EC card payment refused by some stores - Germany

Has anyone ever been told that you can't pay by EC card because you can get your money back afterwards directly from your bank?
The person at the shop knows me and I have used EC card there before without a problem. Suddenly they want you to pay in cash 'cos they get charged if you use your EC card. Is this true? All seems odd and strange.

There is a grain of truth to the story.
If you claimed the money back however without returning the goods or not ever having received the goods, the retailer would be able to sue you for a civil debt which could be expensive!
Most likely they are trying to avoid paying charges for ccepting EC cards, sommething of course, they are not obliged to accept, even if they have in the past.

thanks monkstown never new business gets charged per EC card transaction so that's whay BAR is so important to everyone in Germany

"Nur bares is wahres" is a German saying.
They are much more wary of non cash transactions in germany thatn in English speaking countries.

I must admit I've never had problems with EC / Maestro (I only tend to use it for payments above around €20), but I do know that many many shops in Germany are loathe to accept credit cards, allegedly due to the bank charges.

I remember once hearing from my bank that any charge made in person with an EC card and PIN
can't be (or is super hard) to reverse as only you could have made the transaction.
(Unless you give your card and PIN to somebody, then your going to have bigger probs. with your bank.)

If the transaction took place without a PIN (Signature), then you can refute the charge, and the bank will
with hold payment and request a copy of the reciept. They then compare the signature to the one they have
on file, if it matches your boned.. If it doesn't then the charge is reversed. You can actually request a copy
of any reciept thru your bank if you think a charge is dodgy, but they will prob. charge you a small fee for doing so.

Yeah, thats the reason the banks are mving to Chip and PIN as ONLY the card holder should know the PIN.

EC card transactions in stores can be processed in two main ways. One as Electronic Cash (with your PIN) and one as Elektronisches Lastschriftverfahren, in which the store simply processes a normal Lastschrift using the BLZ and Konto-Nr. from the card. Like any Lastschrift, the bank account owner can have the charge reversed (though their legal liability to pay does not thereby vanish).

More info here:
http://www.zahlungsverkehrsfragen.de/kartenzahlung.html

Credit card acceptance is low in Germany largely, I think, because Germany very much has a cash culture. The credit card acceptance fees aren't really higher in Germany than elsewhere, but the consumer expectation that a store will accept credit cards and the credit card penetration rate are such that stores don't feel a need to offer such options. Accepting cash may well be cheaper, but it isn't free either--it costs money to count, safeguard (armored car services, etc.), deposit, etc.

Smurph, why don't to tell them that you'll gladly take your business somewhere else where they do accept your EC card? That, sometimes, does the trick.

Sorry, Smur*f* ...