JohnA lifeBlog

I wrote this letter to the gang at The Consumerist tonight:

Ok, so tonight, I went to the movies, and was confronted again by some low-level worker asking for ID when making a credit card purchase. I explained to the employee that the card was signed, and that was all that was necessary.

Suffice it to say that the employee and her not-legal-to-drink “manager” both said that I could not make the purchase without providing ID. I refused, and went into my movie leaving the overpriced popcorn and soda behind.

When I got home from the movies, I dutifully called the 800 number on the back of my MasterCard, and explained the situation to the rep on the other end. I asked that I be notified via mail that the merchant was indeed contacted about this issue, at which time I was placed on hold.

About 10 minutes later, a “supervisor” came on the phone, and I again explained the situation. She replied that it was their policy that they “preferred that merchants asked for photo ID”. I repiled that contractually, that was not the case. I further explained that since identity theft is so rampant, I refuse to show my ID unless legally required. She put me on hold, and then came back that her supervisor said the same thing, that it was a good thing(tm) that I wasn’t allowed to make my purchase without providing photo id.

Exasperated, I told the agent that I felt like I was having the same conversation I had at the movie theater verbatim, and that she should talk to her HR representative for proper training.

So, Consumerist friends, how on earth do we get these people to understand the very basic contracts that define the relationships between merchant and processor? How do we communicate to these people that we won’t risk identity theft to buy an overpriced bag of popcorn.

I’m off to fill out the MasterCard form on their website, but again, I feel defeated.

Any advice?

John

The bottom line is that merchants are REQUIRED to accept valid, signed cards regardless of the availability of photo ID. To those who say that it is for my protection, I would reply that since I am protected automatically from any invalid charges, it certainly is NOT for my protection.

Let’s see what MasterCard says. Oh, and consumerist.com won’t reply, it’s like writing an e-mail into a black hole.