Legally, if a stolen credit card is used at a store can you demand the surveillance camera footage?

To the best of my knowledge, it may or may not be a law, depending on which state you reside with. You need to contact your state's Dept. of Consumer Affairs to see if state law mandates that they check identification. However, every credit card company does have a policy that merchants are suppose to check the customers identification when making a credit card purchase. If they had not checked for identification, then they're liable in a civil court for violating the credit card companies' policies. Sounds like this merchant wants to make a sale at any cost, even if its a stolen credit card. You can sue in small claims court (to keep the lawyers out of this) on grounds that the merchant failed to abide by the terms of the credit card company that he was suppose to check for identification. Get document proof of this by contacting your credit card company and getting their merchants' policy on how to process credit card sale. You may try to argue that his failure to cooperate is aiding the thief in his operation, which makes him an accessory to the theft of all the personal belongings. A legal trick to pressure him to release the video is to throw in "punitive damage." Say you lost $500 in stolen property (your actual damage), which you'll prove by showing all your pass receipts, or receipts of everything you've spent to replace these stolen items. If the small claims court has a maximum of $3,000 claim, you'll now throw in $2,500 in punitive damage. The merchant will be pressured to fully cooperate with you, or he will risk having the judge give you some or all of your damage claim.

If you can afford an attorney, then you can claim a bigger damage and file a civil lawsuit, because the merchant had failed in his duty to deal in good faith with the general public. He has a moral and legal duty to abide by the credit card companies policy to check identifications, which he had violated. You should also consider filing a formal complaint with the credit card company to have this merchant's credit card privilege suspended, or at least amend his contractual terms so that he's paying a higher interest rate commission, because he's proved himself to be a high-risk merchant who accepts stolen credit cards.

As you were not charged by the credit card company, you are not the victim of the fraud, the credit card company is.

You are not the appropriate party to run the investigation, the credit card company and the police are. Let them handle it.

how can these stores NOT be accountable for not checking ID's?? - An ID check is not required to accept credit cards.

You can not know for certain that the person using the card is the same person that stole the card and therefore the other items. The person that stole the card may have sold it, that is not uncommon.

That being said, notify the police about the purchase and the possibility of a surveillance tape. You do not have a right to that tape, however the police can request a warrant to get a copy of the tape.

I owned a store a number of years ago. We had hidden surveillance cameras. if a customer requested to see a tape, we would say no. If the police had ever requested to see one, we would have shown them. This is to protect the security of the system.

The Check Photo ID idea that Rick posted MAY work. Technically, a store is not allowed to accept a unsigned credit card (not law, agreement with the bank). The US postal service for one has a posted statement that they will not accept unsigned credit cards. The statement does not place any requirement on the store accepting the card. There are a number of banks that issue photo bearing credit cards (such as Bank of America) I bank with them in part because of the photo on my card.

Ditto the top answer. While there are a lot of people in jail for credit card fraud, I knew a lady who went into the store and looked at the footage when her card was stolen and the cops weren't interested in seeing it! Since no one else was in the store when he made the purchase, it was positively him, but since she didn't recognize him, the cops didn't think it would help (they had already given up).

Your best bet is to let the cops handle it, and hope they find him. I know it is angering to have someone just steal stuff from you, and even worse when you know he threw away something worth $400 to you because it was worthless to him. But really, your other options are to get a lawyer and see if you can sue the thief (as John Doe) and get the camera footage by subpeona (which may be erased by the time you get to it just because most places don't keep old tapes), or to get a detective involved--both are expensive and probably won't work. So I guess my real advice is to take it as a loss, call the police, but don't expect much from them on something like this. Or you could try going to the store in person and talking to someone else--maybe another employee would be more sympathetic.

You can't, no.

The legal responsibility for investigating a theft lies with the police. Talk to the police officer that you made the original theft report to. Tell him that the store has surveillance footage that might help to identify the thief and HE will be able to get the tape from them.

The cops don't want individual citizens tracking down people that stole their stuff, as that leads to fights and violence.

"Grrr--- how can these stores NOT be accountable for not checking ID's??"

Because the credit card contract generally doesn't call for it, and the store has no incentive to do so. It's the bank, not the store, that's out the money.

A hint...... instead of SIGNING the back of your credit/debit card, write "CHECK PHOTO ID" on the signature strip. Then the store will do so every time the card is offered. You should make a photocopy of the back of the card in case of any future dispute.

There's usually no benefit to you from this for a credit card, but there is for a debit card, where the money comes straight out of your checking account.

Richard

The Surveillance Shop

You needed to immediately cancel the cards and call the three credit reporting agencies and put a fraud alert on all accounts. Protect your credit and your Dad's before you worry about the guy getting caught. Leave the rest up to the police. Any evidence you find won't be admissable in court if you screw things up.

When mine was stolen we had to have a police report to get all charges removed by the bank and get our money back. The police are the ones who must request to see the video if one exists. The store that mine had been used at did not keep them. They taped over them the next day. Good Luck

Your daughter should file a police report in the jurisdiction where the use of the card took place.

Then the cops would request the footage.

Don't hold your breath, the police and courts could not care any less about these types of crime.

You have no damages; what legal basis do you have for asking for the tapes? The POLICE have a right. YOU need to be working with them.

Extremely valuable information and it offers me better knowledge on this topic