Polishnurse wrote: The problem with most Debt cards I have found is the $1.50 they charge me for using a foreign cash machine, go figure. Bill
Something to note about the use of these cards...
Polishnurse, you might want to check your statements when they come in from your bank. When using our card at a "foreign" machine (not a machine actually at your bank) you might find an extra $2.50 charge on your statement that is applied by your bank in addition to the $1.50 charge at the machine. At least, that is what we found on our statements from Bank Of America. Needless to say, we stopped using ATM's unless it is right in the lobby of a branch of our bank.
mtrumpet
2000 Southwind Storm 30H
Ford Triton V10 6.8L
F53 Chassis
Davis Tru-Trac
Henderson Rear Trac Bar
Carquest/Moog Steering Damper
Monroe RV Gas Magnums
Goodyear G670 RV's
I like the debit cards. Everything has a risk these days.
However debit or credit, use what you prefer, fine by me. But PLEASE don't stand in the grocery checkout line waiting for your balance, getting out your checkbook, slowly writing out the payee and the amount in your clearest handwriting, balancing your check register, peeling off the check, reaching into your bag for your wallet, getting out your ID, putting it back, closing up everything you opened, then moving on!
If your debit card has either the VISA or MASTERCARD logo on it the bank issuing the card MUST abide by the VISA and/or MASTERCARD "zero liability" agreement or they cannot issue cards with their logo on it! PERIOD!!! If your debit card is lost/stolen, ANY and I do mean ANY charges or debits to your account MUST be returned to you!!!!!!!!!!! This has been verified just this year when my wife had her wallet stolen with our debit card in it!
Debit cards are as safe as a credit card as far as "protection" from identity theft! (card stolen and used)
There is $85 BILLION in credit card debt in this country!
When you use a credit card statistics show you spend approx. 18% - 22% MORE than you would if you were using cash!
80% - 90% of ALL credit card users carry a balance from month to month!
USA Today did a survey and found that when you use a debit/atm card to get money out of an atm machine the average withdrawal was $53.00. That amount jumps dramatically to $123.00 when a credit card was used instead!
I use my credit card for all gas purchases for the following reasons:1 I get anywhere from 2 to 5 percent discount from the credit card company on gas purchases.2 I have leverage to dispute any purchases that are incorrect through the credit card company.3. The likelyhood of identity theft is lessened.4 I just need to send one check each month to pay my bill in full, or I can pay online with free bill pay through my bank.For me it's a no brainer.
Just how long did it take for those funds to get "returned to you"? With a credit card, it's a non-issue. Your money is never "gone"! The problem with the debit cards is your money is gone first...then you have to get it back. And if while it's gone some checks your wrote get deposited, now you've got a whole bunch of other complications with bounced checks. Again, eventually it may all be sorted out with little cost to you, but how much time will you spend on the phone trying to straighten out the whole mess? What's your time worth?
The credit card debt in this country isn't my problem...I'm not contributing to it. For those that can't handle them, they should know better. No tears for them from me.
When I fill up my tank the pump stops. No way I can pump in an extra 18%-22% more...even if I wanted to...and sometimes I wish I could. Again, no tears lost here for those that can't manage their finances. They're adults.
I don't care how many credit card holders carry a balance. It's not my problem. In fact, I'm glad they do. Why? Because the banks are making money off of them, they're extending me the "free credit" for 4 weeks or so each month. In fact, I'd like to publicly THANK all of those out there who are carrying a balance. Again, they're adults and I'll not be shedding any tears about how much they owe or how long it'll take them to pay it all off.
The USA today survey doesn't apply to me. If I see something I want and I am in the position to buy it, I do. Cash, check, credit card...usually credit card as I do a lot of "on-line purchasing"....but again, at the end of the month, the bill gets paid.
~Rick
* This post was
last
edited 06/19/08 03:08pm by Rick Jay *
View edit history
2005 Georgie Boy 3625 DS on a Workhorse W-22 (Class A)
Rick, Gail, 2 girls (11 & 7), 2 boys (8 & 5), 1 plump Golden Retriever.
2001 Honda Odyssey with Demco Aluminator tow bar & tow plate, SMI Silent Partner brake controller.
"The debit card has many disadvantages as opposed to cash or credit:
Some banks are now charging over-limit fees or non-sufficient funds fees based upon pre-authorizations, and even attempted but refused transactions by the merchant (some of which may not even be known by the client).
Many merchants mistakenly believe that amounts owed can be "taken" from a customer's account after a debit card (or number) has been presented, without agreement as to date, payee name, and dollar and cent amount, thus causing penalty fees for overdrafts, over-the-limit, amounts not available causing further rejections or overdrafts, and rejected transactions by some banks.
Debit cards offer lower levels of security protection than credit cards [13]. Theft of the users PIN using skimming devices can be accomplished much easier with a PIN input than with a signature-based credit transaction.
In many places, laws protect the consumer from fraud a lot less than with a credit card. While the holder of a credit card is legally responsible for only a minimal amount of a fraudulent transaction made with a credit card, which is often waived by the bank, the consumer may be held liable for hundreds of dollars in fraudulent debit transactions. The consumer also has a much shorter time (usually just two days) to report such fraud to the bank in order to be eligible for such a waiver with a debit card[14], whereas with a credit card, this time may be up to 60 days. A thief who obtains or clones a debit card along with its PIN may be able to clean out the consumer's bank account, and the consumer will have no recourse.
In the UK and Ireland, among other countries, a consumer who purchases goods or services with a credit card can pursue the credit card issuer if the goods or services are not delivered or are unmerchantable. While they must generally exhaust the process provided by the retailer first, this is not necessary if the retailer has gone out of business. This protection is not provided when using a debit card.
When a transaction is made using a credit card, the bank's money is being spent, and therefore, the bank has a vested interest in claiming its money where there is fraud or a dispute. The bank may fight to void the charges of a consumer who is dissatisfied with a purchase, or who has otherwise been treated unfairly by the merchant. But when a debit purchase is made, the consumer has spent his/her own money, and the bank has little if any motivation to collect the funds.
For certain types of purchases, such as gasoline, lodging, or car rental, the bank may place a hold on funds much greater than the actual purchase for a fixed period of time [15]. Until the hold is released, any other transactions presented to the account, including checks, may be dishonored, or may be paid at the expense of an overdraft fee if the account lacks any additional funds to pay those items.
While debit cards bearing the logo of a major credit card are accepted for virtually all transactions where an equivalent credit card is taken, a major exception is at car rental facilities[16]. Car rental agencies require an actual credit card to be used, or at the very least, will verify the creditworthiness of the renter using a debit card. These companies will deny a rental to anyone who does not fit the requirements, and such a credit check may actually hurt one's credit score. "
from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debit_card
As several have said, read the fine print on your contract CAREFULLY. What are you liable for if lost? Most (all?) credit cards limit loss to about $50. Most debit cards I've seen have no limit, your liable for everything including over limit charges.
Be careful out there.
Chuck
Wonderful Wife
Lovely German Shepherd.
1999 Mercedes ML320 TV
2003 Wanderer 187TB Toybox (3620# UVW, 4800# loaded) Not yet camped in Hawaii, 2 Canada Provinces, & 2 Territories. I can't be lost because I don't care where this lovely road is going
There are a couple of misconceptions here:
First of all credit card merchant fees are normally about 1.5% for businesses using them for around $100,000 a year to a high of 3% for businesses using them for only 425,000 or so a year. AMEX is an exception but they are a minor player.
debit fees run from $.04 per transaction to a large player like , say, MacDonald's or an oil company to about $.13 at the high end. Like any other transaction, if you pay too much that's your problem.
I don't know any gas stations that wouldn't qualify for about 1.5% which is $.06 per gallon at $4 per gallon. Unless your state or province has regulated the margin a station can charge, this shouldn't be an issue as the margin should go up with the price.
Second on security. Anybody with a terminal has a copy of your card numbers and expiry, and can use them to put through a charge anytime they want. A few of the newer terminals will only let you put the charge through is you have the security code, but most store staff are smart enough to be able to see it while they are checking your signature (and memorize it!). By contrast, debit cards are only able to be processed if the PIN is entered correctly, which increases the security level. Yes, some people have had their PIN's captured by scanners or security cameras, but with a credit card it's all printed on the store's copy - no need to 'capture' the info.
But, the really stupid setup is the chip & pin system when the card has a chip embedded in it which is read by the terminal while the owner puts in his PIN. Unfortunately, they also operate in credit card mode, and charges can be added by just pumping in the card no and expiry off the store copy, no pin or chip needed. Whoops!
My banks fully guarantee that if money is fraudulently removed from my account either through a debit card or internet banking they will return it within 5 days. If yours doesn't, it's time you got a new bank.
I use a couple of accounts at each bank, so that i move money into the card access account fairly regularly to replace what I've spent, and if there was ever a problem with one, i could just email money from one bank to the other to keep clear of the problem account. It sounds a lot more complicated than it is.
There are a couple of misconceptions here:
First of all credit card merchant fees are normally about 1.5% for businesses using them for around $100,000 a year to a high of 3% for businesses using them for only $25,000 or so a year. AMEX is an exception but they are a minor player.
Debit fees run from 4 cents per transaction to a large player like , say, MacDonald's or an oil company, to about 13 cents at the high end. Like any other transaction, if you pay too much that's your problem.
I don't know any gas stations that wouldn't qualify for about 1.5% which is $.06 per gallon at $4 per gallon. Unless your state or province has regulated the margin a station can charge, this shouldn't be an issue as the margin should go up with the price.
Second on security. Anybody with a terminal has a copy of your card numbers and expiry, and can use them to put through a charge anytime they want. A few of the newer terminals will only let you put the charge through if you have the security code, but most store staff are smart enough to be able to see it while they are checking your signature (and memorize it!). By contrast, debit cards are only able to be processed if the PIN is entered correctly, which increases the security level. Yes, some people have had their PIN's captured by scanners or security cameras, but with a credit card it's all printed on the store's copy - no need to 'capture' the info.
But, the really stupid setup is the chip & pin system when the card has a chip embedded in it which is read by the terminal while the owner puts in his PIN. Unfortunately, they also operate in credit card mode, and charges can be added by just pumping in the card no and expiry off the store copy, no pin or chip needed. Whoops!
My banks fully guarantee that if money is fraudulently removed from my account either through a debit card or internet banking they will return it within 5 days. If yours doesn't, it's time you got a new bank. Try a Canadian owned one. They seem to understand this stuff.
I use a couple of accounts at each bank, so that i move money into the card access account fairly regularly to replace what I've spent, and if there was ever a problem with one, i could just email money from one bank to the other (I know, another Canadian thing)to keep clear of the problem account. It sounds a lot more complicated than it is.
Chuck&Gail wrote: As several have said, read the fine print on your contract CAREFULLY. What are you liable for if lost? Most (all?) credit cards limit loss to about $50. Most debit cards I've seen have no limit, your liable for everything including over limit charges.
Be careful out there.
All of the debit cards I"ve seen have the same $50.00 limit so I second your suggestion of reading the fine print and calling your bank to find out the truth.
Susan
Just getting started.
'89 Itasca Sundancer
'93 VW Eurovan
Offline
