Chip and Pin

[Loosehead]

Are we all ready then ? Anyone dreading tommorrow?

[dzug]

Yes. No. Should I be?

[Loosehead]

Well I was just trying to imagine what my daily trip to Asda is going to be like tommorrow. I've been hearing horror stories lately about people not knowing their pins etc especially pensioners, I just wondered if we are heading for chaos at the tills or whether it's all hype and it'll go off without a hitch. I'm not confident though there are still people using cheques so getting them on to C&P is going to be a bit of a trial! With a bit of luck they'll have a cash only till so I can get through quickly.

[WoWo]

To be honest I don't think it will be a problem. The dead line is not really for us as consumers as such but is the point which shops are liable for fraud on transactions which "don't" use a pin.

I worked for a company a few years ago who took the decision to not bother with PIN as the cost of equipment and update of systems would have dwarfed the amount of fraud they had.

[WoWo]

I should clarify that while it's not really for us a retailer can refuse you the option of signing so it could have an impact but the likelyhood is that shops like the big Supermarkets will allow signing for a period to smooth the transisiton.

[rosyrussell]

our local Texaco garage doesnt even have chip and pin set up yet!

[CW1]

I haven't received my c&p card yet, let alone a PIN. Just come back from Tescos (a superstore, not a little one), wondering if I'd be able to use the sig card, and they're only accepting them 'til midnight tonight. After that, my card's void.

[Hgrove]

I have been using my switch to withdraw cash from a hole in the wall for years, and it will be the same pin for me to use in shops so nothing is really changing for me.

[dzug]

CW1 I think you came across an ill trained member of staff at Tesco. If your card doesn't have a chip then you can still use the PIN (if it has one) or sign. The till will tell the checkout operator what to do.

I seriously doubt if Tesco as a company doesn't understand the rules over chip and pin. I'd not be at all surprised if there are staff members (and even store managers) who don't understand, even (with some of them) if they have been trained. (I still get asked if I want cashback on a credit card - some of them just don't read the prompts). It is after all a difficult decision - there must be at least three possibilities to consider...

Tesco are of course free to make the decision that they will only accept chip and pin cards - but I doubt if they have. They will have plenty of pensioner customers who have opted for chip and signature cards and there'll be a lot more once they understand they are available and persist in asking for them

[rosyrussell]

I have a tesco clubcard plus that i use for my shopping - the cashier told me I will need to phone the help line number on the card and they will issue me with a PIN card - they wont do it automatically!!! Talk about bizarre!