Steph says Starbucks violated her credit card’s merchant agreement by forcing her to show her ID while buying $27 worth of coffee. She writes:

Back in December I tried to make a credit card purchase for about $27 worth of stuff from a Starbucks in Bristol, VA, only to be told that I would need to show ID. Since my credit card was signed and I didn’t feel like going to the car for my ID, I argued with the clerk about their ID requirement policy. Even though I explained to her that, according to their merchant agreement with Visa, they were not allowed to deny a purchase based on my lack of ID, she refused to budge.

I recently complained to Starbucks customer relations about this incident and received the reply I’ve pasted below. They are claiming that they are indeed allowed to require ID for purchases over $25. Is this true?

In fact, Starbucks is not supposed to require you show your ID. Starbucks wrote back:

Hello Stephanie,

Thank you so much for taking the time to write to us.

I am truly sorry to hear about your disappointment with our stores requesting proof of identification with credit card purchases over $25.

In regards to your concern, due to rule changes from the credit card companies, signatures are no longer required for transactions below$25. Any transaction over $25, we will continue to request identification as is the policy. Since you have indicated that your purchase was over $25 our partners followed the appropriate credit card policy.

I want you to know that we take feedback from our loyal customers seriously. Because you know better than anyone else what you want from Starbucks, I will share this with the retail operations department here in our corporate office.

Thank you again for contacting Starbucks. If you have any further questions or concerns that I was unable to address, please feel free to let me know.

Thanks again,

Madeline A.
Customer Relations
Starbucks Coffee Company
800 23-LATTE (235-2883)
Monday through Friday, 5AM to 6PM (PST)

Have you faced this issue at Starbucks or anywhere else?

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.