Restaurant had drawer full of lost credit cards?

amother

Vermilion

Tue, Nov 15 2016, 11:50 pm

We ate out in Manhattan on Sunday and came home and realized we never got our credit card back after paying. AFter looking online where it was used last, we called the restaurant and verified it was there. When I came to pick it up, they opened up the cash register and there was a drawer in the cash register with no less than 20 credit cards, belonging to people who left them there, according to the employee I spoke to.

How does this make sense? People dont come to claim their credit cards, after checking online where they used it last and seeing it was that restaurant?

Something doesnt smell right.

MagentaYenta

Tue, Nov 15 2016, 11:55 pm

amother wrote:

I know restaurant owners and this is quite common. Some of those cards could have been sitting in that drawer for months.

Tell me why it doesn't pass your smell test?

nicole81

Tue, Nov 15 2016, 11:58 pm

If I went out to eat with my husband in Manhattan and left my card there, I'd sooner call it in lost and get another one than have one of us shlep all the way back.

amother

Vermilion

Tue, Nov 15 2016, 11:59 pm

MagentaYenta wrote:

I know restaurant owners and this is quite common. Some of those cards could have been sitting in that drawer for months.

Tell me why it doesn't pass your smell test?

How many people do you know who would stop looking for their credit card, until they locate where they left it, easily done by calling the credit card company or looking online at the last few places it was used????

amother

Vermilion

Wed, Nov 16 2016, 12:02 am

nicole81 wrote:

If I went out to eat with my husband in Manhattan and left my card there, I'd sooner call it in lost and get another one than have one of us shlep all the way back.

New card means new number and that means changing the credit card number on all the accounts you use it for regularly! Thats a much bigger headache than just going back for the card, unless you live out of town and ask the owner to mail the card back to you.

MagentaYenta

Wed, Nov 16 2016, 12:05 am

amother wrote:

It really depends. If one uses a number of cards it could quite easily been over looked. I heck I left my card behind more than once in this past year.

Again why doesn't it pass your stink test? You seem to think something nefarious is going on. Is it so incredulous to you that not everyone behaves as you would like to think they do?

nicole81

Wed, Nov 16 2016, 12:09 am

amother wrote:

What's a headache for you may not be one for me, and vice versa. It would take me an aggregate of approximately 30 minutes over 1-3 months to update cards on all online accounts as I use them-- one minute here, one minute there. I just had to update involuntarily anyhow when I got my new chip card; totally not a big deal. Conversely, to go to Manhattan would mean traveling round trip up to 3 hours alone late at night or killing a Sunday for the family. Or maybe it would mean not killing the family's day out but shlepping 5 kids on the train with me to retrieve a card. Not worth it in any sense of the imagination, and I live in the city.

Just because you can't understand something doesn't mean that it doesn't make perfect sense to someone else.

amother

Vermilion

Wed, Nov 16 2016, 12:28 am

nicole81 wrote:

OK, I guess that makes sense for those who live far away. I dont.

peekaboo

Wed, Nov 16 2016, 12:28 am

My kids were playing with my wallet at the pediatricians office. One credit card fell out (I hadn't used it there) and when I got home I realized it was missing. For the life of mine I couldnt figure out where it was. I called the cc company to cancel it, and a wk later the ped office called me saying that they found my card. Told them to dump it since I had a new one already.

For me its easier to cancel than to backtrack where I used it last.

Wed, Nov 16 2016, 10:33 am

In many cases, it is better to get a new number immediately. I would, regardless of the hassle (which isn't significant).

1. If the person didn't figure out right away that it was missing, so there was more chance that it was observed/misused by others.

2. If the person saw it was missing but didn't know right away where it was lost. It wasn't necessarily lost at the last place where it was used.

3. If it is too difficult to retrieve.

4. If there is any question about who may have seen or copied the number.

It could be that the restauranteur keeps the cards as a service to customers, but has no idea if they have been cancelled or if anyone will ever pick them up.

Its worth noting that stolen credit card numbers are often not used right away, and then only for small purchases to see if anyone is paying attention, before making a big-ticket purchase. If your card has been out of your possession for any length of time, the number is not secure, and you should be very alert. (Of course there are other ways numbers are stolen, but this is one you can control).

amother

Vermilion

Wed, Nov 16 2016, 11:39 am

SixOfWands wrote:

If they were doing something nefarious, the cards wouldn't be in a drawer.

Nonsense. Theres many people who have access to that cash register. No way the boss can possibly know whos copying numbers throughout the day. They should at least be in a safe somewhere.

STMommy

Wed, Nov 16 2016, 12:44 pm

Quote:

Nonsense. Theres many people who have access to that cash register. No way the boss can possibly know whos copying numbers throughout the day. They should at least be in a safe somewhere.

I agree. I've had my credit card number stolen and the card was still sitting in my wallet. The cards should be locked up.

amother

Brunette

Wed, Nov 16 2016, 1:04 pm

this reminds me of when I went to bagel nosh in lakewood and I dropped my card and I was still in the store when it happened. the person who found it didnt think I was there so didnt ask around whos card it was and I asked the cashier if anyone gave it to him. which they should have. long story short. I called and canceled it. but was so worried that the person who found it might have used it before I canceled. bh nothing of the sort.

this person should have gone to the manager and left a number to reach them. in case I would come and tell them. but didnt. what a shame.

amother

Vermilion

Mon, Jan 02 2017, 8:20 pm

PSA

Those who told me to cancel the card- you were right! I learned my lesson. Someone must have made themselves a new card with my numbers (I never knew crooks can do that), because the credit card company said a card was used at Macys for this purchase, it wasnt an online order, and we were nowhere near Macys (right before Candle Lighting on a Friday).

Someone charged $2700 this week to Macys Dept Store, using a card identical to mine, with all the right numbers, that had nothing to do with us.

Possibly when my card was left at the restaurant, someone copied all the numbers off my card and had an identical card made and used it this week.

Thank G-d I caught it because of Alerts I set on my account.