Bank Insanity re Signing Cashback slip

ArtSmart

I'm of an age now, where I can shrug off bureaucratic insanity, with the understanding the issue is usually due to insurance company policies or whatever. You know, built-in insanity. But this one stumps me. Really, truly stumps me.
And because of the current distancing protocol, it may well be more than just irritating.


When receiving cashback from a supermarket teller, one is required to sign/ initial your receipt.
Grand. So far so logical.
To give the receipt back to the teller as proof you received the money? Well, that would make sense.


Except...the receipt is kept by you, the receiver of the cash.


Let that settle for a bit, because it’s so insane, it is easily blocked out by the brain and might not reach the reasoning part of your noggin.


I, SIGN A RECEIPT SLIP, WHICH I KEEP.


There, hope that makes it clearer. The teller does not receive a copy of my signature/ initials. None.


I am very much open to explanations as to why this is a requirement.


Especially as it also often involves sharing a pen with the teller...

Cee-Jay-Cee

I have only experienced shops asking me to sign the receipt for cash back maybe one or two times ever however they have kept the receipt. I suspect that whoever you encountered got it mixed up.

Most places just give you the cash without receipt or signature being required.

HeidiHeidi

I have definitely been asked on a few occasions to sign the receipt which I then keep - couldn't tell you which supermarket it was though.


Mostly it's the receipt which the teller keeps, but some chain definitely asks you to sign your own receipt.


I often wondered why as well!

Samuel T. Cogley

Customer: I didn't get my cash back.
Shop: Can I see your receipt?
Customer: No I lost it.
Shop: Well there is nothing I can...
Customer: Here I found it.
Shop: You signed to say you got it.

Del2005

I've initialed some receipts when I got cash back and gave it to the till operator to prove that I requested the money. Its nothing to do with the bank, once the PIN is used they are covered, its a policy by some shops to make sure that till operators aren't adding money to people's bills and pocketing the money.

What you got was a confused toll operator

Fireball81

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

Customer: I didn't get my cash back.
Shop: Can I see your receipt?
Customer: No I lost it.
Shop: Well there is nothing I can...
Customer: Here I found it.
Shop: You signed to say you got it.

That and CCTV will show you signing it.

ArtSmart

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

I have only experienced shops asking me to sign the receipt for cash back maybe one or two times ever however they have kept the receipt. I suspect that whoever you encountered got it mixed up.

Most places just give you the cash without receipt or signature being required.

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

I have definitely been asked on a few occasions to sign the receipt which I then keep - couldn't tell you which supermarket it was though.


Mostly it's the receipt which the teller keeps, but some chain definitely asks you to sign your own receipt.


I often wondered why as well!

Del2005 wrote: »

I've initialed some receipts when I got cash back and gave it to the till operator to prove that I requested the money. Its nothing to do with the bank, once the PIN is used they are covered, its a policy by some shops to make sure that till operators aren't adding money to people's bills and pocketing the money.

What you got was a confused toll operator

To the above. Nope. I've been asked to sign the receipt, WHICH I KEEP, on three separate occasions now. If the teller took it - makes perfect sense. But nope, "thats for you" they say.

HeidiHeidi

ArtSmart wrote: »

To the above. Nope. I've been asked to sign the receipt, WHICH I KEEP, on three separate occasions now. If the teller took it - makes perfect sense. But nope, "thats for you" they say.

Dunno why you quoted me, I was agreeing with you!!

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

Customer: I didn't get my cash back.
Shop: Can I see your receipt?
Customer: No I lost it.
Shop: Well there is nothing I can...
Customer: Here I found it.
Shop: You signed to say you got it.

This makes perfect sense.

ArtSmart

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

Customer: I didn't get my cash back.
Shop: Can I see your receipt?
Customer: No I lost it.
Shop: Well there is nothing I can...
Customer: Here I found it.
Shop: You signed to say you got it.

Hmmm. A long shot, but possibly crazy enough to be true.


Assuming the CCTV doesn't work in the supermarket, or it's too much hassle to use it.


It needs to stop. Even I can take only so much crazy....

Ficheall

It's not a facility I use, but does it perhaps stem from comparing the signature you provide to the one on the card?

Mrs OBumble

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

I have definitely been asked on a few occasions to sign the receipt which I then keep - couldn't tell you which supermarket it was though.

Dumbs Stores do it that way. Or at least they did the last time I did a cash-back there.

ArtSmart

Ficheall wrote: »

It's not a facility I use, but does it perhaps stem from comparing the signature you provide to the one on the card?

No, they don't even look at it - just did a squiggle today.



Which means if the one possible ans offered was true, the customer comes back with receipt, and says, "That's not my signature/ initials" "This is!"
Do they get the cash back they 'never got'. No. It'd be CCTV time then with a , "what's your phone number, we'll investigate", rigmarole.



Yeah, it's the usual bit of annoying silliness that keeps the world so wonderful.


Pen exchange wise though, it could be tricky at the moment...

ArtSmart

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

Dunno why you quoted me, I was agreeing with you!!



This makes perfect sense.

General tiredness on my part. Sorry.

dotsman

It is as per Samuel T. Cogley's post above.

Like most pointless bureaucracies, it serves little purpose, but people don't push back, so it continues. Basically, when the concept of cashback was introduced (maybe 25 years ago?), there was no chip and pin and you simply handed the card to the cashier who could have done anything with it. Often cashback wasn't put through as a separate line-item, and was simply added to to total amount. Between the odd fraudulent cashier who would run the card number through again after the customer had left and pocket the money, the odd overly-suspicious customer who, upon seeing the statement and seeing an unusually high figure and didn't remember getting cashback and the odd chancer who would have claimed they never asked for cashback or never got the cash if they did, it would have been a pain in the ass investigating any complaints.

This was probably introduced by some shop manager who had been hit once or twice with complaints. From there it caught on, and more shops started doing it. Dunnes definitely seem to have it as a policy to this day.

ArtSmart

dotsman wrote: »

It is as per Samuel T. Cogley's post above.

Like most pointless bureaucracies, it serves little purpose, but people don't push back, so it continues. Basically, when the concept of cashback was introduced (maybe 25 years ago?), there was no chip and pin and you simply handed the card to the cashier who could have done anything with it. Often cashback wasn't put through as a separate line-item, and was simply added to to total amount. Between the odd fraudulent cashier who would run the card number through again after the customer had left and pocket the money, the odd overly-suspicious customer who, upon seeing the statement and seeing an unusually high figure and didn't remember getting cashback and the odd chancer who would have claimed they never asked for cashback or never got the cash if they did, it would have been a pain in the ass investigating any complaints.

This was probably introduced by some shop manager who had been hit once or twice with complaints. From there it caught on, and more shops started doing it. Dunnes definitely seem to have it as a policy to this day.

Yup. I suspect you're exactly right.
One bright young store manager proposing a ridiculous solution to a non-problem. He or she is probably CEO by now...

astrofool

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

Customer: I didn't get my cash back.
Shop: Can I see your receipt?
Customer: No I lost it.
Shop: Well there is nothing I can...
Customer: Here I found it.
Shop: You signed to say you got it.

Not so Smart Art.

looksee

^^^ this, Samuel T Cogley's answer. Makes perfect sense to me and saves them having to keep and track down the customer's receipt. They are not going to entertain a claim without the receipt and if the receipt has a signature or a squiggle then its been paid. How can you claim 'that's not my signature? Its your receipt, the checkout person took it off the machine and gave it to you and you signed it, where is the opportunity for confusion?