104 replies to this topic

[Uncle Leo]

so..... after reading this, i'm wondering....

who carries the VISA/MC policies around with them?

seriously.

They're in my wallet... right next to the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Magna Carta, and full-size stone replicas of the Ten Commandments.

[drew3918]

I know for a Fact GEORGE does also

[undertakeress]

I don't feel like causing a scene - but I work in retail and when I've had known stolen cc's that aren't flagged go through, I have told the cashiers to ask for ID - especially because they're buying prepaid Amex and Visa's with their stolen visa's.

[Continental]

I think the only time I've ever had to show ID at Wal-Mart was to prove I was over 17 to buy a movie. I was paying cash, but it was an R-rated movie.

Never been asked for ID for using my credit/debit/check card.

In addition to the Visa/MC rules, Walmart prohibits employees from asking for ID. Double insurance against crooks and violations.

CREDIT CARD SIGNATURE IS ALL THE ID NEEDED

When you pay for merchandise with a Visa card, MasterCard, or American Express any store that accepts these cards should accept yours too, no questions asked. It's part of the deal that merchants agree to when they become participating members.

They must check your signature and the card - electronically or by telephone - to be sure it's valid. Once the answer comes up yes, they can go ahead and charge. They can't ask you for any further identification - not a license plate number, Social Security number, proof of address, phone number or picture ID.

Your personal ID isn't needed because Visa, MasterCard, and American Express all guarantee payment on cards that have been properly checked. If the issuer mistakenly authorizes a sale on a bad card, it should make good. MasterCard says that merchants receive instant settlement.

Unfortunately, not all merchants play by the rules. Some, apparently, haven't read them.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

MasterCard wants to hear about merchants who break their rules. Send the name and address and an account of what happened to MasterCard International, c/o Radio City Station, P. O. Box 1288, New York, NY 10101. The merchant's bank will get a stiff letter, ordering it to investigate and bring the offending store into line - or pay a $2,000 fine.

Visa enforces the same rules as MasterCard. "When we hear about a violation, we ask the bank that signed the merchant to get together with the merchant and see that the practice is stopped," Visa representative states. To report a merchant, send a letter to the bank that issued your Visa card.

American Express also prohibits merchants from asking for IDs. "All a merchant is supposed to do is take an imprint, make sure the signature matches and swipe the card through the terminal, to get authorization."

[Jen23514]

I do

I know better

They're in my wallet... right next to the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Magna Carta, and full-size stone replicas of the Ten Commandments.

You would

I know for a Fact GEORGE does also

[orangecrush]

Visa or Mastercard will not do anything against Wal-mart. They are too scared of them. They lost a lawsuit (Which I think they should of keep fighting) that Wal-mart & other retailers filed against them.

[gj83]

What is the reason behind VISA MC policy to not require cardholder to show ID? Anyone know? Just curious?

Ask Visa and MC. (meant to be in a serious tone, not sarcastic or mean).

I just don't get why so many merchants think they need to check IDs and yet won't take on the big guys. If checking IDs is sooo crucial to managing chargebacks, then take it to class action and get the policy removed.

You don't change policies by just arbitrarily making up your own. Ii know the speed limit on my road is 40 but I routinely do 55. If the cop pulls me over do I say "I can't drive 40 and stay in business"? No. If I had the power to change speed limits I'd take it up with my city and state, not the cops. Merchants are making up their own rules that are in direct contradiction to Visa and Mastercard. Take it up with Visa and MC, not your customers!

You want minimums? Take it up with Visa and MC
You want fees? Take it up with Visa and MC.

In the mean time the signature is the method of security the credit card industry chose to implement. Until the chip-pin system comes stateside the signature method is what I'm going to stick to.

[thelowpriceleader]

That is because IDing is a store policy. No retailer has a policy to even ask for ID at the corporate level.

Macys West policy is to ask for ID and call for authorization if the customer does not have ID however this is only in certain stores (from the best I can tell, all stores in CA, AZ, and NV and scattered stores in the rest of their states). The other Macys Divisions (Macys Florida, Macys East, etc.) do not have this policy and it is not a national policy for Macys dictated by their corporate office.

[J123]

Fiefdom? I wouldn't say that a store, especially a Walmart, is any store employee's "fiefdom." They are there to serve the customer. Without the customer, there would be no store. The fact that the store manager was rude, refused to even consider the idea that the customer was right, and then refused to produce any written store policy, shows that they are out of line, which is what I would expect at Walmart.

I remember going to a Foot locker once (these "ask for ID" policies are always at stores like Foot locker, Champs, etc for some reason), and seeing a teenager of a certain ethnic persuasion produce a gold Amex card and a cheaply laminated student ID which I could tell from several feet away was completely fake, and the cashier accepted it. If they are really concerned about this kind of fraud, maybe they should lobby the credit card industry to start using "Chip and PIN" as they do now in the UK and have in France for years. http://en.wikipedia....ki/Chip_and_PIN

[J123]

Has anyone here been asked to allow a hotel to photocopy ID at check-in? I've experienced that at several hotels in South Beach (and I refused and ended up staying elsewhere since the manager would not override the policy). When I asked why they wanted to photocopy the ID, the manager at first stated that it was for in case I got locked out of my room AND lost my wallet, and they needed to see my picture to know who I was. When I said that I could just verify information such as my name, room number, and even address/telephone/email on the reservation and that wouldn't the "real" guest come back and find me sleeping in his bed, he then said that it was in case of a chargeback. I asked him how many photocopies they have (several thousands was his answer) and how long they keep them (12 months). Then I told him that if someone really wanted to do a chargeback, there are plenty of chargeback reasons that having an ID photocopy would not help them out with. Customers could say that they checked out early, but were still billed several days, or that they got the room rate wrong, or that the hotel quality was bad and they ended up not staying there even for one night. He didn't have any response to that. He also didn't care when I told him that having ID photocopies there at the front desk, in a file cabinet, puts their customers at risk for identity theft. He told me I could stay elsewhere if I didn't like the policy.

I wonder if hotels are also covered under the MC/Visa rules.

[devil21]

My Walmart CLEARLY profiles who they ask for ID and who they don't and Ive seen it and experienced it repeatedly. But here's the catch. It's not the profiling you would think! The Walmart I frequent is in a "rough" section of town. Many black people and hispanics shop there...very few white people (I am one). Guess who gets ID'ed at the checkout by the black and hispanic cashiers and who doesnt? I get ID'ed everytime but the blacks and hispanics in front of me never get ID'ed, even on purchases larger than mine on various forms of plastic. It's quite infuriating so I just pay cash now.

(No, Im not racist or anything of the sort. It's a honest observation.)

[Continental]

My Walmart CLEARLY profiles who they ask for ID and who they don't and Ive seen it and experienced it repeatedly. But here's the catch. It's not the profiling you would think! The Walmart I frequent is in a "rough" section of town. Many black people and hispanics shop there...very few white people (I am one). Guess who gets ID'ed at the checkout by the black and hispanic cashiers and who doesnt? I get ID'ed everytime but the blacks and hispanics in front of me never get ID'ed, even on purchases larger than mine on various forms of plastic. It's quite infuriating so I just pay cash now.

(No, Im not racist

..but they clearly are. Immediately call 1-800-VISA-911. Make sure those crooked cashiers shape-up and never ask for ID again.

Never show ID for signed credit card purchases.

No ID required for signed credit card purchases. Merchants cannot require ID.

If a merchant tries to require ID, immediately call 1-800-VISA-911 to ensure they never do again.

VISA: 1-800-VISA-911
MasterCard: 1-800-300-3069


Also easily report merchant violations online at:

http://www.mastercar...violations.html

Check the box that says "Merchant required ID"



Never show ID for signed credit card purchases.

No ID required for signed credit card purchases.

Make sure your community is 100% violation-free.

[Uncle Leo]

Has anyone here been asked to allow a hotel to photocopy ID at check-in? I've experienced that at several hotels in South Beach (and I refused and ended up staying elsewhere since the manager would not override the policy). When I asked why they wanted to photocopy the ID, the manager at first stated that it was for in case I got locked out of my room AND lost my wallet, and they needed to see my picture to know who I was. When I said that I could just verify information such as my name, room number, and even address/telephone/email on the reservation and that wouldn't the "real" guest come back and find me sleeping in his bed, he then said that it was in case of a chargeback. I asked him how many photocopies they have (several thousands was his answer) and how long they keep them (12 months). Then I told him that if someone really wanted to do a chargeback, there are plenty of chargeback reasons that having an ID photocopy would not help them out with. Customers could say that they checked out early, but were still billed several days, or that they got the room rate wrong, or that the hotel quality was bad and they ended up not staying there even for one night. He didn't have any response to that. He also didn't care when I told him that having ID photocopies there at the front desk, in a file cabinet, puts their customers at risk for identity theft. He told me I could stay elsewhere if I didn't like the policy.

I wonder if hotels are also covered under the MC/Visa rules.

Interesting. There's a motel in the next state over that I've stayed in twice that has a sign saying that by order of the local police department, for Homeland Security reasons , that a photo copy of everyone's ID must be made and kept. The first time they didn;t ask me. The second time they did, and I said it was buried in my car somewhere and they blew it off and said don't worry about it. I've always meant to contact the police department and find out if that was true on their part, but I never did.

[webworm98]

Has anyone here been asked to allow a hotel to photocopy ID at check-in? I've experienced that at several hotels in South Beach (and I refused and ended up staying elsewhere since the manager would not override the policy). When I asked why they wanted to photocopy the ID, the manager at first stated that it was for in case I got locked out of my room AND lost my wallet, and they needed to see my picture to know who I was. When I said that I could just verify information such as my name, room number, and even address/telephone/email on the reservation and that wouldn't the "real" guest come back and find me sleeping in his bed, he then said that it was in case of a chargeback. I asked him how many photocopies they have (several thousands was his answer) and how long they keep them (12 months). Then I told him that if someone really wanted to do a chargeback, there are plenty of chargeback reasons that having an ID photocopy would not help them out with. Customers could say that they checked out early, but were still billed several days, or that they got the room rate wrong, or that the hotel quality was bad and they ended up not staying there even for one night. He didn't have any response to that. He also didn't care when I told him that having ID photocopies there at the front desk, in a file cabinet, puts their customers at risk for identity theft. He told me I could stay elsewhere if I didn't like the policy.

I wonder if hotels are also covered under the MC/Visa rules.

Interesting. There's a motel in the next state over that I've stayed in twice that has a sign saying that by order of the local police department, for Homeland Security reasons , that a photo copy of everyone's ID must be made and kept. The first time they didn;t ask me. The second time they did, and I said it was buried in my car somewhere and they blew it off and said don't worry about it. I've always meant to contact the police department and find out if that was true on their part, but I never did.

Interesting. Showing my id I do not have a problem, copying my id is a completely different matter. The reason in some states, it against state law to copy id.

Uncle Leo, maybe you should find out if that is true. Also, does Homeland Security override current state laws?

Maybe you or someone else can find states the forbid copying of an ID or Drivers license info. Then post it here.

[J123]

Show your id and be on the way out. no conflicts, no hassle, no problems, no complaint forms to fill out and you got your stuff.

Yeah, except your privacy, security, and you've just let a company step all over your rights.
No complaint forms to fill out.... until someone uses your personal info to open up accounts in your name.

[Continental]

Yeah, except your privacy, security, and you've just let a company step all over your rights.
No complaint forms to fill out.... until someone uses your personal info to open up accounts in your name.

The only “complaint form” to fill out is

http://www.mastercar...violations.html

..which only takes a few seconds and even a small child can easily do. If you can’t handle that simply call 1-800-300-3069 and they’ll do it for you.

[webworm98]

Show your id and be on the way out. no conflicts, no hassle, no problems, no complaint forms to fill out and you got your stuff.

Yeah, except your privacy, security, and you've just let a company step all over your rights.
No complaint forms to fill out.... until someone uses your personal info to open up accounts in your name.

I do not know why your quoted what is in my signature for. I already discuss this with others in another thread.

But since you posted that. They found out my name address phone number and signed up for an account at auto trader. I have have not showed my id at any merchants recently except one, which is local. Anyway if it was her, which I doubt it. She could of found out my info by looking up my name in the phone book. I suspect this merchant at Mall that did this, because of the way they both studied the card. This merchant is located out of town and didn't require ID.

Edited by webworm98, 02 August 2008 - 07:36 AM.

[Continental]

Yeah, except your privacy, security, and you've just let a company step all over your rights.
No complaint forms to fill out.... until someone uses your personal info to open up accounts in your name.

Obviously it a major security and identity theft risk, extreme invasion of privacy, and a no-brainer to keep your ID to yourself. The most important thing is making sure it never happens again and if any other violating merchant pops-up in your community, make sure they are eliminated/brought back into line immediately - 1-800-VISA-911. Make sure your community is 100% violation-free.

CREDIT CARD SIGNATURE IS ALL THE ID NEEDED

When you pay for merchandise with a Visa card, MasterCard, or American Express any store that accepts these cards should accept yours too, no questions asked. It's part of the deal that merchants agree to when they become participating members.

They must check your signature and the card - electronically or by telephone - to be sure it's valid. Once the answer comes up yes, they can go ahead and charge. They can't ask you for any further identification - not a license plate number, Social Security number, proof of address, phone number or picture ID.

Your personal ID isn't needed because Visa, MasterCard, and American Express all guarantee payment on cards that have been properly checked. If the issuer mistakenly authorizes a sale on a bad card, it should make good. MasterCard says that merchants receive instant settlement.

Unfortunately, not all merchants play by the rules. Some, apparently, haven't read them.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

MasterCard wants to hear about merchants who break their rules. Send the name and address and an account of what happened to MasterCard WorldWide 2000 Purchase St. Purchase, NY 10577. The merchant's bank will get a stiff letter, ordering it to investigate and bring the offending store into line - or pay a $2,000 fine.

Visa enforces the same rules as MasterCard. "When we hear about a violation, we ask the bank that signed the merchant to get together with the merchant and see that the practice is stopped," Visa representative states. To report a merchant, send a letter to the bank that that issued your Visa card.

American Express also prohibits merchants from asking for IDs. "All a merchant is supposed to do is take an imprint, make sure the signature matches and swipe the card through the terminal, to get authorization."

[BBQ123]

So, I stopped by a 24 hour Wal-Mart and cashier freaking demanded an ID. I told her I don't give personal info to strangers.

Customer service manager showed up and I presented him with the official VISA policy. He states
"We don't have any agreement with VISA and our store policies take precedence over VISA and regardless of what VISA says, it's my store and I can require ID". He's obviously not aware of the policy and after spending five minutes reading through the print out, he threatened to have me trespassed by saying "I can ask you to leave the store without paying too, maybe you shouldn't be shopping at Wal-Mart".

I had him call an assistant manager who was working the night and he too said "it's store policy"and that they don't have to follow VISA rules.

I asked him to write out that his store does not have to follow VISA policies and sign it, but he refused. I think they make up rules and bully customers with BS they invent on the spot. Clearly he did not know the policy enough to be able to put it in writing.

We went back and forth for 20 minutes and I was forced to pay cash.

When the guy said "I can ask you to leave the store without paying" I'd of said "I can leave this ****hole myself and shop at <insert competitor here>"

If you store doesn't want to follow the rules, then you aren't worthy of having me shop there.

[Continental]

No one should be inconvenienced by having to shop elsewhere. In addition to the Visa/MC rules, Walmart forbids employees from asking for ID. Idiot you-show-us-ID-or-GTFO-of-my-store assistant manager must be fired/disciplined/retrained at once. You compare the signature on the back of the credit card with the signature on the receipt. ID should never be asked for at all. No one should ever be put through such nonsense.

[GEORGE]

CREDIT CARDS were intended to be FASTER and EASIER than cash

When you add in the ID GARBAGE it is neither faster nor easier than cash

(not that I'm gonna' pay cash nor am I going to show ID)

[Unas2k5]

How would a cashier perform a code 10 to verify?
I don't understand?

[green2408]

How would a cashier perform a code 10 to verify?
I don't understand?

They call the CC number on the back of your card and speak to a representative.

[Continental]

who carries the VISA/MC policies around with them?

I do

The relevant sections regarding NO ID can be easily folded down into a small credit card sized rectangle, which can be easily carried in any wallet, and may be quite useful should you ever encounter a violating merchant demanding ID.

[GEORGE]

THE PRINTED CREDIT CARD POLICY TAKES UP LESS ROOM
IN MY WALLET THEN EXPENSIVE CASH WOULD

Edited by GEORGE, 21 September 2008 - 04:00 PM.