Zamboni Driver

OP, what were you exactly hoping to accomplish by yelling at the manager? Maybe, as you said, you "lost it," but in this game you have to keep your cool. Yelling is belittling, belittling leads to being blacklisted eventually.

f0xx

OP should be lucky they didn't call the red & blue on him.
If this was wally world... He'd be talking to some officers. lol

ericdabbs

At first I was going to side with the OP but after reading more responses, I have to say that I agree with the other posters in that the OP was in the wrong here. The OP should not have lashed out at the RA Staff especially the "manager". What really drove it home was that you kept pressing the issue and proceeded to talk to her superior instead of just letting it go. You could have rose grave suspicion from her superior and "store manager" to call the cops on you. It gives a horrible impression to people trying to buy prepaid GC's in the future.

I understand you have a right to be upset but at the same time..my goodness you are trying to buy $10K and to me that warrants at least a DL ID and CC check. When you said that RA doesn't do an ID check that is a huge risk on RA's part. I think the "manager" had a right to be suspicious. I don't know if I agree "the manager" should have called the CC on your behalf but maybe if you offered to call them in front of the "manager".

UATravler577

You're committing a basic fallacy..

The trick is to keep your composure and understanding in these often tense situations. I'm sure looking back now you would agree that the situation could have been handled differently.

Also, try to look at this type of situation from the cashier's perspective. The average Walgreens/Rite-Aid/CVS employee receives only a few days training (at best) before being assigned to the floor/register. I'm sure prepaid cards and spending limits are not at the top of the list in their training manuals. Chances are that the employee was simply unfamiliar with the situation. Perhaps she even heard about or read some internal memo about money laundering and ID theft.

If in doubt, perhaps request to speak to the manager or supervisor on duty if you disagree with an employees actions.

UATravler577

Several months ago was purchasing 5x $200 Visa gift cards at a local office supply store when the employee (a new hire) asked to see my drivers license after I gave him my credit card. I casually handed it to him assuming he just wanted a photo ID to match the name and signature. Out of nowhere he processed to copy down my drivers license and address onto a sticky note! When asked what he was doing he stated (with a very smug facade) that he was taking down my informaiton to prevent fraud.

I immediately (but politely) asked to speak to a supervisor. The manager came over and after I explained the situation, the manager told the employee to go wait for him in his office. The manager then apologized, completed the transaction, gave me the sticky note along with his business card and told me to contact him directly If I ever have any more issues. I heard a few days later that the employee no longer worked for the store..

A simple case of an employee not handling the situation correctly after not being familiar with the policy.

CMHFlyerOH

Do people really talk like this? Sure, the clerk shouldn't have written down your ID information, but to ask the employee to go wait in someone else's office just sounds so self-important and smug. I *might* have asked to speak to a manager (though I probably would have just let it go), but I wouldn't have asked an employee to go away and wait in his manager's office--seems that would be the manager's call, no?

I agree: be nice, honest when questioned, stay off the radar, and don't be a jerk. I think this is a good life philosophy, in general, but it's also a good way to be a long-term manufactured spender.

goblue77

1. Nah, I don't feel that way. If it's not RA, I would buy else where. Does not make a difference to me. Their policy is more generous than others. That's all.
2. I felt wronged. She did nothing to confer with me first. She disrepected me when she suspected me of wrongdoing by calling. Why not try to run the card first and see if the purchase goes through? If fraud alert hits and the transaction is declined, I can simply clear it up.
3. I hope so.

Sorry that your local RA is uptight, but at least they don't invade your privacy by calling the CC company.

Well, I know this. you catch more bees with honey. However, I felt defensive because I felt she suspected fraud. And gave me a BS reason for her calling. If decline of transaction was her priority, why not just run the card first. If the transaction doesn't go through, I'm not gonna get mad at them. I would simply make a call myself to my CC.

I've been on the other side as well. I get what you're saying. My stand by my point still. If it was the norm to make a call to my CC every time I made purchases, I wouldn't have even blinked.

I know, I know.

Read the post. VGC.

Not looking for love. just sharing my experience. I guess I'm the only who had to whom this happened. when I first started reading FT, I saw a similar post somewhere. I just can't find it.

Thank you.

My sentiments exactly.

Actually, as I was leaving, things were back to civility. They asked to see them if I need help next time i'm in the store. I plan on going back. It's not like I stole something from them.

I agree to the bold sentence to a degree. My privacy was invaded when she shared information she had no right to share with someone else. I'm sure she knew she f'd up and therefore she continued to apologize. Tell me how you'd react if same thing happens to you. You'd just smile and say "okay, have a nice day?" Really?

Well? That it's not okay to just call someone's CC without that person's permission. If you suspect fraud for any reason, call the cops. Again, I agree with you on the bold sentence, however, much more was at stake. My privacy and integrity. You wouldn't stand up for that?

As I stated in the original post, I wish they had called the cops rather than my CC. What do I have to worry about with the red and blue? That I have a valid ID and I'm using my own CC to buy a couple(i was buying only a fifth of their limit) of GCs.

I'm not looking for people to "side" with me. Hope this matter helps more than detracts from MSing. Again, whether I'm purchasing $1, $1k or $10k, I should have been treated the same way. If my card gets declined because I don't have enough credit, then it's not their problem. It's my problem. I didn't want to post the actual amount, but I only purchased a fifth of the max.

I only wish they did just that.

Ok. I guess it's okay for cashiers that work RAs/CVSs to yell at their customers "cash only!" because we're bunch of MSers(or better yet moneylaunderers). Yes, I've had that happen. Who the f$#@ are they? Am I impinging on their rights or privacy? You'd think I asked them to steal merchandise for me. Of course I don't want to cause trouble for THEM for selling me this stuff, but if they are wrong in their knowledge of their own company's policy, why can't we correct them?

Great advice. However, I believe that you should speak up if you were wronged or if there was an error. I have a few "go-to" stores that I've established this for many months. I hope that this store will be one of them.



Appreciate the FT input(positive or negative). I'm trying to make less trips and be more efficient and do more. It's not easy. I just hope that this is just a hiccup. Will let you all know if anything adverse comes of it. TY

vinhboy

What the hell are you guys talking about. No one here is advocating being rude to the employees. Yes always be respectful to them, take what you can get, and smile.

But this situation is NOT about that. It's about the fact that the manager called the OP's credit card company WITHOUT his CONSENT or INFORMING him she would do so.

He has NOT made the purchase yet.

This situation could have simply been avoided if she got his permission to call his credit card company to verify. At which point he can politely decline or agrees to it. Whatever he does after that is another story.

goblue77

Yes I wish I had done things differently. I wish I had questioned why she was calling my CC and tell her I do not give her permission to do so. When was the last time a cashier called your CC regarding a purchase? As it is none of anyone's business what I am purchasing(think about all the personal stuff you can buy at a pharmacy), let alone GCs. She boldly declared what I was buying(which was wrong, she said "prepaid"s not GCs, if that makes a difference) and how much of it.

The cashier on duty told me "cash only" when I asked nicely. And scoffed(as if it's her word or the highway) when I asked to speak to the manager. I definitely saw the lack of training from the very beginning. I asked nicely to see the manager again, then she begrudgingly obliged. The "manager", who is more like a supervisor, was the one who called after telling me it was ok to purchase GCs with CC. I handed her my CC and ID. Never expected her to call my CC.

I had a lady at a grocery store who wrote down my info on my ID(their policy which I am comfortable with) and then my CC number. I was dumbfounded and asked her to rip it off and give to me. Then, it hit her what she was doing. She and I get along just fine now. It's too bad what happened to that cashier.


Yeah, I failed at the jerk part. But I don't regret defending my rights. I still hope I can be LTMSer.

goblue77

It's over and done with. Nothing I can do at this point. I do hope to return without any trouble since they "know" me now. How can they forget, right? Hope to be smilin' for a long time...

cbn42

Can you point to anything that would require a merchant to obtain consent before calling a credit card company? Perhaps a law, a card network policy, something in OP's contract with the issuer, or anything else?


Rite Aid did not give the credit card company any confidential information. The fact that OP was trying to buy gift cards is not covered by any sort of privacy laws. It is public knowledge, readily available to anyone who happened to be in the store. If I wanted to, I could go to the store and take pictures of people buying gift cards at the checkout and post them on the internet with their names, and I wouldn't be doing anything illegal.

I am just speculating, but perhaps RA's acquiring bank might charge them for declined transactions, especially big ones?

UATravler577

Oops.. I mean to say that "The manager told the employee to wait for him in his office" and not that I told the employee to wait for the manager in his office. Hopefully that makes sense.. funny how forgetting a word or two can change the whole context!

itchyfeet123

There was no invasion of privacy. Your credit card company has the right to know what you purchase. Given that most credit cards have terms and conditions that differentiate between gift cards and, say, toilet paper, for the purposes of giving rewards and charging interest and fees, you have no legitimate expectation that what you purchase is kept a secret from your CC company. Your HIPAA example does not work; it would be a very specific exemption.

goblue77

Yeah, im no lawyer. Do not know any laws that prohibit them from calling. But sharing any information(if it was anything health related, would clearly be a violation of hipaa) about where I am and what im purchasing would be construed as invasion of my privacy. And what I buy at RA would be a private matter, whether it'd be a stick of gum or cigs. I would think they would call the cops for taking pictures of ppl making purchases, making them feel uncomfortable. Maybe for trespassing at the least.

ive made far larger purchases numerous times at RAs and never once did they call the cc.

cbn42

Nothing can arbitrarily be "construed" as an invasion of privacy. Either there is a law or policy against it or there isn't.

I'm not an expert on HIPAA, but it clearly isn't relevant here.

If you were taking pictures, RA could certainly ask you to stop and/or leave. RA is private property, so they have the right to kick anyone off at any time. If you refused then they could call the cops for trespassing. But "making someone feel uncomfortable" is not a crime, and the cops can't do anything about it unless there is another crime taking place alongside, like trespassing.