Bag a Credit Card??

MitaDC · August 27th, 2006, 01:27 PM

Hey guys, just wondering:

Why do sometimes credit cards not run but they will work if you put a plastic bag over them and run them through? This always happens to one of my cards (brand new card)??

Mita

sr71000 · August 27th, 2006, 02:05 PM

i've never heard of that before...put a bag over a credit card to make it work?? interesting

SeanC · August 27th, 2006, 02:23 PM

I've had that happen. If you put a piece of scotch tape of the mag stripe it will work while normally it doesn't. It's mainly due to surface damage to the card over the mag stripe, it makes it nearly impossible for the reader to get it properly.

I'm not sure how this really fixes it since I'm no expert in that.

RamonGTP · August 27th, 2006, 02:29 PM

yep, happened to me several times, don't know why it works either... Try google

mr.jiggyfly · August 27th, 2006, 02:50 PM

Improves contact with the reader?

RayH · August 27th, 2006, 03:22 PM

I'd order a new card

wera · August 27th, 2006, 04:58 PM

As Shawn says Scotch tape works.

**ScottW** · August 27th, 2006, 05:02 PM

I was in line at a grocery store one time and the customer ahead of me presented a card to the clerk that had been cut in half. She claimed her kid had cut it in two - year right. The clerk didn't even hesitate to hold the two pieces of the card together and try to swipe it - then they tried tape and also the plastic bag trick. Never worked

. I then proceeded to switch lines

.

HeadBand · August 27th, 2006, 05:12 PM

I had a manager card that was cut in half....I have no clue what happened to the other half but the one I had still worked on its own

SeanC · August 27th, 2006, 05:42 PM

That's why clerks aren't supposed to accept cards that are in pieces.

If they validate that the card is legit, then they manually enter the number. All POS devices include the ability to manually enter the card number, it's an Interac requirement in Canada and it should be a requirement anywhere.