I got this mostly useless response to the complaint I sent CVS about their clerk asking to see ID for a credit-card purchase:
Dear Mr. Kamens,
Thank you for your recent email.
Please accept my apology for any inconvenience we may have caused you. Unfortunately, I am not privy to the transaction itself and do not know specific information necessary in determining the reason for checking your identification.
If a consumer makes a purchase with a credit card that totals over $50.00, the cashiers are instructed to request identification to protect the cardholder’s identity. If the situation happened differently and the identification was requested for a total below $50.00, then it was not necessary to request such information.
I have forwarded your comments to Jeffrey Anderton, District Manager. He will address this matter with his staff at their next meeting.
Again, Mr. Kamens, we appreciate the time you took to inform us of your concerns. CVS has a commitment to service. We value your patronage and look forward to serving you again soon.
Sincerely,
[name deleted]
CVS/pharmacy
Customer Relations Representative
Here’s the response I sent:
Ms. [name deleted],
The transaction in question was indeed for more than $50, and it is exactly CVS’s policy of asking for ID for such transactions to which I am objecting.
If Visa does not recommend asking for identification for any transactions, then why does CVS think it somehow “protects the cardholder’s identity” to do so?
I use my credit cards pretty much every day. I have made tens of thousands of credit-card charges, many of which have been over $50 (e.g., just about every trip to the grocery store), and the other night at CVS is the first time in my memory that I have been asked for ID.
Why does CVS think that it needs to do something special to “protect the cardholder’s identity” that no other merchant I’ve ever encountered thinks is necessary?
If my credit card is lost or stolen, then I am not responsible for the fraudulent charges incurred on it as long as I notify the issuing bank when I discover that it’s gone. If someone uses a stolen credit card at CVS, then CVS is not responsible for the fraudulent charge as long as the clerk checks the signature (for purchases over $25) and the charge is approved. Therefore, requesting ID for charges over $50 doesn’t provide either CVS or me any real protection. All it accomplishes is to waste my time and the clerk’s.
So what’s the point?
Jonathan Kamens
Well in that case, I would have to say that the manager and employee might have been idiots.
And spinning the facts is not something I do. My store’s policies are clear, and I follow them explicitly. Another thing I may have suggested is simply observing the front for 5 minutes. Was anyone else carded? If so, you have a case. Otherwise, it was up to the manager’s discretion.
And about head-lice treatment. You would be extremely surprised what certain drugs can be made out of. Even innocent items, like baby formulas, have found their ways into street drugs.
Additionally, I do not understand why this has to be a personal attack. I’m merely trying to assist you, and you treat me like I’m trying to cover something up. I follow CVSs ideals, in making life as best as can be, and this really does pain me. I have not been rude to you, nor have I blamed you of anything, and have actually agreed with you on things. Yet, you blame me of being wrong, and an apologist, which is another term for a customer care rep. Thank you.
I don’t think you are a pawn of CVS.
I just think that your explanation of CVS’s policy in general and of what happened to me in particular is inadequate and incorrect.
I felt “uncomfortable” presenting an ID because asking me for my ID was stupid. I deplore stupidity in all its forms. I’ve already explained why it was stupid and shan’t do so again.
You try to excuse the clerk’s actions by claiming that perhaps she was “uncomfortable” with the transaction. But that’s not what she told me — what she said, quite explicitly, was that she was required to ask for ID for all purchases over $50. The manager confirmed that when she called him over. So either they were both lying to me (unacceptable!), or your explanation of what transpired is simply wrong, which makes you if not a pawn of CVS, then at least an apologist basing your arguments on incorrect facts.
The purchase which you claim might have made the cashier “uncomfortable” was for two different head-lice treatments and $6.18 worth of miscellaneous groceries.
Simply put, there was no good reason for them to ask for my ID, despite your repeated efforts to spin the facts to make it seem otherwise.
You seem to be under the explanation that I don’t care about you and am a pawn of CVS.
Tell me, why I would be here, wasting my time, as a 16 year old kid, trying to apologize for my company’s actions and help you possibly understand the reasoning behind the actions? I understand the plight of the cashier as well as you, the customer. However, I must point out two fallacies.
-If the cashier is familiar to you, why did you feel uncomfortable with presenting an ID? Depending on your age, and I will not question it, they may have simply needed it to verify, such as for a certain cold product. It is not in my interest to know your age or what you purchased, however. I am simply trying to offer an explanation to what may have happened.
-Once again, I offer that the cashier may have simply felt uncomfortable with the transaction. An experienced cashier will get a certain feeling when a certain combination of products is purchased. For example: A gallon of fruit punch, ice, and Tussin. Seems innocent enough. However, as I mentioned, I am at the exact age when that transaction would set off alarm bells in my head.
It is, however, correct to ask for a manager if YOU feel uncomfortable with presenting an ID. MOST managers will take it upon themselves and will take the responsibility for anything that may arise from the transaction. Retail should be a cooperation between the store and the customer. I do not know why, but this certain transaction saw the fall of trust between the two parties. Hopefully, this will not be an issue in the future.
As far as I know, yes it is corporate policy. We are instructed to check all IDs for any transactions we deem to be suspicious, expensive, or simply “off.”
You seem to be under the impression that I don’t think the clerks should be allowed to ask for ID when it makes sense for them to do so. That, I could live with.
What is unreasonable is inflexible policies which require the clerks to ask for ID when it is stupid for them to do so. As I wrote in my initial complaint to CVS: “… you should give your clerks discretion about when to demand ID. My wife and I have shopped at this CVS regularly ever since it opened. Most of the clerks know us; the clerk who helped me this morning has done so many times in the past. It’s nothing but a waste of time to ask your regular customers to show ID.”
I was told by the clerk that the reason she asked for my ID was that she was required to ask for ID for all purchases over $50. That’s just stupid.
Apparently, CVS management agrees, because I have made ten purchases at CVS totaling more than $50 since I sent my complaint without being asked again to show my ID.
If in the future, you are uncomfortable with presenting an ID for a Charge, you may also opt out to pay with cash or check.
No, that is not what I will do. I will do what I did the last time this happened — politely decline to provide ID, ask the clerk to accept the credit card anyway, and ask him/her to call a manager if necessary. If the manager also declines to accept the credit card without seeing ID, then I will file a complaint with the corporate office of CVS as well as with the credit card company. CVS’s merchant agreement with Visa and MasterCard requires valid credit cards to be accepted even if the customer declines to show ID, and CVS has no right to ignore that regardless of how great an idea they think it is to do so.
As far as I know, yes it is corporate policy. We are instructed to check all IDs for any transactions we deem to be suspicious, expensive, or simply “off.” In addition, if we are not comfortable with the transaction, we do not have to continue it, and may simply call our management. Depending on the store you were in, the cashiers may have been instructed to check an ID for any charge they may have deemed suspicious or questionable. This is simply for their own protection. Please remember, we are people too. We do not wish to be punished or looked down upon by either our own management, or our customers.
And, in addition, even if this was just my “own brilliant idea” there would be nothing of it. No one has yet to complain, and some thank me. This is simply a question of LP and customer relations.
If in the future, you are uncomfortable with presenting an ID for a Charge, you may also opt out to pay with cash or check. However, be advised, it is Policy to present an ID and phone number for a payment by check. This is not only a CVS policy, but also that of the company that verifies all of our check transactions.
Working at a CVS for a good amount of time, please, let me assure you the average clerk will not even come close to memorizing any of your information. Additionally, even with a License Number, the average clerk will not know what to do with it.
Think about it. If someone had the ability to memorize information as such a level, would they be a minimum-wage cashier?
I am not worried about the “average clerk,” I am worried about the clerk who gets a job at CVS or some other retail establishment with the explicit intention of using the job as an opportunity to steal PII for purposes of identity theft.
In fact, there are stories in the news regularly about clerks exactly this occurring.
This may have happened for a number of reasons. Consider: This cashier may have already run into such a matter. Rang out a customer, charged it, turns out the credit card was stolen. It would have fallen back onto the cashier.
Um, excuse me?
Are you saying that if a customer at CVS used a stolen credit card, the cashier would be held responsible? That’s simply unacceptable.
In any case, my complaint is not with individual cashiers checking IDs, because I assume that those who do are required to do so by corporate policy. My complaint is with the policy.
And if there is no such policy, and cashiers are doing it on their own initiative, well, then, that’s also simply unacceptable.
Please do not take offense to an event such as this. I am more than sure that if your card was stolen, and the cashier did not request an ID, you would have been furious.
Actually, I wouldn’t care one bit, because I would not be held responsible for fraudulent charges.
I check IDs daily.
Really? Is that corporate policy or just your own brilliant idea? If the latter, then I sure hope someone complaints to your manager and you get spanked for violating corporate policy.
“Checking IDs at a store has nothing whatsoever to do with preventing identity theft.
In fact, having your ID checked at a store makes you more vulnerable to identity theft, since you’re showing your driver’s license, with all kinds of information that the store doesn’t actually need and that is very helpful to identity thieves, to a low-paid check-out clerk who may very well think that selling such personal information to an identity thief or using it him/herself is a good way to make a little extra money.
Your comment about my age is irrelevant and wrong.”
Working at a CVS for a good amount of time, please, let me assure you the average clerk will not even come close to memorizing any of your information. Additionally, even with a License Number, the average clerk will not know what to do with it.
Think about it. If someone had the ability to memorize information as such a level, would they be a minimum-wage cashier?
This may have happened for a number of reasons. Consider: This cashier may have already run into such a matter. Rang out a customer, charged it, turns out the credit card was stolen. It would have fallen back onto the cashier. Please do not take offense to an event such as this. I am more than sure that if your card was stolen, and the cashier did not request an ID, you would have been furious.
I check IDs daily. Most people don’t question it, and many actually thank me for looking out for them, especially during this hectic season, in our economic condition. During the daily shuffle, much can happen, and each and every cashier you encounter can only do their best. Quoting CVSs goal, it is our dream to provide a higher standard of living for those we serve; be it by filling unimaginable amounts of scripts, printing your greatest memories, or simply ringing you out for a bottle of Pepsi, with quick and polite service. It’s simply what we are trained to do.
What do you think part of the merchant rules are? Hmmm… maybe verifying identification? By not verifying i.d the credit card companies can turn around and say that the merchant did not adhere to the “merchant rules” as thus deny payment of the un-authorized transaction.
Bzzt! Wrong answer! Thank you for displaying your ignorance.
The rules that are applied to every merchant discourage merchants from checking identification. Sometimes they say that the merchant is permitted to ask for identification, but they all say that the merchant is not permitted to require that it be shown (i.e., if the customer refuses, the merchant still has to accept the card).
There is no credit card company that requires merchants to check identification. None.
Hey JIK? ( what he hell is a JIK?)
“As long as the merchant follows the merchant rules for verifying a purchase, in particular getting the purchase authorized by the network, the merchant is not liable for a purchase made with a stolen card.”
What do you think part of the merchant rules are? Hmmm… maybe verifying identification? By not verifying i.d the credit card companies can turn around and say that the merchant did not adhere to the “merchant rules” as thus deny payment of the un-authorized transaction. You think credit card companies want to continously pay out money and get nothing back? They can’t charge interest on unauthorized purchases now can they?
It appears that CVS agrees with me as well, since I’ve made several >$50 purchases recently and haven’t been asked for ID.
I totally agree with jik. Not only is the convenience of using a credit card/debit card undermined by having to also carry and produce my driver’s license, it is insulting to be treated like a criminal because I am making a purchase. The request for an ID arises from the suspicion that I might be mis-representing myself. I realize there are unethical people in the world who will do this, but for a vendor to inject suspicion into every transaction as a matter of policy, debases the client-seller relationship. The fact that these ID checks serve no real purpose just adds to my intense dislike fo the practice. Whenever I can I avoid shopping at stores that ask for ID.
Checking IDs at a store has nothing whatsoever to do with preventing identity theft.
In fact, having your ID checked at a store makes you more vulnerable to identity theft, since you’re showing your driver’s license, with all kinds of information that the store doesn’t actually need and that is very helpful to identity thieves, to a low-paid check-out clerk who may very well think that selling such personal information to an identity thief or using it him/herself is a good way to make a little extra money.
Your comment about my age is irrelevant and wrong.
show an ID or get your identity stolen… take years or decade to fix
hmm…. i’ll take an ID check please
you must be from an older generation or super young (18-22) who are more careless and more susceptible to stolen identity
That’s simply not true.
As long as the merchant follows the merchant rules for verifying a purchase, in particular getting the purchase authorized by the network, the merchant is not liable for a purchase made with a stolen card.
Here is a brief point about asking for id on a purchase. If your credit card is stolen you are not liable for any charges, the same is not true for the place of purchase, in this case CVS. They take a loss on said transaction. Most people are only concerned with their personal loss. It is only prudent for a company to cover its potential losses as well.
Thank you for offering an interesting, albeit somewhat wordy, alternative point of view. Let me ask you a few questions about it:
as a CVS shift supervisor…i respond as to saying….
yes…what a waste of time it has been by even writing these emails….
we are supposed to ask for the credit card to make sure it “is” the correct person trying to purchase something…we as a pharmacy want to make sure the correct person is trying to purchase something. I’ve been in more than a few situations where the person writing the check, or trying to swipe the card has been a “FRAUDULENT” person. Does it matter that the company will protect you against this if the person does get thru with this person? That doesn’t matter. It’s a purchase that shouldn’t occur….that’s as like letting the person steal from you, the credit card company, and CVS…not to mention, getting by me, the employee of CVS, and after usually figuring out the situation, …..making me a very upset person. I CAN NOT stand when a person comes into MY STORE that I work soooo hard for..and as honestly as I can work to the best of my abilities and someone come in there and basically “steal” from me, my customers, and my store. Meaning prices stay high because of theft, and CVS trying to protect the customers best interests! I will continue to do as I’m told, and just as when a customer comes to pick up a C2 narcotic medicine, I will CONTINUE to ask for their ID’s to make sure it’s them or someone in their family and write their drivers license number down on the paper. I’ve given more than a few cd’s of footage and pictures of customers picking up others pain medications, and etc to local detectives to have them picked up and arrested, and will continue to do so when the need arrises. In total what all this means is that CVS is working hard for the customer, and cares for the customers needs, and works hard at protecting the customer itself. If CVS is the only company that asks you for their ID, maybe that says for all the other companies that don’t ask for it, that maybe they don’t care about you, or any of your interests for that matter!
On more than one occasion, I’ve declined a person writing a check, or yet, the register has declined a check only because they were stolen…and usually, they try to buy 3 cartons of cigerettes, $100.00 worth of fragrances, and etc… Working for many years at CVS, you tend to learn much about the public. I’d say trying to protect the customer and reduce fraudulent situations…I’m all for it…and will continue to be that way for the rest of my life no matter what it takes. A fraud is a fraud, and if I can refuse a frauds purchase by checking their ID, which takes 2 seconds by the way if you know where’s it at, unlike most people…I will always ask for it. If the store down the road wants to honor those kinda purchases…that’s their problem. I just feel that my customers protection is personal and it’s my job. What other companies do or don’t do isn’t in my interests. I do my job to the best of my abilities, and will continue to do so! To help run an honest store isn’t easy, it takes hard work, and I won’t change that!!!
CVS employee of 5+ years!!!!
Tikkun Olam isn’t a waste of time.
You complained about the waste of time. Which is a bigger waste of time? Sending these letters to CVS or refusing to give your ID on 1 purchase? 🙂
You’re funny.