404. What should I do when asked for personal information I don't want to give when purchasing with credit card?
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This article is from the Credit cards and Consumer Credit FAQ, by adams@spss.com (Steve Adams) with numerous contributions by others.
404. What should I do when asked for personal information I don't want to give when purchasing with credit card?
See also "Is there any official document" and "Where should I report
merchants who break the rules?" later in this section.
If you don't see what all the fuss is about, please skip this Q.
Note the key words, "information that I don't want to give."
The most effective response is to ignore the request. When they
say, "I need your signature and phone," simply sign in the proper
place and hand them the charge slip without your phone number.
Don't comment on the request in any way. More often than not, they
won't follow up.
If they do notice that you didn't put down the personal information,
and ask you again for it, simply say quietly "I don't give that
out." Almost all the time, the clerk writes down something like
"refused" and that's the end of it.
If they still insist, you have to decide how important it is to you
to make a point. If you don't much care, give them what they want
so you can get back home.
If (like me) you're a privacy fanatic, you can do one of several
things. (1) Point out that Visa and MasterCard rules don't allow
them to require this information and wait to see what they do.
Typically the clerk calls the manager to "authorize" the sale, which
she does right away. (2) Or you can say "Fine: if you can't make
the sale without this information, give me a credit slip and keep
the merchandise." (Since the sale has already gone into the register
they probably won't call your bluff. They've never called mine. If
they do, get a written credit slip unless you're sure that the
transaction has not already been processed electronically.) (3) Or
you can make up a phone number. Please use one beginning with 555
so that some innocent person doesn't get sales calls. (4) Or, if
you happen to know the number of the store it's always a nice touch
to give them that.
In all this, be firm but pleasant and quiet. Don't raise your
voice, but if this is important to you then don't let yourself be
bullied either. After all, this is America and you can almost
always get equivalent merchandise from another store.
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