Has anyone actually had their travelers checks stolen?

[jiggerj]

Curious to know if anyone has ever had their travelers checks stolen or lost while at WDW and their experience with it? Thank you!

 

[Rodrigo]

A friend of mine lost $200 in traveler cheques someplace between our breakfast in POR and MK. He reported this by phone and the cheques were fully refunded once we were back home.

 

[soupy11]

I have always wondered what happens to the stolen cheques? I have cashed a lot of cheques over the years and it is very rare that I get asked for ID when doing so. Is the merchant responsible for any losses they take when they cash a stolen cheque? I would gather that to be the case but the ease with which I have cashed them indicate to me that the merchants feel safe negotiating them.

 

[CaseyJr]

We've never had any stollen, but a few years ago (on a ski trip), DH accidently left 1/2 of our TC's at home (but we didn't know that's where they were until we got home and found them). As soon as we realized we didn't have them, he called and we got our money (I guess they automatically canceled the "lost" checks). Of course, DH had packed the receipts separately (like you're suppose to do), so we had a record of the check #'s and amts.

 

[jiggerj]

Originally posted by Rodrigo
A friend of mine lost $200 in traveler cheques someplace between our breakfast in POR and MK. He reported this by phone and the cheques were fully refunded once we were back home.

Im worried that if I lose them or they are stolen I would need them replaced immediately. There wouldnt be much use to them to have them replaced till AFTER vacation.

 

[kilee]

They also have those new travelers checks type credit cards. They guarantee replacement of stolen funds within 24 hours. I'm going to look into those for our upcoming trip.

 

[snookhams]

it was some years ago (about 12) and it wasn't at WDW but on the plane somewhere between London, England and Orlando, they were stolen from my bag whilst I slept. They were Ammex TC's and I collected my replacements the following day at a bank at one of the Disney theme parks, I think that it was Epcot - but have never been able to find the bank since - they were so helpful. Another time I had Thomas cook tc's (I think that these may only be available in the UK, and lost some it took 5 days and numerous phone calls to replace them - so will now only use ammex ones, never had a problem since...

 

[kandmwedding]

Originally posted by soupy11
I have always wondered what happens to the stolen cheques? I have cashed a lot of cheques over the years and it is very rare that I get asked for ID when doing so. Is the merchant responsible for any losses they take when they cash a stolen cheque? I would gather that to be the case but the ease with which I have cashed them indicate to me that the merchants feel safe negotiating them.

The reason the merchant doesn't ask for ID is that American Express doesn't require them to. If you look at the back of one of your cheques you'll see an Acceptance Procedure printed. It tells the merchant to:

"WATCH customer countersign Cheque and COMPARE to original signature. View Centurion WATERMARK in white area and 'AMEX' security THREAD in middle area, while holding Cheque to light. Examine HOLOGRAPHIC FOIL on the front of the Cheque for Centurion, denomination and American Express logo."

No ID is necessary because, just like with a credit card, the idea is that as long as the signature you sign in the merchant's presence matches the signature already on the card everything should be ok. I personally think this is silly, and would rather get my ID checked with every transaction, but it's not a requirement of American Express. A lot of merchants do require ID though, as a safety for the customer. The bank that I teach at does.


And to answer the OP's question... I'm not familiar with any AMEX offices in the WDW area, but I'm sure there are some. If there are you should be able to get your cheques replaced while on vacation. It might require to go offsite to one of their locations, but it should be possible. You'll want to make sure to keep your receipt separate from the cheques though, so that you have it reference when you request the new cheques.

 

[HenDuck]

Well, we had our WHOLE RENTAL CAR STOLEN in La Jolla (California) about 9 years ago. Of course, the Am Ex travelers checks were in the suitcase in the car too!

It's a long story that I won't bore you with...but we called the credit union where we got the checks. They hooked us up with a travel agent in the DL area who replaced the checks the very next morning. Piece of cake!

We always use the same credit union and Am Ex travelers checks now. I never take more than $200-300 in cash and use my credit cards whenever I can.

 

[erinch]

Many years ago, I was in charge of a youth mission trip in DC with 35 senior highs, 7 adults in tow, and $13,000 on Amex Traveler's checks. The first night we were at the Old Post Office food court, and I blithely and visibly handed out $5 bills to each person. I got my food, then hung my purse over the back of my chair, covered by my sweater. When we stood up to leave, my purse was gone, along with all $13K. TALK ABOUT IDIOTS!

I had the separate receipts, and the next day the AMEX office in DC replaced all of the 13 grand. They weren't happy about it, but they did it. I offered to be their poster girl, either for their great service, or for preventable stupidity.