Breaking $20 $50 At McDonald's? Get Ready To Show Some ID
Who pays for a six-piece McNugget with a $20 $50 bill? Counterfeiters, that's who, and the McDonald's near Madison Square Garden is ready for them. Sorry guys, you're going to have to ask Wendy's to anonymously break your shadily large bills.
Reader Jim writes:
I saw this sign on the wall at the McDonalds directly across from Madison Square Garden (12 Penn Plaza, New York).I know that businesses can refuse to accept "large bills", but rather than simply using a counterfeit-detection pen or UV light, they want ID?
Wouldn't someone with the ability for forge currency find it easy to also make a fake ID for use when passing the forged bills?
Why was I in Mickey-D's? Easy - I promised myself a milkshake after enduring the DMV at Penn Plaza.
The McDonald's in Penn Plaza confirmed that the measure is meant to deter counterfeiters. According to them, most people hand over their ID without complaint.
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Comments:
Well the sign says "Over 20 dollars" so it means a 50 dollar bill. I don't see the big deal in why they would want to ID customers paying with a 50 or a 100.
I've seen it a few places, and I never understood the logic at all. What does showing ID prove to the cashier? Odds are that you could print up a fake ID with the name of one of the FBI's 10 Most Wanted, and the person behind the register would be none the wiser.
A determined counterfeiter would really have no trouble circumventing such a simple measure.
Better question is how this makes a difference. You hand over your id and they hand it back to you. They find out a few days later they and a fake bill what can they do? They are not going to know who passed it. I also agree that people counterfeiting the bills could just show a fake id.
Most places will just use a counterfit-detection pen.
Do they accept payment in pennies?
Why is there such a hesitation to showing ID, receipts, etc.? You already have your wallet open when paying, it probably takes about 10 seconds for the cashier to glance at your ID and verify you are who you say you are.
Is it that much of an inconvenience?
@samoffer: Why should I have to prove my identity to buy something from you? Its my right to not. I'm tired of people sitting back and going "oh well its not that hard I'll just give up this right today." Do that enough and we will have nothing left.
You can't see my receipt and you can't see my ID. That is a problem? Fine. There is another retailer that will gladly take my money without infringing on my rights.
@samoffer: @samoffer: Totally agreed. Like someone pointed out above, this would be for when someone uses a denomination above a $20 dollar bill.
Yesteryear, I remember working in retail and having a special pen that you'd use on the bill in question, and if it came up a certain color, it was counterfeit. Guess they found a way around that to where those are now useless.
@samoffer: Shouldn't have to show ID to pay with cash. If McD's is worried about forged bills they should check the bills. If something is wrong with the bill they can take it from there.
You need to change the headline to "Breaking $50...". Just remember the old rule, > ≠ ≥
Wow. Totally not what the sign says at all.
@xdabomb911: But, where can I spend my counterfeit $21 bills?
Er, I mean, real legal tender $21 bills. Yeah, that's it.
@samoffer: I agree with the previous comments. I happen to like my privacy, and if I pay cash I shouldn't have to show my ID to anyone. I stopped shopping at Best Buy because they started this silly trend of showing a receipt. I will gladly stop shopping anywhere else that gives me such a hassle. I heart online shopping for this reason, among others.
Is it illegal to require photo ID when paying with U.S. currency? Seems like something privacy advocates would be in a real huff about.
I'm still annoyed I have to scan my driver's license AND sign a statement that I have read the Patriot Act just to buy ONE BOX of Sudafed when I get a cold. Apparently if you buy too many boxes, the feds will bash down your door and look for a chem lab.
Shouldn't the burden be on the company to train the cashiers to spot fake bills? At the Cosi where I get lunch sometimes, the cashiers have had some kind of training. They hold large bills up to the light and look for something before accepting them.
@cosby:
They are not going to know who passed it.
Unless they either mark the bills (might be illegal, but I see it plenty enough, even the banks do it by accident) or they write the serial number down.
Or, third option: They wrap your money with the receipt onto which they take down the details from your ID.
I hate to be a pain, but some of these headlines show no reading comprehension or reasoning skills.
OVER $20.
so everyone has to show ID now? have you eaten at McD's recently? 2 "value" meals will put you well over $10 everywhere in the US and in NYC it bet they will put you close to $20 anyway.
This is BS. What do they do with the info anyway? If you gave them a fake 20 its just in a pile with the rest and no one will remember who gave what 20 to the cashier.
They really should just put bouncers at the doors. They could perform searches, check your ID, verify the authenticity of your money, and ensure that you are not carrying a dangerous weapon into the ball pit. They could even distribut pamphlets giving the nutritional info, and make people sign the form releasing mcd's of all liability related to the impending health problems related to their "food."
@Daisuke Matsuzaka: Yes, online shopping provides so much more privacy when you give them your e-mail, credit card number, billing address, and shipping address.
@supercereal: The deterrence factor. Their loss prevention departments must believe that showing IDs will lower the incidence of fraud - not just counterfeiters but also short change artists. If the ID isn't recorded then it has not value other than deterrence.
It's simple deterrence. It's like receipt-checking. Anyone could always print up a fake receipt at home, but it's just an extra hurdle to leap. If you knew you had to present id to spend your counterfeit bills at Mcdonalds but not at wendy's, why not just go to wendy's and not spent the time/effort/cost of getting a fake id?
Seems like someplace to go and pay in $2 bills.
HOLD ON....
In fairness why does the title of this story say "Breaking $20 At McDonald's? Get Ready To Show Some ID" when the sign shown CLEARLY says "BILLS LARGER THAN $20" which means $50 or higher.
Come on! I love this site but the headline is wrong and misleads you. Please, Consumerist staff, read twice before posting to make sure you have it right before this site looses it's credibilty.
@icantreplyright: Both of the incidents you cite - showing IDs for breaking a large bill and showing receipts at the door - are loss prevention measures determined to keep the retailer's unnecessary costs down and ultimately keep prices lower for you the customer.
You are right, you have the right to refuse and take your business elsewhere but keeping the business healthy is necessary for its longevity. If you appreciate the retailer being there than these really are very small steps to take to help ensure that they will last, especially in this economic situation.
@icantreplyright: I don't think making a voluntary purchase in a store leads to an infringement of your precious, idealistic rights. Let's be practical for a bit here.
Don't think McDonald's doesn't think these decisions through. And consider their right to try and minimize the acceptance of bad bills. If simply asking for ID they are able to reduce the passing of counterfeit money, why isn't this a good decision for all? Those counterfeiters, just like you, will gladly take their counterfeit bills elsewhere. Meanwhile, McDonald's enjoys a reduction in losses due to counterfeiting and the savings are passed to customers in the form of lower prices.
It's a win-win for everyone except idealistic nuts like you who think every interaction with someone else leads to the loss of precious rights. Grow up.
@Shoelace: The ID check is an alternative to the VERY common practice, especially at fast food restaurants to simply refuse large bills. Would you prefer that?
@Mark Saalwaechter: It's unnecessary sensationalism - the headline wouldn't attract the same outrage or response if they said ID required for $50 bill... It seems that the first point of writing complaints is to be solid on the facts on which you are complaining - which these headlines are not - but that appears to be wholly intentional.
They better not start doing that for CC purchases unless they like being reported to VISA, MC and AMEX.
@Julia789:
It's not illegal to require the ID - hey, you could say "you must strip nude and sing the national anthem backwards if you want me to sell you a hamburger."
Basically, unless you're refusing service for a specifically proscribed reason (i.e. "I don't serve black people.") you can pretty much do as you please.
Many of the McDonald's locations here in Fort Wayne won't even take greenbacks larger than $20. However, they gladly point out that "all major credit and debit cards are accepted".
I guess 2-3% interchange fees are less worrisome to Mickey D's than counterfeit dollar bill fraud...
Guess I'll stick to my credit card to make payments in fast food stores with policies like those.
I'll enjoy the grace period float and not having to deal with the one-off cashier who really struggles to make change (yes, even in a fast food joint where the change due is listed on the register...).
I used to manage a fast food location about 10 years ago. The sign is kind of funny because of a few things.
First, in the 7 years I ran the place we only had 9 counterfeit bills and 9 out of 9 were $20. People tend to distrust anything over a $20 and thus scrutinize $50 and $100 very close just in case.
The second, what the heck is photo ID going to do for the store?
@Julia789: I think you would also be annoyed if there was a meth lab down the street. It's little things like this that make a big difference for everyone. Think of it as your little role in fighting drug abuse. When you frame it that way, I don't think you will be as annoyed.
Nonetheless, I wish the world was a perfect place and we could eliminate that little delay in getting you medicine when you're not feeling well!
@icantreplyright: Where do you get the idea that it's your "right to not"? What you do have the right to is canceling or not participating in such a transaction if a business should ask for your ID. On the other hand, the business also has a right to cancel your transaction if the customer cannot comply with their terms.
The only possible exception would be some credit card merchant agreements, where the business has agreed to not require further identification from customers using credit cards or debit cards.
Really? And this is the more affluent part of NYC? I'd expect to see these signs at poorer neighborhoods.
@MFfan310: Well, yeah.
Credit/debit card purchase with service charge: >$0
Counterfeit bill turned in at a bank: $0
@Eryk: Specifically, they take the surface ink off of a $1 via chemical bleaching or abrasion and print a fake large bill on it. The composition of the paper is basically the same, so the pen doesn't detect the phony. You can tell when a bill's been altered this way because the watermark and the little strip inside of it will show the old denomination.
@jaydez: Not hardly everyone... maybe 1% at best. How many people actually break a $50 bill for their purchase? I'd like to bet most purchases at McDonalds are electronic these days anyway.
and if I pay cash I shouldn't have to show my ID to anyone.Spend a large enough amount of cash, and be prepared to fork over your SSN, DOB, and essentially all of your personal information.
I heart online shopping for this reason, among others.Online stores collect much, much more information than do B&M stores...
@supercereal: As other commenters have noted, it's a deterrent. If you are trying to pass a bill you know is counterfeit, you're not likely to want to hand over an ID.
Granted, a counterfeiter could hand over a fake ID, but that the cashier has to stop and ask for it, means s/he will have time to take a better look at the bill. This extra time might mean it gets rejected as phony. Thus, even a counterfeiter armed with fake ID is not likely to want to pass his/her bill at a place that does this.
It's not foolproof deterrence, to be sure ... it can be evaded, as I pointed out. But if it deters just a few counterfeit-bill passings, it may still be worth it to the business.
Aside from simple deterrence, there doesn't seem to be much point to this unless they are actually writing down or somehow recording the ID.