Kroger RIPOFF Allowed the use of my STOLEN credit card with my picture on it twice!! Houston Texas
My debit card was stolen, along with my wallet. I did not notice until I checked my bank account when I got home that night after class (which is probably where it was stolen). I check my bank account daily, and when I checked it that night, I noticed three charges, two being at Kroger, one at a gas station. The first charge, at approximately 9:30 PM, was for around $3. The second, at approximately 10:00 PM, was for around $175.
Of course, I was very concerned and called my bank to cancel the account (my checks were in my wallet as well, along with my ID and one other credit card) immediately. I have to say, Bank of America is wonderful when it comes to fraud!!!
I called store #107 the next day and inquired as to why my card was allowed to be used - TWICE - when it had both my picture and my signature on it. The response from the manager was that they don't check IDs. "Its our policy" seems to be the easy way out. I was shocked.
With all the identity theft these days, how can Kroger NOT make it a policy to check IDs, espcecially on large purchases late at night?
Needless to say, the case is still under investigation and I am going to schedule a meeting with the manager and an investigater to look at the surveillance tapes.
Right now, since I have the money back, I am more concerned about catching the jerk who made my life a living hell for the past almost month. Because I had limited ways to pay (a temporary ATM card and 3 temporary checks, which are not accepted anywhere), my bills got behind. Thankfully the companies were gracious and understanding, unlike Kroger.
There is a Kroger conviently located 2 blocks away from me, but I refuse to go there anymore. I will drive 5 miles out of my way to go to HEB or another grovery store before I shop at Kroger again.
I will update if we catch this creep - I'll have another rip-off report to write about him/her!!!
Katie
Humble, Texas
U.S.A.
7 Updates & Rebuttals
Patrick
Muncie,Indiana,
U.S.A.
Do you use a checkbook?
#8Consumer Comment
Mon, April 11, 2005
Katie, let me ask you this: do you ever write checks? I just bet that before this incident you got ticked off every time somebody asked for your ID when you wrote a check. Am I right?
Mike
Radford,Virginia,
U.S.A.
It wouldn't have helped you if Kroger caught the guy anyway.
#8Consumer Comment
Sat, April 09, 2005
If Kroger isn't going to check the signature, then they deserve to lose the money when it's a stolen card. Which is exactly what happened. Like many stores, they've decided that it would cost more to check every card than to occasionally lose.
Even if a store caught the thief red-handed with your card and turned him over to the police, the bank would still need to cancel that card and issue a new one. No one would know if he gave the number to someone. The bank should have made more of an effort to get a replacement card with a new number to you quickly.
Picture cards have always been useless. A long time ago when these cards first came out, one of my friends tried a social experiment. On purpose, he put someone else's picture on his card. The picture was of someone about the same age and race, but obviously a different person. No one ever checked the photo. This was before the self-serve terminals were common and you usually had to hand the card to the cashier.
Credit cards are not valid unless signed on the back. Don't take my word for it, look at your cards and notice that they all say "Not Valid Unless Signed" in fine print near the signature space. If you leave the space blank, a thief can sign it any way he wants. If you write "See ID", technically it is not a valid card and stores don't have to accept it. These points are kind of moot though since no one checks.
Jason
Simpsonville,South Carolina,
U.S.A.
Common these days
#8Consumer Comment
Fri, April 08, 2005
John is right for the wrong reasons. Pending on how the card was used, ID is not necessary. If it were used as an ATM card, then a PIN is required and the PIN itself is acceptable Identification. If it is a Check Card, used as a credit card, the clerk should at the least compare signatures on the back of the card to the signature signed on the receipt.
John is correct in that most stores no longer take the card from you, you swipe it yourself, therefore making photos on credit cards worthless. Some stores do go the extra mile to compare signatures, but they are few and far between. Best Buy will do it every time I go in there (I purposely do not sign the back of my credit cards for this reason) and Lowe's and Home Depot are big on this too. I would imagine that is because they are stores that have alot of easily resellable merchandise. People who commit this type of crime are looking for money, which means they buy a high ticket item that can be easily resold. A grocery store doesn't really fit the bill for this, which is probably why they don't check. At a gas station, well, almost every gas station allows credit card processing now with no signature, so what can you do?
Long and short of this is that who is going to be left holding the bill here? It will be the gas station and Kroger's. They did not follow procedures to verify the charges, therefore, they are responsible for the loss, not you, not the credit card company.
As for the rest, with the hassle of counter checks and temporary ATM card and all that.. There's no difference between had you truly lost your card, had it stolen and not used, or if you had thrown them in a lake. Kroger and/or the gas station wouldn't have helped the recovery of your checks or ATM cards, and even if they HAD, those would be evidence and you'd be in the same boat.
Jason
Simpsonville,South Carolina,
U.S.A.
Common these days
#8Consumer Comment
Fri, April 08, 2005
John is right for the wrong reasons. Pending on how the card was used, ID is not necessary. If it were used as an ATM card, then a PIN is required and the PIN itself is acceptable Identification. If it is a Check Card, used as a credit card, the clerk should at the least compare signatures on the back of the card to the signature signed on the receipt.
John is correct in that most stores no longer take the card from you, you swipe it yourself, therefore making photos on credit cards worthless. Some stores do go the extra mile to compare signatures, but they are few and far between. Best Buy will do it every time I go in there (I purposely do not sign the back of my credit cards for this reason) and Lowe's and Home Depot are big on this too. I would imagine that is because they are stores that have alot of easily resellable merchandise. People who commit this type of crime are looking for money, which means they buy a high ticket item that can be easily resold. A grocery store doesn't really fit the bill for this, which is probably why they don't check. At a gas station, well, almost every gas station allows credit card processing now with no signature, so what can you do?
Long and short of this is that who is going to be left holding the bill here? It will be the gas station and Kroger's. They did not follow procedures to verify the charges, therefore, they are responsible for the loss, not you, not the credit card company.
As for the rest, with the hassle of counter checks and temporary ATM card and all that.. There's no difference between had you truly lost your card, had it stolen and not used, or if you had thrown them in a lake. Kroger and/or the gas station wouldn't have helped the recovery of your checks or ATM cards, and even if they HAD, those would be evidence and you'd be in the same boat.
Jason
Simpsonville,South Carolina,
U.S.A.
Common these days
#8Consumer Comment
Fri, April 08, 2005
John is right for the wrong reasons. Pending on how the card was used, ID is not necessary. If it were used as an ATM card, then a PIN is required and the PIN itself is acceptable Identification. If it is a Check Card, used as a credit card, the clerk should at the least compare signatures on the back of the card to the signature signed on the receipt.
John is correct in that most stores no longer take the card from you, you swipe it yourself, therefore making photos on credit cards worthless. Some stores do go the extra mile to compare signatures, but they are few and far between. Best Buy will do it every time I go in there (I purposely do not sign the back of my credit cards for this reason) and Lowe's and Home Depot are big on this too. I would imagine that is because they are stores that have alot of easily resellable merchandise. People who commit this type of crime are looking for money, which means they buy a high ticket item that can be easily resold. A grocery store doesn't really fit the bill for this, which is probably why they don't check. At a gas station, well, almost every gas station allows credit card processing now with no signature, so what can you do?
Long and short of this is that who is going to be left holding the bill here? It will be the gas station and Kroger's. They did not follow procedures to verify the charges, therefore, they are responsible for the loss, not you, not the credit card company.
As for the rest, with the hassle of counter checks and temporary ATM card and all that.. There's no difference between had you truly lost your card, had it stolen and not used, or if you had thrown them in a lake. Kroger and/or the gas station wouldn't have helped the recovery of your checks or ATM cards, and even if they HAD, those would be evidence and you'd be in the same boat.
Jason
Simpsonville,South Carolina,
U.S.A.
Common these days
#8Consumer Comment
Fri, April 08, 2005
John is right for the wrong reasons. Pending on how the card was used, ID is not necessary. If it were used as an ATM card, then a PIN is required and the PIN itself is acceptable Identification. If it is a Check Card, used as a credit card, the clerk should at the least compare signatures on the back of the card to the signature signed on the receipt.
John is correct in that most stores no longer take the card from you, you swipe it yourself, therefore making photos on credit cards worthless. Some stores do go the extra mile to compare signatures, but they are few and far between. Best Buy will do it every time I go in there (I purposely do not sign the back of my credit cards for this reason) and Lowe's and Home Depot are big on this too. I would imagine that is because they are stores that have alot of easily resellable merchandise. People who commit this type of crime are looking for money, which means they buy a high ticket item that can be easily resold. A grocery store doesn't really fit the bill for this, which is probably why they don't check. At a gas station, well, almost every gas station allows credit card processing now with no signature, so what can you do?
Long and short of this is that who is going to be left holding the bill here? It will be the gas station and Kroger's. They did not follow procedures to verify the charges, therefore, they are responsible for the loss, not you, not the credit card company.
As for the rest, with the hassle of counter checks and temporary ATM card and all that.. There's no difference between had you truly lost your card, had it stolen and not used, or if you had thrown them in a lake. Kroger and/or the gas station wouldn't have helped the recovery of your checks or ATM cards, and even if they HAD, those would be evidence and you'd be in the same boat.
John
Hermitage,Tennessee,
U.S.A.
Katie - You are being childish and unreasonable
#8Consumer Comment
Fri, April 08, 2005
Katie,
Look girl!!! It is not Kroger's fault that someone used your card at the pinpad. DO YOU NOT KNOW HOW MANY PLACES THERE ARE WHERE YOU SWIPE YOUR CARD YOURSELF??? You have the U-Scans where you check yourself out like at Kroger, Wal-Mart, K-Mart, and not to mention all the pay at the pump gas stations, and tons of other places. There are so many self serve EFT Pinpads where you swipe your card yourself. Trust me, I have been to Austin, TX many times, and shopped in HEB, and they never once asked me for my i.d. to make a purchase. I would never expect them to. Your obviously just wanting to shift the blame on someone else.
It's like you want some sort of freaking police task force to police all the self serve checkout places, pay at the pump gas stations, and pinpads at the registers where even a live clerk is... What if you or the person that stole your card bought something online??? Do you expect some mysterious little clerk to pop out of the screen and say hold your i.d. up to the webcam? You are just obviously an unreasonable customer and stupid as hell; and should actually thank Kroger for TAKING THE TIME OUT OF THEIR DAY TO PULL UP THE TAPES TO CATCH THE SORRY A**HOLES FOR STEALING YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY.
I hope you catch them, because they are the scum of the earth. If anything, Kroger deserves your business even more now for going through all this trouble for you. I have worked in Loss Prevention before, not Kroger, but I just think you need to take self responsibility and use common sense. Also, so you won't call Kroger's Corporate Office and complain about this now, just to let you know, I DO NOT WORK FOR THEM OR ANY COMPANY AFFILIATED WITH THEM...
BUT, you have a nice day and be sure and shop with us again...