Starbucks Told Me It's Corporate Policy To Check My ID With $27 Credit Card Purchase

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?

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