Adam tried to buy some games at GameStop by using his credit card, but balked when the clerk demanded he show his ID. He alerted the higher-ups that the denial was a violation of the MasterCard merchant agreement, but the complaint fell on deaf ears. He writes:

I recently tried to purchase three used games at my local GameStop. The staff was friendly and helpful the entire time. When I went to charge my purchase to my MasterCard Card, I was asked for my ID. I politely refused and the clerk politely asked if there was any other way I could pay, suggesting that I could pay in cash or charge the card without showing my ID. I again refused and the clerk told me that without ID he could not sell me the games. I left the store and the next morning reported my experience to MasterCard using their online Merchant Violation Reporting form found here.

This was the second time I had had a problem at this store with them requesting my ID, so I decided that I would also write and email to their corporate offices using an email listed on their website’s contact us page, orders@gamestop.com:

“I tried to purchase three games yesterday from GameStop Store [redacted], located in Royal Oak, MI. The staff was friendly and helpful, but unfortunately would not let me make my purchase of three used games because I did not want to show my driver’s license to them when I attempted to make the purchase by crediting my MasterCard card. I was told they would accept a debit or cash without an ID but when I said that was unacceptable, they refused to sell me the games. My card is active and has my signature written on the back.

I have great concerns for my privacy and I only show my state government issued ID when it concerns state government business. I have contacted MasterCard before and I was explicitly told that Merchants that display the MasterCard logo are not allowed to require ID in order to process a credit card transaction.

Either your staff are poorly trained or your corporate policy is in direct violation of your agreement with MasterCard. Either way, I consider my experience unacceptable. I will not be going back to GameStop Store #[redacted] and my decision to go to other GameStop stores will be greatly affected by my experiences with your staff.”

Later this same day, I received this response:

“Sorry regarding your experience at the [redacted] store regarding your credit card purchase. We do confirm signatures and picture id when making purchases. Just because the credit card is signed doesn’t confirm that is the person who is using it. That card could of been lost and found and the person who found it could sign the back of it. We simply check signatures and photo id primarily for the customer and their security to make sure the card is theirs and not stolen. I can’t begin to tell you how many issues we have regarding this at this time of the year. Sorry if you disagree but we feel that is for the customers safety and honestly most all customers appreciate us taking the time to confirm the card is actually theirs and thank us for being thorough. Thanks.”

In the past I have reported stores using the Merchant Violation form and have never been asked for my ID again. Aside from choosing not to shop their, is there anything else I should/could do?

If you’ve got any ideas for Adam, please share.

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