Checking ID for credit card use may be breaking merchant agreement
Dear Liz: I recently read that merchants aren't allowed to ask for customers' identification when processing credit card transactions. But this has become incredibly common. In fact, I can't remember the last time that I wasn't asked for ID when using a credit card. Is it really illegal?
Answer: "Illegal" is the wrong word, since this involves a contractual issue between the merchants and credit card issuers.
Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express all prohibit merchants that accept their cards from requiring identification. The only thing a clerk is supposed to check is that the signature on the back of your card matches the signature authorizing the transaction.
Merchants' contracts with Visa and MasterCard are supposed to prevent them from even asking for ID. American Express and Discover don't prohibit asking but strongly discourage it.
Clearly, these policies are widely ignored. Merchants often wind up stuck with the bill for credit card fraud, and asking for ID is seen as one way to reduce their losses.
How much of a stink you want to make about it, though, is up to you. You can refuse to provide ID, but you risk not being able to complete your transaction. Often, the clerk is only following a boss' orders, and even the boss may be unaware the store is violating its merchant agreement.
You also can notify your credit card issuer of the merchant's violation. Perhaps if enough people speak up, merchants will change their ways.
Use website to locate pension
Dear Liz: How do you find a lost pension? I worked for a company from 1981 to 1990 and paid into a pension plan. Both the company and the pension plan have changed hands (and names) since then. I recently became disabled and Social Security informed me that I am due several hundred dollars a month from this pension. But the address Social Security listed for the company is no longer valid. My Internet searches haven't gotten me anywhere. I could really use the extra funds now.
Answer: Check out the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.'s pension search directory at www.pbgc.gov/search. You can search by your last name, by the company name and by the state where the company was headquartered to see whether you are one of the 32,000 people owed $133 million in unclaimed pension benefits that have been entrusted with the PBGC.
