Can a shop refuse to take a chip & sig card?

teabelly

My mum has a chip & signature card. Today a shop assistant refused to let her pay with it saying it was for her own good. Can a shop legally refuse this payment method? The card is a legit chip & sig which she has had for several years and bought many things with in many places. Most of the time if there are problems it is because the assistant has not been trained how to do these type of sales. Every retailer so far has accepted the card without problem.

It is particularly annoying as it was a long round trip to this place so having to leave behind some of what you wanted to buy was galling especially as the till trout said she should go to a cashpoint clearly not understanding that cashpoints are much more likely to be compromised. Doubly thick and unhelpful!

Are there any regulations that she could cite when the complaint letter goes to the shop manager?

gordikin

A shop can refuse to sell anyone anything.

wealdroam

teabelly wrote: »

Are there any regulations that she could cite when the complaint letter goes to the shop manager?

Not a regulation, but just a tip...

Probably best not to use the phrase 'till trout' in your complaint letter.

paddyrg

Why should a shop be forced by statute to sell you something by a particular form of credit card, especially one which is less secure and so exposing the shop to greater risk of chargebacks if the card transactions are challenged?

gordikin

I used to be able to pay by cheque almost everywhere...but more and more places refuse that form of payment now.

Wintermute

gordikin wrote: »

A shop can refuse to sell anyone anything.

Pretty much.

A lot of people don't even know the chip & signature cards exist, I didn't until I had my first customer trying to pay with one and after she told me about it I had no issue accepting it, but it'll really depend on the person taking payment.

teabelly

It's not a credit card. It was a debit card which has been accepted in every single other shop, including other shops that week. She's also been in that shop before but I think paid cash.

I'm not writing the letter

Chip and pin isn't secure anyway. A team at Cambridge have blown it apart.

Apart from anything else it is much easier to use a stolen chip and pin card as with a signature card the shop assistant will physically look at it so they'll notice if the person on the card is the wrong gender.... I could have a chip and pin card with Micky Mouse on it and no one would notice.

marleyboy

paddyrg wrote: »

Why should a shop be forced by statute to sell you something by a particular form of credit card, especially one which is less secure and so exposing the shop to greater risk of chargebacks if the card transactions are challenged?

I dont think the OP was demanding the shop sell the items.

The clue is in the question........

Can a shop refuse to take a chip & sig card?

Prompting a simple, yet polite Yes or No answer.

gordikin

Any shop can choose what payment they accept. Are you, to use your own words 'doubly thick' in not understanding this?

gordikin

teabelly wrote: »

My mum has a chip & signature card. Today a shop assistant refused to let her pay with it saying it was for her own good. Can a shop legally refuse this payment method? The card is a legit chip & sig which she has had for several years and bought many things with in many places. Most of the time if there are problems it is because the assistant has not been trained how to do these type of sales. Every retailer so far has accepted the card without problem.

It is particularly annoying as it was a long round trip to this place so having to leave behind some of what you wanted to buy was galling especially as the till trout said she should go to a cashpoint clearly not understanding that cashpoints are much more likely to be compromised. Doubly thick and unhelpful!

Are there any regulations that she could cite when the complaint letter goes to the shop manager?

Quoted for referance.

marleyboy

teabelly wrote: »

Chip and pin isn't secure anyway. A team at Cambridge have blown it apart.

One of my biggest bugbears with the introduction of Chip n Pin, was the replacement of a unique signature to a four digit number, which is much easier to compromise.

As well as you have correctly pointed out, Chip n Pin has already been cracked, with a device that will accept any random number as authentic, now being sold for as little as £20 on the black market, which is pretty scary stuff when you think about it.