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From: ccrse@ucdavis.UUCP (Steve Ehrhardt)
Newsgroups: net.consumers
Subject: Re: Credit card carbons ("No, you can't have them")
Message-ID: <106@ucdavis.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 29-Jan-86 12:20:25 EST
Article-I.D.: ucdavis.106
Posted: Wed Jan 29 12:20:25 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 1-Feb-86 00:12:08 EST
References: <8529@ucla-cs.ARPA>
Distribution: net
Organization: University of California, Davis
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> 		    DEALER IS REQUIRED TO
> 		    RETAIN CARBON SHEET AS AN
> 		    ACCOUNTING RECORD.
> 
> The credit slip was printed by Chevron.  It didn't seem to matter that
> I had in fact used my Mastercard to pay for the car wash...
> 
> ...The only explanation I can think of is that maybe the credit slip had
> only two parts -- my copy and the one the dealer sends in to the company
> -- requiring the dealer to keep the carbon in place of a (nonexistent)
> merchant copy.
> 
> Given the recent big push toward letting the consumer take the carbons,
> designing slips so that the carbon gets torn in half automatically, or
> introducing carbonless forms, this seems like an incredibly bad public-
> relations move on the part of Chevron, whatever the explanation.

My wife used to be the bookkeeper for a Chevron station, so perhaps I can shed
a little light on the subject for you.

Chevron does indeed require that the station retain the carbons.  If I recall
correctly, they also require that they be turned in to the company along with
the other records.  I believe that the reason is that they are used as a check
of some sort against fraud on the part of the dealers.

Chevron isn't the only company that requires this.  I've seen similar postings
in some Texaco stations.  I think that they must consider the additional
security to be worth a little bad PR.