Leaving Credit/Debit Cards Behind The Bar?

tonycapon

Join the boycott of bars and restaurants that ask you to leave your card behind the bar.
Would you leave your card in the hands of a complete stranger? I doubt it. However, many bars and restaurants ask and expect you to do just that. With ever increasing card cloning and fraud, banks and card companies are constantly reminding card holders to be vigilent regarding card security. Indeed, card issuers are now saying that any fraud loss due in someway to the failure of the cardholder to keep their card and security information secure may not be met by the issuer.

So why do many bars and restaurants expect you to hand over your card whilst you are dining or drinking?. Whilst this is no doubt the consequence of past customers leaving without paying. The solution should not be an expectation for honest customers to breach security requirements.

Portable card authorisation machines were introduced in part to avoid the need to hand over your card when paying. Restaurants and bars have a reputation for employing itinerant workers and are this biggest source of card cloning.

NEVER LET YOUR CARD(S) OUTSIDE OF YOUR CONTROL AND BOYCOTT ESTABLISHMENTS WHICH EXPECT YOU TO DO SO. LET'S START A CAMPAIGN OF NAMING AND SHAMING SUCH ESTABLISHMENTS.

nomoneytoday

They only do this if you are building a tab.
If you are ordering a single round, or paying for dinner they won't keep your card...

Catty212

I work in a bar and we don't do this anymore. Im guessing it's because of fraud etc, but some bars do, do this, but most tend to swipe the card at the start of you bill, and you are given your card back. No many bars keep your card now - so im guessing you local is working to old procedures.

Saucepot

I've not seen this for years. I used to do this a lot with a company credit card, taking a project team out for team building/p1ss up. What happens these days is a swipe of the card details rather than card retention. At least in my experience.

chuckley

explain a better way of paying off a tab then?

a lot of bars hold it in the till. a lot of restaurants STILL take your card to the till to process whilst ur still at your table... all this 'dont let your card out of your site' stuff is trash talk!

PROLIANT

In the past I have had my card swiped at the POS then at the end of the night just finalise the transaction, if asked to take away your card tell to take a hike!

simongregson

They should 'preauthorise' an amount, say £50, give you the card back and then charge you when you settle the tab the actual amount. If you did a runner, they still have the details to charge you. This should be the established procedure for most pub chains now, if it isn't complain to the head office, it is one of their customer satisfaction criteria for at least one pub chain.

Helen_Smellen

I am trying to book a party for my birthday at OK Karaoke, but after being emailed their terms and conditions, I am hesitant, because they want me to leave a credit card at the bar at all times.
Actually, hestitant is the wrong word: I am outraged by this. They require a deposit of 50 % of the total bill upfront anyway, and if my friends don't turn up I am still liable for the balance, so it is an extra insult to be told I must give my card to a stranger to hold hostage all night.
I assume that they are worried about people not paying their bills at the end of the night, but I would expect my friends to buy their own drinks on an individual basis at the bar: I am certainly not buying £8 cocktails for 18 people!
I intend to phone their sales and marketing coordinator tomorrow, as I will not be going ahead with this booking if they want to kidnap my card!

Helen_Smellen

chuckley wrote: »

explain a better way of paying off a tab then?

a lot of bars hold it in the till. a lot of restaurants STILL take your card to the till to process whilst ur still at your table... all this 'dont let your card out of your site' stuff is trash talk!

I guess this is why cash is king. A better way of paying off a tab is to give someone some real life money, especially in a group so you can all chip in your dirty used notes. ooh, er.
Plus, with cash, you can easily give a tip, or not, depending on how you feel, without it being automatically deducted from your card by the staff.

cifpower

I've never been asked to do this! I've been going to the wrong bars:D