Business Credit Card - who's using it?

queline

I work for a company which has a few members of staff with a business credit card. I was issued with one for my previous position within the company but my position changed 8 months ago and I do not need the card for my new job, however my card is still being used by other staff in the department that I used to be in, despite me asking to have it changed. Today someone has used the card in my name without my knowledge in a shop to make quite a large purchase, apparently with the blessing of their manager. I was asked for the PIN number as neither the manager or the person making the purchase knew what it was, despite their intention of going to the shop to make the purchase but that's another story! It would seem the shop staff were aware that this person was contacting head office for the pin number, therefore would have been aware that the person making the purchase was not the person named on the card!

I am sure the wise guys out there will say to me why haven't you followed it up with regard to getting the card that has my name on it taken out of use but despite reminders the Finance Director appears to be happy with the way purchases are made using this card and he tells me I am not liable for anything, however the bank which issued the card do have my personal details since I had to give those when the card application was made, all to do with money laundering I was told, but nothing to worry about, which is fine with me.

So back to what I wanted to ask - is it illegal to give the PIN number to someone who is not the named person on the card, even though it's a business credit card? And for other members of staff to continue using the card in my name? This is continuing because I received some tickets in the post at work which I knew nothing about but they had been purchased using the same card.

InsideInsurance

Do you really think you would go to jail for giving someone your PIN number?

No, it is not illegal to share your PIN number however it can breach the terms and conditions of the account.

Traditional credit cards were all ok, they basically had your name on it for identification purposes and little more. The company is responsible for making payment for cards and not you. It may break the terms of the card to give it to someone else but the bigger risk is for the individual carrying the card being stopped and having to explain it to someone (eg the cops)

Many companies have changed how they do credit cards however. With these YOU are responsible for clearing the balance each month and the business only gets used like a guarantor to the card. If your card is of this type then you certainly dont want to be letting someone else use it as youre the one that has to clear the balance and if someone in the company then disputes something was a legitimate business expense the buck stops at your wallet

queline

Do you really think you would go to jail for giving someone your PIN number?

Why is there always some smart alec who has to be rude to my posts? Of course I don't think I would go to jail, just a simple question that's all as I was curious. I think I will give up posting on this forum as I thought it was to get good advice not be patronised all the time.

And no I would never have agreed to having a card in my name if I was liable for paying it off, I am not that stupid and would certainly not have let anyone have the PIN number.

Clearly the shop aren't too bothered either are they?

InsideInsurance

Many retailers aren't, back in the days before chip and pin RBS used to put your photo next to the signature strip as an extra fraud prevention technique. My then partner and I had a joint account and one day she managed to pick up my card by mistake and went shopping.

Probably spent money on the card in a dozen stores, signing her name not mine so the cashier in theory checked the signature against the strip and would have seen the photo of someone not only of a different gender but even a different race and a totally different signature and even a different name...... not once was it questioned. She didnt even realise her error till she went to get cash out for the taxi home and her PIN didn't work.

These days with liability having shifted more to the cardholder (in practice rather than theory) they are even less likely to challenge