Visa
Phone Number: 1-800-VISA-911 (International: 1-410-581-9994) and you can also call the number on the back of your card
Mailing Address:
Visa U.S.A. Inc.
P.O. Box 194607
San Francisco, California 94119-4607
Online: Your card issuer's website may let you send them complaints about merchant violations and start a dispute if your were charged a fee to use your card.

MasterCard
Phone Number: 1-800-MASTERCARD (International: 1-636-722-7111) and you can also call the number on the back of your card.
Online: http://www.mastercard.com/us/personal/en/c...violations.html (Also you may be able to dispute a charge online if you were charged a fee.)

American Express
Phone Number: 1-800-528-4800 (International: 1-336-393-1111)
Mailing Address:
American Express
P.O. Box 297812
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33329-7812
Online: Login to your account at www.americanexpress.com and then click e-mail on the right side. You can also dispute a charge online if you were charged a fee to use your card.


Other Useful Links
Rules for Visa Merchants: http://usa.visa.com/download/merchants/rul...a_merchants.pdf
MasterCard Merchant Rules: http://www.mastercard.com/us/merchant/how_...hant_rules.html
MSNBC Article About No Minimums Allowed: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11697094/
California Civil Code Prohibiting Surcharges for Credit Card Use: http://law.onecle.com/california/civil/1748.1.html
Merchant Credit Card Abuses: http://www.gofso.com/Premium/LE/06_le_ic/f...-merchants.html
Google Answers on State Laws Regarding Surcharges: http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=723060

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I called VISA and they sent me a form letter (full page of text) and basically told me to report any violation to the bank that issued the card.

It's like they are making it hard to process a complaint.

Don't know how to post a jpg (if it is allowed) - but I'd be glad to send a copy to a moderator or whatever.

Just give me an address to send it to.

Here is what you need to do, Just snail mail Visa. Just ignore the form they sent you. You are not talking to anyone in the U.S. when you call them.

If Visa doesn't even care, why should we

My Visa card issuing bank told me to call Visa to make the complaint. They even gave me the phone number. I've made multiple complaints to Visa and have received those form letters. I will continue to call Visa to make future complaints. I used to simply report every merchant, though I also strongly suggest complaining to the merchant's corporate office prior to filing these complaints. The majority will correct things. Some won't. That is where Visa and / or Mastercard can be brought in.

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Is there a link for the AMEX Merchant Terms? I cannot find one through the site - is it a violation for AMEX merchants to request ID as a condition of sale?

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Report violations with American Express at the following link:

http://americanexpress.com/yourchoice

IT WAS THEIR IDEA IN THE FIRST PLACE...

That is right they don't care



Oy Vey

I think this info is sticky material...

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I call Visa directly. I get letters similar to the one below and if I go back to the reported merchant, the nonsense has stopped. Quite often calling the corporate offices of a local store will get results too, as corporate usually has no idea of what the locals are doing.

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."

Thank you so much for taking the time to make a difference.

Never show ID for signed credit cards 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.mastercard.com/us/personal/en/c...violations.html

Check the box that says "Merchant required ID"



Never show ID for signed credit card purchases ever.

No ID required for signed credit card purchases ever.

Yea, 800-visa-911 always sends me those letters, I'm not sure if visa actually contacts the acquirer or not. Visa always tells you in the future to contact the issuing bank, and the issuing bank always tells you to contact Visa, it's always the run around when you try to report Visa violations. That's why I always ask the merchant, well if I use my MasterCard do I have to show ID? To which they always reply, "Yes ID is required on all credit card purchases." Then I just go to mastercard's website and report the violation to them, it gets taken care of quicker.

Remind VISA that it's their policy, not the bank's policy.

One call does it all.

Every report helps everyone.

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Sticky?

under consideration.

TY

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What is ttt?

to the top

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My brother is an federal judge and we have had several long deep conversations regarding this matter.... He says, that since VISA AND MASTERCARD makes the policy and Advertises these policies, it is their job to enforce them. If you complain and they fail to take steps to correct the problem, they can be suited, most like a class action... for example.. soppose i grab my visa card and rush to the pharmacy to get some heart medication, because im deadly ill, and the pharmacy refuses to sale me the medication, because i didnt bring my id with me... and i previously complained about this very same merchant, and allowed enough time for VISA/MASTER TO investigate and take action. And I die.... or get very ill, due to the fact that i didnt have my medication. VISA AND MASTER CAN BE LIABLE.

my brother told me some similar cases. I would have to prove of course that, VISA AND MASTER failed to communicate with the merchant warning them, etc... and thats easy, just by having a court order the release documents from the merchant....

alot of legal stuff, but i get the point

The merchant could be held liable too. I think a jury would see something wrong when the clerk withheld life-saving medicine because someone forgot their ID.

I could also see the pharmacy claiming... "We didn't know who this person was. We could have been giving someone else life threatening medicine.".

I go to the pharmacy to get prescriptions... I have NEVER been asked for ID.

Also if the are IDing for the medicine, they would ID *CASH* customers too... just like how stuff with psuphedrine you need to show ID and be age 18+ ... they ID you if you pay cash.

Good. I have. Not often, but it's happened.



Duh! The point was that they might use 'safety' as an excuse to avoid any blame, regardless if it were true or not.

I've had friends/relatives pick up prescriptions for me before because I was too sick to go and get them myself. I think this is probably a fairly common practice so I doubt very highly the pharmacy would say much about it.

For the record, I did give the person who was picking up the scripts my health insurance card so they had that at least.

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what happens if you present a signed card and the cashier asks for ID because the signature on the receipt does not match the signature on the card?

I was almost arrested for not showing ID with my signed card at IHOP:


http://consumerist.com/383083/ihop-threate...it-card?cpage=3

Does anyone have a copy of the Visa violation form? I ran into two merchants yesterday that required minimums!

In addition to VISA/MC, be sure to report minimum purchase violations to CAMP as well:

http://citizensagainstminimumpurchase.com/reports.html