if i use my VISA DEBIT card to AUTHORISE A TRANSACTION on the internet and the goods do not turn up?

i have looked far and wide and can only find out that ‘zero liabilty’ applies to lost/stolen/skimmed etc card transactions, in other words UNAUTHORISED transcations. internet shopping means that i have definately AUTHORISED the transaction. but if it does not tiurn up perhaps the site was fake or the company just fly by night, who knows? but the fact is the money has gone and the goods are not in my possesion…who pays when its a normal credit card transaction and who pays when it’s a VISA DEBIT card transaction?

I live in Washington state. I tried that same thing, and sure, many merchants don’t even bother looking or pay attention. Very few do. Not very long ago, the Washington State Liquor Stores (they are state run, unfortunately), absolutely requires to have a signature on the card. I think this may be a state requirement. So you may not be able to put “see ID” on the sig line on the back.

A second comment, I had a discussion with one merchant who informed me that if someone uses the swipe machine, either for debit OR credit, that they cannot be required to check for ID. I don’t know for sure if this is correct for credit cards (it may only be debit), but I’m sure it was something that came out of the credit card lobby, or at least the companies that are making the machines. This refers to the machines at checkout lines as much as the automated ones at gas stations.