AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums The Cayes Ambergris Caye Billys Store Unauthorized Chgs to my Debit Card

Simon, the debit card is issued by your bank and acts as a debit from the ATM or a charge card. The PIN is needed at the ATM but when making a purchase if you have the clerk run it as a credit versus debit charge then no PIN is needed. Also you save the establishment a surcharge fee they pay on all debit purchases. The visa check card is issued by visa and acts the same way. I see no benefit for the check card as you need a bank account anyway.
I also am surprised at the "numerous" card problems. I guess I am very lucky as I have never had a problem with either my credit card or my debit card account. In the years of working in retail I can also honestly say that most card account "overcharges" we had called in were due to employee theft and fraudulant use of a cardholders number, this rarely happened. Our system also never printed the full account number on the receipts but the registers had electronic journals that held the full number and could be looked at to get the rest of the numbers. Of course the handfull of times the theft issue did ocur the employees were found out, they were arrested and of course terminated. I would not encourage anyone to allow their card to be taken out of eyesight of them or have an imprint done if you do not personally "know" the business/person. I once followed a clerk at a dive shop in Key West into the backroom, as he walked off with my card speaking a language I could not translate. I thought that the card machine may have been back there and I did not want it out of my sight and it turned out there was no machine back there and he quickly made a U turn back to the shop area and ran my card. It does not hurt to have a Healthy mistrust sometimes.

Yes Simon, that is still the case, and you have to sign the store's receipt if you want cash back. I share your confusion.

My debit card has a Visa logo on it so it can be used as a debit or credit card. In the states I am always asked if I want to use debit or credit and I always choose debit so I have to enter the PIN, in Belize I have never been asked so it is always charged as credit.

I recently had this discussion with a restaurant owner that's been here for several years, and he informed me that before the digital slips, there were certain stores and restaurants that used to create carbon copies of credit cards, just like in department stores in the states back in the 80's and 90's. The problem with this was that employees had a perfect copy of your credit/debit card.

Unfortunately, in Belize, all that's required to make a purchase is the credit card number. I can attest to this, as I've extended golf cart rentals with just a credit card number. No name verification or CCV code was needed.

I've heard stories from several years ago of tourists being charged on their credit cards, and then with the carbon copies, dishonest employees making purchases and shipping to John Doe houses. I've heard allegations of ties with Customs to get the products imported and such, but then again, it could all be hearsay, right?

I hate to say it, but I think you got screwed by Billy's Store. The only time I use my card here is at ATM's or establishments where I have a personal relationship with the person that's swiping my card.

And another example of how loose security is here? I took a couple of visiting tourists to a very well-known restaurant here, and to prove a point (actually, two: that the bill would be placed in front of me automatically, and that I could pay with one of their credit cards without an ID; they were both female). Sure enough, the bill was placed in front of me. I gave them the credit card which was handed to me by Kathy earlier, and they swiped it and returned it without an ID or verification.

Credit card security is still very premature in Belize, and I wouldn't use it freely as I did in the States.

Undoubtably I did get screwed by Billys, but only for a short time because they won't be able to provide proof since I didn't sign anything. And if they do provide proof it's still fraud and I will still get my money back eventually. Fortunately with that little Visa logo, if my bank doesn't reimburse me Visa will simply reverse the charges so one way or the other it will work out in my favor. The downside is it could take up to 45 days. I will be back to AC before then though so I will be sure to stop by the store and speak to them in person.

I know I probably don't have to tell you this, but I will make a suggestion.

Make sure to print out that portion of your statement and bring it with you. When you get back to AC and visit Billy's store, ask to speak to Billy or a manager of the store. If you can remember the employee that swiped your card, give him/her the description of that employee.

I hope everything works out for you!

Tipover,

If you did not use a debit card and used a credit card instead you would be protected by US Law and the Credit Card Co. would have to run it down, not you. It is your money being tied up now instead of theirs. You would have to be grossly negligent in order for the credit card company not to erase the charges. In addition you are lucky that some one didn't clean out your bank account.

I still say AC is relatively safe from this type of fraud. The worst I have seen is Venezuela. Anyone who uses a debit or credit card there (except maybe in a bank) needs their head examined.

Good luck

I do have the transactions printed and will bring them with me. And yes, I do remember who he was. I'm not sure if he is the owner but I also shopped at that store the month before (but paid with cash) and he was the same person working then.

I do agree Ragman, they could have cleaned me out! I consider myself fortunate in that aspect. I do agree too that AC is relatively safe. This was my third trip in 2 months and I have used my card several times and it hasn't been an issue until now. My whole point in posting this was to ask if this was common there and to bring awareness that it does and did happen to me. I plan on making many many more trips to AC and will be much more careful in the future.

If he is the owner, and doesn't reciprocate well, the next step would be a police report. I know you're taking care of the situation in the states with your bank already, but I'd hate to think that a store could get away with something like this. Besides, it would be good to have the local authorities knowledgeable about the crime.