Legality of requiring credit cards? (fwd)

[Peter]

At 08:51 PM 12/23/96 -0500, you wrote:
> Equifax does business by tracking reputations, as do all credit
> reporting companies. That's how a free market handles bad checks.

Even worse is an outfit called Telecheck.  All they do is see if you have a
listed telephone number.  Since I do not give out my telephone number, and
it is unlisted, an autobody shop refused to accept my check, and I ended up
having to use a credit card.  The idiot teller refused to call the bank to
check my balance.  What does a listed telephone number have to do with
ability to pay?