So. . . tonight at work, the phones are ringing off the hook and I have to cut my luch short, which means that I have to order in for food. I decide on pizza (Pizza Hut to be exact). I order via their website and it arrives about 40 minutes later. So far, so good.

When the driver shows up, they say that they need to see my credit/debit card and my driver's license to confirm my identity and the validity of the card. While I give her the card and the license, I'm still doing office-type stuff so I'm a bit reoccupied.

The driver gives me back my DL and a receipt to sign, which I do (adding a $3.00 tip on top of the Hut's steep $2 delivery charge). She gives me my pizza and my copy of the recipt back. And then leaves. I go off to eat my dinner. Completely oblivious to the fact that I never got my credit card back.

When I get home around 7 PM, I watch some TV and then, around 8 PM, I decide to take a trip to the store for some soda. And lo and behold -- I don't have a credit card in my wallet. Suddenly, I realize that not only didn't the drive 'make an impression of it' -- she never gave me the damn thing back.

I cancel the card and call the Pizza Hut store and talk to the manager, who assures me that the driver will be back from her shift within the next half hour. She says that when the driver gets back to the store, she'll have a sit down with her. An hour later, I call the store back and. . .

DISCOVER THAT THE DRIVER NEVER RETURNED FROM HER SHIFT

Further, the manager has been trying to contact the driver on her cell phone, informs me that numerous messages have been left, and that none of them have been returned. Right about here is when I'm very glad that I cancelled the card as soon as I noticed that it was missing.

As I type this, I'm waiting for local PD to show up so I can file a theft report. My unairconditioned apartment feels like an oven. And all of my money is in a bank account that I can't access.

And Amazon, being the procrastinating bastards that they are, hasn't billed me for my GURPS books yet. . . and now they can't, 'cause I've had to report my card stolen. Which means that I'll be waiting until the end of the month for my GURPS goodness now (if I can get them at all, assuming Amazon's credit card reactivation policy is as arcane as that of PayPal).

SONNUVABITCH!

Shitty.

Take solace however in the fact that you got the card cancelled as quickly as possible, which means the dumb bitch just lost her job for a card that was rendered useless before she even get to use it.

If she tried to skip town then, well, she may escape being arrested, but she's gonna get wherever she's going and realize she's as broke as she already was, and the first time she uses the damn thing it's gonna flag as stolen and the police will be on her ass.

Quote from: J ArcaneShitty.

Take solace however in the fact that you got the card cancelled as quickly as possible, which means the dumb bitch just lost her job for a card that was rendered useless before she even get to use it.

If she tried to skip town then, well, she may escape being arrested, but she's gonna get wherever she's going and realize she's as broke as she already was, and the first time she uses the damn thing it's gonna flag as stolen and the police will be on her ass.

Judging by her weight, the scabs all over her arms, and her missing teeth, I doubt she tried to leave town. Looked like a hardcore dope fiend. I assume that, when she got the first voicemail from her manager, she probably just freaked out and knew she'd been busted and decided to go get loaded.

Damn, that sucks.  I have a friend who had a similar issue with a debit card at Home Depot.  The clerk copied the number of her card and other customers as well and then started a buying spree.  She didn't find out about it until her checks started bouncing and it took the cops a while to trace the theft.  Luckily you were on the ball and acted quickly or it could have been a lot worse.

I know hindsight is perfect but I've switched to using a credit card 90% of the time and then paying the credit card off electronically from my bank through auto bill pay.  It isn't as convenient as using a debit card since there is an extra step but weighed against the risk of having your bank account cleaned out or frozen if someone scams your debit card it seems worth it.

Best of luck.

Exact same thing happened to me that happened to Grimjack's friend. Except I found out only six weeks later--that I was now $5000 in debt. And my card was never even stolen. Some clerk at the computer store must have used the info as he swiped it at the cashier.

HOWEVER. If your case is remotely ordinary, you'll be insured and like me get every cent back. Also, that pizza driver sounds a bit dim, which is good.

Well, it's at least somewhat comforting to know that I'm not alone. On the other hand, it depresses me that card theft in retail is so commonplace.

You are definitely not alone, there are a lot of cases out there like my friend's and Pierce's.  Nothing you can do about it in most cases.

I agree with you, it is a damn shame the way some retail employees these days will just rip off either the store or the customers and not think anything about it like it is a perk or something.  For example, my wife worked retail while she was in college and one of her co-workers would go in the back room, take a cheap backyard grill out of the box, load the empty box up with electronics and then have one of his loser friends come and buy it.  Then he would take a hammer to the grill and put a tag on it to say it was returned.  By the time the store clued into his little scam he and his buddy literally had a U-haul full of stuff.  It is bad enough when you do that to an employer but it is even worse IMO when you are ripping off the customers instead.

Quote from: Pierce InverarityExact same thing happened to me that happened to Grimjack's friend. Except I found out only six weeks later--that I was now $5000 in debt. And my card was never even stolen. Some clerk at the computer store must have used the info as he swiped it at the cashier.

HOWEVER. If your case is remotely ordinary, you'll be insured and like me get every cent back. Also, that pizza driver sounds a bit dim, which is good.

Or, if you live in the United States.  By Federal law, you're not responsible for any fraudlent charges beyond the first $50.

It cracked me up when I saw a commercial where the actors said, "... and my credit card got stolen, but they didn't hold me accountable for it!"  Yeah, because they can't.  They extended credit to someone they thought was you; that's their problem.

Or the problem of the merchant who accepted the card, I forget where the buck actually stops -- but it's not you.

Quote from: hgjsOr, if you live in the United States.  By Federal law, you're not responsible for any fraudlent charges beyond the first $50.

The problem is proving fraudulent charges (a responsibility that does, in fact, fall on the consumer who was defrauded). Government (perhaps especially in the US) is not your friend here, requiring an insane amount of jumping through hoops in order to fulfill minimum standards of evidence.

Identity theft victims can have their credit ruined for decades because of how the laws are set up. Typically consumer fraud laws do more to protect the lending institutions than the individual consumer (especially true after the revisions to US bankruptcy law in 2004/2005).

Banking institutions can (and usually do) legally refuse to recognize claims of fradulent account activity until the complaining party proves such activity to have actually taken place. Which can be tough (if not impossible).

Quote from: jdrakehJudging by her weight, the scabs all over her arms, and her missing teeth, I doubt she tried to leave town. Looked like a hardcore dope fiend. I assume that, when she got the first voicemail from her manager, she probably just freaked out and knew she'd been busted and decided to go get loaded.

That's why places have to drug test their employees every time.   Have they offered an applogy or anything for your trouble?

Quote from: jdrakehThe problem is proving fraudulent charges (a responsibility that does, in fact, fall on the consumer who was defrauded). Government (perhaps especially in the US) is not your friend here, requiring an insane amount of jumping through hoops in order to fulfill minimum standards of evidence.

I have had some fradulent charges on my credit card and I complained and they were removed without any real hassle.

Most of the times the people charging fradulent charges won't respond when the CC company sends an inquiry about the charges and the CC company goes ahead and reverses the charges.

Quote from: Blue DevilThat's why places have to drug test their employees every time.   Have they offered an applogy or anything for your trouble?

Not yet, though I had somebody suggest that I should hit them up for some free pizzas and/or coupons.

Quote from: J ArcaneTake solace however in the fact that you got the card cancelled as quickly as possible, which means the dumb bitch just lost her job for a card that was rendered useless before she even get to use it.

Not necessarily.
 
A few months ago my mum had her purse stolen whilst shopping.  She reported her credit cards missing within minutes and filed a police report literally 20-30 minutes later.  It didn't stop the thieves from successfully racking up a few hundred dollars worth of bills on her credit card.
 
Eventually, the credit card company refunded her the money.  But it was a pain in the arse.  And of course, the thieves were ultimately successful because they got what they wanted - a usable card.  Even more frustrating was that thieves were caught on CCTV and were known by the security guards as local trouble makers.  It would have taken the police no more than a couple of hours of detective work to catch them.  Instead, the official police report was filed under "F", as in We Don't Give a Fuck.

Quote from: Blue DevilMost of the times the people charging fradulent charges won't respond when the CC company sends an inquiry about the charges and the CC company goes ahead and reverses the charges.

It never ceases to amaze me at just how few places actually check the signature on a credit card.