fault (at least if they just ask once and don't give you a hard time about it).

@Colonel Jack O'Neill: It's not your responsibility if your card gets stolen and you report it. So it's kind of pointless, actually. Card security is really the credit card company's problem, not yours as the customer. And they've chosen not to require ID, because they've decided that the convenience makes them more money than they lose to fraud.

@jik:

I consider having to make such phone calls a "hassle" in addition to the stress of wondering what all was charged, etc, etc.

Perhaps "Hassle" wasn't the best word to use. Perhaps I should have gone with annoying. It is not like they fought me on it, granted.

@calquist: Or how when they open new ones, all the people behind you jump right over to it before you can, making you wait longer even though you were there first.

What about "In order to buy a big-ticket item (tv, computer, laptop, game console, etc.), you must buy all this other stuff"?

@fs2k2isfun: I understand that, but I am talking instant situations of my card was just lifted and they try to use it. I am not referring to the folks that create whole new licenses to steal my money.

@osiris73: I don't mind the donate-to-charity come-ons. I never give anyway -- I have zero interest in helping a corporation improve their public image by giving some charity a large sum of money that they only supplied half of, if that. Plus, it gives me the opportunity to say "I certainly can't support that!" if I'm in a contrary mood. Really puts a WTF on a cashier's face when they're trying to raise money to help children.

@Bluth_Cornballer: They're not trying to save you any time. They're trying to save themselves money. If they can have four self-checkout lanes staffed by one clerk, rather than four regular checkout lanes staffed by four clerks, then they clearly come out ahead.

Personally, I find the self-checkout lanes to be quite convenient. My wife, on the other hand, avoids them like the plague. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

@johnva: what's wrong with just taking an extra step and giving yourself peace of mind?

@pecan 3.14159265: I don't care when they ask me because I have never given out the right number. I've used the White House, the SEC, the police non-emergency number and almost anything else I could think of. I've done the same thing on office building sign-in sheets. I've used Mickey Mantle, Gerald Ford, Phillip Roth and most of the Supreme Court Justices, including the female Justices. I've never been questioned. If they can use that information for marketing or whatever, more power to them.

The selling of opened or "optimized" games and computers as new isn't just annoying, it borders on illegal.

@katstermonster: Alot of the time groups like that will try to give you a sticker to put on your jacket saying "I Support Breast Cancer Research" or something, so the other groups know to not pester you.

My biggest beef is always the checkout line times - there's nothing that irritates me more than waiting in line for 30-45 minutes to pay for something that took me 5 minutes to grab off the shelf.

I'm looking at you, Ikea, and you, Microcenter, and you over there, Fry's...

@Colonel Jack O'Neill: Asking for ID doesn't benefit the customer because the customer is not liable for fraudulent charges and because asking for ID slows down the line.

Asking for ID doesn't benefit the store because the store isn't liable for fraudulent transactions as long as they follow all of the rules (one of which, incidentally, is not requiring ID, although they are allowed to ask for it).

The closest I've seen to a legitimate explanation for why asking for ID benefits anyone is that supposedly, stores with high fraud rates get charged higher card processing fees even if they follow all the rules. If this is true, and if indeed asking for ID reduces fraud, then one can understand why some stores might choose to do it.

Fake sales bug me the most. Usually this includes clothes. My mom is always a tweak about this stuff because whenever she goes shopping at Kohl's she feels the need to call me and let me know they're having a 20% off everything sale. Aren't they ALWAYS having a 20% off sale?

I have defend the ID checking with returns, if they are not credit card returns. This is actually to make sure that the employees are not stealing the cash. It is really a minor hassle to the customer, and good LP policies help keep prices low for everyone.

@durkzilla: The only time I've ever considered theft was to avoid waiting 45 minutes in line, not to avoid paying for the $2 item.

@jik: I had an issue with this just this weekend. I was working at an offsite retail location (local horse show) when a customer tried to buy some items with an unsigned card. I politely asked for her ID, she said she didn't have one. She offered to sign the card in front of me, and I politely explained that if the card was stolen, signing it in front of me wouldn't help me prove that the card belonged to that person without a signature to compare it to. She got pissed and stormed off. A few hours later we got word that someone with a suspicious card was going up and down the rows of merchants trying to use the card, and getting pissed because she was turned away from every one of them.