paying by check in a retail store

[fortheluvofpooh]

I went to Kohls last week to buy DS some shorts. I go to the register and take out my check book and drivers licnse. Cashier says, do you have a creditcard? I said no. She said do you have a visa/debit card? I said no. I said I have a check and would like to pay. She said, well you can't write a check unless you have 2 forms of ID, drivers license and a cc. what on earth was this all about? I don't use cc's I don't even have an atm/visa/debit card. I said to the cashier, all i want to do us buy shorts for my son, she said well then you will have to apply for a Kohls cc to buy them for him. I said, you don't understand I DO NOT WANT A CC!!!! She looks at me and says "everyone else uses them". UGH. So then she got the mgr and he approved my check to write and told me to go get a cc so I can use it as my 2nd form of ID.

 

[teresajoy]

That does sound like a pain Lori! I do understand where the stores are coming from though. My husband works at a grocery store in a small town, and you wouldn't believe how many bad checks they receive. They lose a lot of money that way. I do feel for you though.

 

[DevilDuckie]

If you really don't want a credit or debit card, go get a passport. That'll shut up pretty much anyone.

 

[fortheluvofpooh]

If you really don't want a credit or debit card, go get a passport. That'll shut up pretty much anyone.

never thought of that.

 

[DevilDuckie]

never thought of that.

That's why you have me.

 

[hoosiergirl7]

I have never heard of Kohl's doing that. I don't remember ever having to show 2 forms of ID. Even if I did, I'm a military wife and have a military ID with info and picture on it.

I know there are quite a few places that will only take checks from local banks. We pretty much pay for everything with cash. What you might have to do is just take out some cash before you head to Kohl's so that you can pay for it. I know that's not that convenient but unfortunately that's what these times are coming to. The majority of our society owns CC's and had debt (luckily not us ). I think the cashier was rather rude in saying that everyone has them. So if she's content being in debt that's her problem. But no, it's not mandatory for people to have CC's. I guess it's hard to believe that there are people out there that are responsible with their money and don't have debt.

 

[breathinforluck]

That's strange.
I heard awhile back that checking writing might be like that in the future. But hadn;t heard that it had actually happened anywhere.

Are you against getting even a debit card linked to your checking account? That's what I have since it's not a credit card but speeds checkout up.

 

[dreamin_disney]

I dont think a person should have to have a creditcard or debit card to write a check. Whats wrong with just having a valid license.

At first i thought the cashier was just trying to pus the kohls card. I think they get rewarded for having people sign up, but if the manager also mentioned needing a card. Someday they will wanna put barcodes on our forehead

 

[RMulieri]

Kohls and target have both started doing this lately...a lot of retailers are.too many bad checks coming thru and they cost retailers alot of money, and most of the time in order to collect on no pays retailers have to go to court( if they can find the person that wrote the check to begin with).It seems unfair, but thanks to the myriad of people abusing the system for so long, you can hardly blame them.i agree with another poster.A valid Drivers license and passport should suffice.

 

[Lady Lady]

This is nothing new. In the past for checks at least 10 years ago you had to go to the customer service counter to get checks approved before going to pay with it. (They used to call the bank.) Now with id they allow it at the register.


And for the record, having a cc does not equal debt. I use the cc to pay for everything (getting Disney rewards) and pay it off every month. A credit card equals no hassles.

 

[RMulieri]

I have never heard of Kohl's doing that. I don't remember ever having to show 2 forms of ID. Even if I did, I'm a military wife and have a military ID with info and picture on it.

I know there are quite a few places that will only take checks from local banks. We pretty much pay for everything with cash. What you might have to do is just take out some cash before you head to Kohl's so that you can pay for it. I know that's not that convenient but unfortunately that's what these times are coming to. The majority of our society owns CC's and had debt (luckily not us ). I think the cashier was rather rude in saying that everyone has them. So if she's content being in debt that's her problem. But no, it's not mandatory for people to have CC's. I guess it's hard to believe that there are people out there that are responsible with their money and don't have debt.

Not everyone that uses credit cards has debt.I pay for everything all month on the credit card, and then pay it in full at the end of the month.i also am about to pay off my mortgage and have no car loans either.it is all in how you manage your finances.the people that run into trouble are the ones that use a credit card buying more than they can afford to and end up with huge finance charges .If you use credit cards responsibly they can be quite beneficial.

 

[ajk912]

I agree, check writing is definitely becoming a thing of the past. Me, I think if you they need to write my credit card number on my check..I might as well pay for the item with my credit card where at least some of the personal info is blacked out on the receipt. Do I really want my credit card number, expiration date, name, address, phone number, driver's license number, bank account number and routing number ALLLL floating around out there. Gee, one CHECK will be like a piece of candy for identity theft!

That's why I, peronally, do debit card instead. Seems safer to me, and it still comes out of my checking account like I check would.

 

[Allison]

I have never heard of Kohl's doing that. I don't remember ever having to show 2 forms of ID. Even if I did, I'm a military wife and have a military ID with info and picture on it.

I know there are quite a few places that will only take checks from local banks. We pretty much pay for everything with cash. What you might have to do is just take out some cash before you head to Kohl's so that you can pay for it. I know that's not that convenient but unfortunately that's what these times are coming to. The majority of our society owns CC's and had debt (luckily not us ). I think the cashier was rather rude in saying that everyone has them. So if she's content being in debt that's her problem. But no, it's not mandatory for people to have CC's. I guess it's hard to believe that there are people out there that are responsible with their money and don't have debt.

Are you really implying you think everyone who has a credit card isn't responsible and has debt? Not true.

Unfortunately, businesses lose a lot of money on people who write bad checks or steal someone's checkbook. There are fewer and fewer businesses who even accept checks anymore.

 

[mommyof2princesses]

We have 2 cc. One is the Disney Rewards card. We only use it to book our trips. It pretty much sits in our safe collecting dust.

The other one is a shell cc. We get 5% of Shell gas. We use it for everything. We ALWAYS pay it off every month. If we couldn't pay it off we don't buy it. We hate carrying cash and with 1% of our purchases going towards gas we win! The only debt in our life is our house payment and car payment!

I don't agree though that you need a cc to write a check. Get a passport and that way you'll have 2 forms of id. In the Disney Store you only need a liscence.

 

[iheartdisney]

I don't understand the reasoning...
Why write a check if you have a debit card? If I have to show them the debit card, they might as well swipe it, and save me some handwriting. Unless of course I'm doing the shopping a few days before payday.

 

[Merriwind]

I know there are quite a few places that will only take checks from local banks. We pretty much pay for everything with cash. What you might have to do is just take out some cash before you head to Kohl's so that you can pay for it. I know that's not that convenient but unfortunately that's what these times are coming to. The majority of our society owns CC's and had debt (luckily not us ). I think the cashier was rather rude in saying that everyone has them. So if she's content being in debt that's her problem. But no, it's not mandatory for people to have CC's. I guess it's hard to believe that there are people out there that are responsible with their money and don't have debt.

Well, that's painting with a pretty broad brush!

We are another family that charges everything to a rewards card and pays the balance in full every month. Getting one monthly statement listing all our expenses lets us keep track of where the money goes much more easily. Using a credit card gives you extra purchase protection. Also, checking out at a store is quick and easy--just swipe, sign and go!

OP, I think that the fraud that seems to be rampant today is forcing retailers to take extra steps (like requiring extra ID) to ensure they get paid. Maybe a debit card linked to your account would be a good choice for you. Glad you got your shorts!

 

[eclairemom]

I used to be firm in my thought if someone wanted my business they would take my check. It got to the point that I was running out of places to go out to eat because nobody will take a check anymore I'm not shocked that retail is now starting to do this. Finally broke down and got a debit card last year.

 

[MommyBoo!]

For those of you that use debit cards, check with your bank to see if they use this service:

https://www.visaextras.com/

We use our debit cards for everything and get points for doing it. We have gotten 2 $100 Amazon gift certificates this year.

I found out about this on the budget board. Four months after we started using it, our bank finally sent a (very small) notice that it was available.

 

[DNSYFRK]

I can understand the extra security for writing checks. I work at MCD as a manager and you would not believe the amount of bad checks we have recieved. At one point the bad check amount was over $45,000 dollars, for my restaurant, no that is not a typo. That is a lot of double cheeseburgers.

I only use credit cards because you can track your purchases so much easier, and if there is a dispute they will help you fix it.

 

[Anne34]

We used to do this 20-25 years ago when I worked for Musicland at the mall while in college. We had a stamp for the back of the check and we put in the DR number and the credit card on the next line. I hated taking checks because it took so much time.

I know that is why I got my first credit card -- as id for when I wrote checks (I don;t know if this was prevelent everywhere but I lived in Wisconsin and worked in downtown Milwaukee) So glad we're only plastic now !! - We pay our bills in full each month. I have NEVER paid interest -- not even in college.