Potential Risks of Providing a Credit Card Imprint for Rentals

[DaveC426913]

If you have ever rented anything and had to leave a Credit Card imprint, what else did you need to do with that imprint?

I'm not talking about a deposit, I'm talking about "That'll be $60 for the equipment, and, additionally, I'll need a CC imprint. We'll tear that up when you return the equipment"

Have you ever been asked to sing that imprint? i.e. the sotre now has an imprint of your Credit Card - on a Credit Card slip with the number value blank, and your signautre at the bottom.

 

[Evo]

I wouldn't sign a blank charge slip, there needs to be an amount. They can charge a deposit, or as hotels and other places do when you submit a credit card, they put a "hold" against your credit line that guarantees them a certain amount if you default. You haven't agreed to it, you probably aren't even aware of it and yes, it's legal.

For example, I want to stay one night at a hotel, The room is $150, the hotel will put a hold of $300 on my card. What sucks is that the hold can last a week after you left the hotel and paid. I found this out when doing a lot of traveling, hotel, plane tickets, car rentals in a short time. One hotel I stopped at told me my card was declined, I told them it wasn't possible, I still had over $1,000 left on the card. I called my card company and they said my balance was indeed $1,000 less than my limit, but my limit was tied up in "holds" that hadn't dropped off yet. After fighting with a manager, he agreed to extend my credit because one of the holds had passed a reasonable time to have dropped off.

 

[loseyourname]

Yeah, that's a big no-no. Same thing with auto shops. They always ask for your signature on the work slip before they give an estimate. Don't ever sign that, as you're agreeing to pay for any work that they might do, necessary or not.