not me personally but just witnessed and old gentlemen in the supermarket who had put his card number wrong 3 times so hence it blocked the card,,, …the checkout operator said oh sorry mate you will have to go to the bank to have it unblocked…. thats was it basically….(hope he doesnt belong to natwest bank cos our is all shut up now…
for the elderly i think there should be some kind of better service possibly where you can be taken into a back room of the supermarket and someone rings up the bank for you to verify who you are !!! now this poor bloke was sent on his merry way (wether he comes back for his shopping he had left at the till who knows…. just think there should be a different kind of service when this sort of unfortunate scenerio happens….

He might have stolen the card.

elaine anne – Member
just think there should be a different kind of service when this sort of unfortunate scenerio happens….

There is. It’s called “cash”. Google it.

oh dont be harsh i do know of this guy and he,s always abit in a muddle…just felt sorry for him thats all….

doh: Druid.. 😥 wait till your 😉

I don’t have long to wait!! 😆

It’s nor really the supermarket’s responsibility to nursemaid people, but I think you’re right that society generally could be a little more forgiving (as ably demonstrated by the previous two posters).

At the risk of making a rash generalisation, the people on the checkouts will be there to scan goods rather than look after old people. I doubt they’re particularly trained to deal with the bewildered. That said, I’d have expected them to at least direct them towards Customer Services.

i do know of this guy and he,s always abit in a muddle.

You could’ve offered to help him?

I doubt they’re particularly trained to deal with the bewildered.

In my experience they often are the bewildered.

I thought alot of banks offer a service where PIN could be by-passed to signature, for just this type of customer.

This is why it is best to write the PIN on the card.
That way you never forget it.

There’s NFC http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near_field_communication. Looks like is OK for payments up to £15 without a PIN. Maybe that’ll go up a bit. Most of my new cards have it but I’ve never used it. So do many smart phones (although that wouldn’t really help in this case)

nope no customer services…. he was directed straight to the bank….i think the check out operator should have been a little more helpful.. (i guess he just didnt want the queue to get ‘back logged’… 😥

I thought alot of banks offer a service where chip/PIN could be by-passed to signature, for just this type of customer.

‘s a bit late once the card’s blocked, though.

He’ll be fine. All he needs to do is get into his car and drive to the bank…..

I found a debit card in a card reader today. I can’t see how crooks could use it without a pin number as ordering stuff online would need an address to deliver? Although my lack of criminal cunning is not the reason why I handed it in.

I think the real crooks cash in by offering them to victims customers as a service.

You could’ve offered to help him?

This. So what did you do – just stand there watching? There is no such thing as society…

When my Natwest CC was blocked I struggled to get verified when on the phone to the operator person – even though I had my passport, and I was actually IN a Natwest branch with an employee sat next to me telling the operator that it was in fact me, and they can in fact see me.

Bloody shambles.

I thought most shops still had the capacity to print a signature receipt that can be signed if the PIN/remote debit system goes down.

Stoner – Member
I thought most shops still had the capacity to print a signature receipt that can be signed if the PIN/remote debit system goes down.

But the system was OK.

He can ask for a chip+signature card.

yes, but his brain system wasnt.

Cant he request a chip & sig payment instead, since the system is there to cope with it.

Good point – if you know him surely you could have helped him out.

i dont know him actualy…i just see him around the town..he,s a jehovahs witness (prob retired now…
i was in a random shop the other day and checkout operator says they dont rely on ‘just signatures’ anymore…