Posted on 03/22/2013 1:21:00 PM PDT by Kartographer
Customers who want to pay with a $100 bill at a Rhode Island chain of restaurants will now have to fill out a form.
WPRI reports that Gregg's locations will now require a name, phone number and driver's license number whenever someone pays with a $100 bill.
Owner Bob Bacon says it's because they have received five fake $100s in the last three months. He tells the station the policy is not about getting restitution if they receive a fake bill. He says it's about creating a paper trail so they can track down whoever is making the fake bills.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.providencejournal.com ...
How about I pay after I see the health records of the cook and kitchen attendants, with recent examinations for all sorts of diseases, notarized by doctor.
Not to mention birth certificate, or green card.
I suppose this restaurant chain is about to find out just how loyal its customer base really is.
Actually, some of the counterfeiters have a method to defeat those pens now.
I know this because my bank held a training session on counterfeit bills when the business community had a spate of them for a while.
I was at a store a while back when a guy tried to buy $5 worth of stuff with a $100. The manager held it up to the light and said “you’ve got to be kidding me, I can’t believe you tried using this” He handed it back to the customer who walked out the door.
“Banks have been known to hand out counterfeit bills, so thats no guarantee.”
Well, how else are they supposed to get rid of them without losing money?
On that subject, I have noticed that vending machines are very good at giving Canadian change but “not too good” (i.e., forgetaboutit) at accepting them...wonder how that happens?
Was talking to my neighbor a couple months ago (she works at the local police station a few blocks away). She knows about all the calls the police respond to. They've been getting reports of counterfeit bills from a couple stores where they're holding a perp. Police arrive, and surprise, the bills are genuine. They even confirm with a local bank. Turns out some of these counterfeit detection pens only work with new bills, and not older bills in circulation. So no, having the pens does not solve the problem. (I've since started converting older bills from my stash under the mattress to newer bills.)
No. They may work on older genuine bills. See my post#26.
>>The pens essentially only work if an idiot makes a counterfeit bill.<<
When I got that $1. bill....my thought...what idiot would make a $1. bill?
Bills can also get starch on them in various innocent ways. They get washed in the laundry a lot.
You can take a bill, spray it lightly with laundry starch, and watch it fail the pen test.
I didn't think about that one. Always a lot of money going through the wash. My wife and MIL have a habit of jamming folded bills into their pockets, and it winds up in the washing. We use $100 bills often, because things are expensive; most clerks don't even bat an eye around here, taking them without question. We try not to use credit cards, as that's a sure way to create debt.
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