The Toronto Star has an article today entitled Credit card slip-ups can carry a cost that talks about the fact that merchants still print debit and credit card numbers on receipts even though it violates privacy laws and card issuer rules.
Columnist Ellen Roseman suggests taking the approach offered by Visa – complain to your card issuer with the detals of the merchant name, location, and date. Also cross off the numbers from merchant copies of your receipts (I do that all the time.)
This is a pet peeve of mine. I don’t understand why merchants do this. It serves no purpose, violates privacy laws, is a fraud risk, and puts the merchant at risk. Another concern of mine is do they keep it electronically, which is just as bad.
For more info on this topic click on “debit card” or “credit card” in my tag cloud.
Hi David, I was the one who had Ellen Roseman @ Toronto Star, commence sufficent info. for consideration of publish of my concerns. I tried contacting both CIBC VISA and RBC VISA, their Customer Care Dept’s, to report merchant’s not truncating receipts, and was told by each they didn’t know what to do with info. for complaint. Each claimed no one else has ever phoned about that before ! (all, this , with a mandate from Visa Canada Dated April 1,07., I have a copy)
Currently, merchants blame Visa, Visa Blames their Aquirers,(In between) Banks don’t know what to do, yet opportunties arise for theft and fraud. On Ellen’s blog, a reader wrote to her that one evening Visa Called to cancel his credit card as they thought pirated. He had thrown out receipt at Gas Station, thieves waited, and within hours, via phone and internet to buddies, thousands of $$$$ puchases made,
NO one appears to take responsibity for protecting “Joe” publc rights !