Re: [at-l] Re: Traveler's checks, etc.

[Jennifer Sawyer <jdsawyer@bu.edu>]

A lawyerly word on the Debit/ATM card v. credit card debate:
 	
	If your credit card gets stolen and used by the theif, you are
only responsible for the first $50 that the theif charges (and many
companies won't even hold you to that).  If the credit card company wants
to fight you on it, THEY have to prove that YOU were negligent in losing
it/letting the theif get his grubby hands on it (most card companies
won't bother)

	If your DEBIT card/ATM card is stolen and used by a theif, YOU are
responsible for the whole chebang.  There is no $50 limit to your
liability.  

(Personally, I'll take my chances b/c the Debit/ATM card is just so damned
easy to use.  But, thought I'd throw my 2 cents in here...)

Pooh 

On Tue, 8 Feb 2000, Paula wrote:

> Hey Kristen & all,
> 
> This all just reminded me of why i've stopped carrying the Debit cards
> that look like Visa's but come out of the checking acct and also double
> as ATM.
> 
> If it gets stolen, someone can use it as a VISA card WITHOUT your pin
> number.  It wouldn't take long to clean out your checking account of the
> cash you need.  Some bank debit cards do NOT have the same $50.00
> protection against theft that regular visa credit cards have.  Even if
> they do, who knows how long it would take them to credit you back the
> $$$ the theif took??  Even if it takes a month, that could be a real
> problem on the trail with limited funds.
> 
> A friend at work asked his bank if they had the protection.  They
> assured him they did.  He asked to see it in writing somewhere.  They
> couldn't produce anything, in fact, the bank person a couple days later
> admitted that it turned out there wasn't any protection.  If someone
> took his card and used it as a visa, he was just out of luck.  the cash
> was gone.  this would be a disaster on a thru hike.  To be fair to the
> bank branch staff - this was just as much a surprise to them as it was
> to my friend.  They honestly assumed that the debit cards had the same
> protection qualities as the visa cards the bank offered.
> 
> I'd recommend carrying the 2 pieces of plastic ( individual visa + ATM
> card  ) for safeties sake.  If you have one of the visa's with a photo
> on it, that may be even better - except that during the hike - i doubt
> any of us will look like our previous pics!   
> 
> Paula
> TenToes
> 
> jjs Soles wrote:
> > 
> > To Kristen -
> > 
> > If your ATM card doubles as a MasterCard or Visa (like mine does), then you can use it at ATM machines and stores and motels.  It is still a debit card, but is accepted anywhere MasterCard or Visa is accepted.  You would still need some cash or traveler's checks for the times when even MC/Visa is not accepted, but that should be seldom.
> > 
> > Ten Gallon
> 
> 
> -- 
> Paula
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> 

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