Talk:Teaching Assistant in France Survival Guide/Arrival

Watering down the bank card admonishments
Please don't. These were written harshly for good reason: you are much better off losing money through an American bank card than a French one. If you don't agree, perhaps you haven't had to protest transactions with cards from each country, as I have. American laws are very generous to bank card holders, for whatever reason, so we have a relaxed attitude towards the cards. It is essential that assistants from the U.S. change that attitude when they obtain a carte bancaire.

For example, I know first-hand that this contributed sentence is false: "Card holders cannot be held responsible for transactions done with their card number or card without the PIN or correct signature." If it were true, then three different Banque Populaire employees broke the law and should be in prison, since they told me that my not having signed a credit card receipt meant nothing.

I understand your desire to defend all things French, but in this case you are doing more harm than good. The more people who discover a French bank's indifference to bank card fraud through their own experience, the worse it is for France. Let them be warned here, in advance.

Nathan 18:52, 16 January 2006 (UTC)

To the best of my knowledge it is the case that you are not held liable if the signature is missing. This does not mean that the bank will not try and cheat you, _especially_ if you are a foreigner. 83.76.11.222 16:42, 21 January 2006 (UTC)

Dear Nathan, I invite you to read this page from BNP/Paribas and this page from Banque Populaire. Banque Populaire says that, outside of cases of use by a family member or of gross negligence, your responsibility for uses before asking for the card being blocked, without the PIN, is limited to 150€. This 150€ limit is also given by the [ttp://www.minefi.gouv.fr/DGCCRF/04_dossiers/consommation/ficonso/b25.htm?ru=04 Ministry of Finances]' repression of frauds services (DGCCRF), which also states that no responsibility is incurred for fraudulent use of the card number without the card. They are probably a much better authority on this than you and I.

That said, it is well possible that there was a misunderstanding with the bank employees, that they would have preferred not to refund you money, etc. Note also that, even if the bank is legally bound to refund you, it may choose to "drag its heels".

By the way, not every salesperson telling bullshit goes to prison. Remember, this is France, with a low carceral population. If you think that the bank has acted illegally, you should have probably contacted a DGCCRF branch or a consumer's association such as UFC-Que choisir. David.Monniaux 17:14, 24 August 2006 (UTC)