A strange thing happened to me today at Yorkdale. I went to the customer service desk to purchase a gift certificate. The customer service person told me I’d need to show her photo ID if I was planning to use my VISA card.It was the first time I’ve been asked for photo ID when using a credit card in Canada before (I’ve been asked in the U.S.). I was uncomfortable due to privacy concerns. The woman at the customer service desk told me she has to present hers whenever she shops at Coach (since when does working as a customer service rep at a mall pay so well?) and Icon wouldn’t let her buy a purse using her credit card because she didn’t have photo ID at the time.
I can understand retailers’ concerns about credit card theft and fraud but I can’t believe they’d turn down a sale if a customer wanting to pay by credit card didn’t have photo ID.
Bottom line: if you want to make sure you can use your credit card the next time you shop, take a piece of photo ID just in case.
Technorati tags: credit cards, photo ID, Yorkdale
If you don't mind my asking, was the purchase one with a hefty price tag, eg. over a thousand or two? I don't mind this as a protection to card holders. I have never had it happen to me though. I find no one even looks at signatures any more and my last name is so long I have given up on signing anything past the second "r".
ReplyDeleteI don't mind at all. I bought a $25 gift certificate. I don't think that would qualify as a high-ticket item.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised by this - As long as they don't start taking down details from my ID, I think I would be ok. If they started to take down information, thats when I think I would walk away - but showing it wouldn't bother me. But it would surprise me!
ReplyDeleteSince I wrote this post, seems the trend is growing. I made two restaurant reservations at different places this week and both times I was asked for my credit card number. I declined. Fortunately, they wanted my business more than my VISA number. ;)
ReplyDeleteThought of this post when I was in Washington D.C last week ... every time I used my credit card, I was asked for photo ID. Didn't matter what the amount was.
ReplyDeleteI don't look much like my driver's licence photo :)
It is a violation of the store's merchant agreement with the credit card company to require you to show ID with your credit card. Report the merchant who requires ID to Visa at 1-800-VISA-911 or Mastercard at 1-800-300-3069 or http://www.mastercard.com/contactus/contactus_mv.html
ReplyDeletehttp://merchants.visa.com/accepting/pdfs/Card_Acceptance_and_Chargeback_Guidelines.pdf :
“Although Visa Rules do not preclude merchants from asking for cardholder ID, merchants cannot make an ID a condition of acceptance. Therefore, merchants cannot refuse to complete a purchase transaction because a cardholder refuses to provide ID. Visa believes merchants should not ask for ID as part of their regular card acceptance procedures.”
thelowpriceleader, welcome to Bargainista. Thank you very much for sharing those links. I know people will find them valuable. I did.
ReplyDelete