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December 15, 2010
Hello everyone,
It’s me Mike Lewis again and a year ago I came to you telling you to not shop at Loews Home Improvement because they discriminate against minorities, I told you to support your local mom and pop shops and Home Depot. Sadly to say, that on November 21, 2010 I was at the Home Depot in Bowie MD making a purchase at the self check out that for some reason was not working, so the cashier next to the self check out said she would take me. My purchase was $54 and after the cashier rang me up she asked me if it was cash or credit and I said credit. The cashier then said she needed to see my ID and I asked why? She said the store policy was that any credit card purchases required ID because she said they have had a lot of people using credit cards that were not authorized and she said it came from the store manager that told her to do this check. Once again, I told her that if it’s a policy it needs to be written down and displayed like it is in the liquor stores. I refused to show my ID but she saw something in my wallet with my name on it and let the transaction go through. She assured me that she would talk to her store manager and let the manager know that it needs to be a written policy for all to see.
When I called the store the next day and talked to the store manager and the District manager, I was told it was NOT a policy to check ID for credit card purchases unless the credit card is not signed. After a weeks of dealing with this issue, I was told by the Home depot district manager and corporate headquarters that the reason I was questioned for an ID was because I was purchasing paint. However this excuse that Home Depot is trying to tell me was NOT what I was told by the cashier at the time I was harassed and humiliated for my ID because she thought I might be a thief, NOT because I was buying paint!
I let Home Depot know that I was harassed, humiliated and discriminated not because I was buying paint, but because I was a black male. What I wanted from Home Depot was a written apology and to discuss this matter with Frank Blake the CEO of Home Depot to let him know that his employees need to be trained to NOT pick and choose who they will discriminate against in his stores. When I sent all this information to Frank’s office, they had only African American employees to call me and try to make excuses for what happened and I was told that Frank would never talk to me concerning this matter, even though it was a matter of discrimination he was too important and busy to concern himself with this matter.
What I want you to do is to contact Frank and let him know that it is 2010 and we will NOT put up with this type of treatment in his or anyone else’s store. Discrimination must be wiped out and Home Depot and Frank Blake the CEO of Home Depot needs to be held accountable because our African American money is as green as anyone else’s. I am going to put this incident on boycott.com, consumerist.com and pissedoffconsumer.com to let others know about the racial profiling and discrimination while shopping at Home Depot.
Here is Frank Blake the CEO of Home Depots telephone number [protected] ext 15659 and
you can also email [protected]@homedepot.com to let him know we will not stand for discrimination of any form.
Sincerely,
Mike Lewis
Some people said that asking for my ids is actually protected me. However, if this is to protect me they would as all customers for ids. Also, if I wanted them to check my id I would write on the back of the card.. CHECK ID! As mentioned this needs to me a policy for all customers
It is amazing how many responses I received regarding the “ shopping while black” incident at Home Depot. There are so many other people that have experience this issue at Home Depot.
Just to reiterate to those who have not experienced this or misunderstood what I was saying, This has nothing to do with checking ids to ensure that the card isn’t stolen. If Home Depot policy is to check id when making a purchase with a credit card they need to check EVERY customer’s id when using a credit card. They CAN’T pick and choose which customers they as k for id. There policy shouldn’t be based on a person color, gender etc.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Bought solar lights today and the batteries did not work. Beware, terrible quality products!
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Yeah.. I had the same problem there.
Same here; but it cleared up once I left the glue aisle, and got out into the fresh air...
Don't shop at Home Depot at all.
"Once again, I told her that if it’s a policy it needs to be written down and displayed" This actually isn't true. If that truly was a policy (regardless of if it wasn't), you are allowed to leave the store at any time if you don't like it.
So maybe the girl was wrong? Maybe she was new, or the manager was new and was trying to enforce something different? Maybe the reason for the policy wasn't explained to the employees? There are many other factors here that can explain the situation without any racism. I think you're over-reacting a bit.
How do you know that their policy isn't to check every fourth or fifth customer's card?
this guy pulls the race card. don't you feel safer knowing that home depot is looking out for your best interests by asking for your ID? maybe one day when you are the victim of identity theft you will then appreciate the efforts home depot makes to combat identity theft. only weak-minded people would misunderstand why they are being asked for ID. maybe you didn't have your ID on you in which case had you been stopped by a cop he would have taken you in because you couldn't prove your identity. i have no problem showing my ID for any purposes. but anyway, like i said before, when you become a victim of identity theft we'll see how you feel about being asked for your ID. i'll bet you will be complaining about NOT being asked for proof of identification at that point. stop your ### and whining and show appreciation for security measures.
and just to add to my last comment, home depot is not required to post such signs about showing ID with credit purchases. it is the state that you are purchasing the item in that may or may not mandate it. the resposibility lies within the state government not with home depot. try looking up commerce laws in your state. you can google it.
seems like this fool zachary is following me on every comment. what do you live on here or something? stop following me f--kface. and yes state commmerce laws sometimes do ask that ID be shown. not all states just some of them.
i told you i am a soldier in the US army ###nut!
i'm a soldier, does it matter what i do? i'm defending our very freedoms. but i'll tell you what immodest you can go clean my boots and while your at it some of my uniforms need cleaning. if you really need to know what i do its called infantry. i'm a rifleman.
i am not a she...i am a he!
good comment stealth pilot. i agree with it...and to dawniette, what the hell are you talking about. do yourself a favor and entwine yourself in your little harry potter universe.
I understand that as a black male, you are probably used to being victimized and mistreated by white people. HOWEVER.. as a black female, and I don' think that has anything to do with it ( I could be incorrect), I am often asked to see my I.D. when I am making a purchase as A CREDIT purchase. I can use the same card for a debit transaction and no one asks for an I.D., only when using it as credit.
This has been a requirement at multiple stores ( not Starbucks though! )
But, I am not offended by this, as I would WANT them to ask for I.D. if my credit card was presented and I was not the one that was using it ( Fraud Prevention).. understand that in cases of Credit Card Fraud, the store loses money.
So while it may not be an official policy, someone may have told the female at the register to do this.. or she may be used to doing this to protect customers from Fraud at a previous place of employment.
Either way, I think you should be HAPPY that someone isn't just running your credit card Willy Nilly ( to protect you from Fraud) HOWEVER, I DO THINK that if you perceive that you are being mistreated because you are a non-white person, particularly a black male ( double whammy!) you should CERTAINLY assert yourself and counter the mistreatment.
wow thank u wj mathews for letting others know ~ deb
who the ### is kevin and why is this anita calling me by that name? anita uses the word ### tard. i guess she understands what it means because it truly describes her.
...And then when your ID gets stolen and someone racks up a $900 bill on your account, you'll be crying "Well why didn't they check for ID". I am black too, and I have "Please Check for ID" written on the back of my card, and sometimes they check, sometimes they don't. So what, either way its not a racist issue! You should be happy that someone attempted to safeguard your money, and when you are asked for your ID you should say "Thank You for asking"! You should go back to the cashier and tip her $10 for having to put up with your bs that day!
Ok for the person that is getting offended for someone asking for thier ID when your using credit (a signature base transaction) need to get it together. SERIOUSLY! She was not discriminating against you she was protecting your personal account against fraud and also protecting her job. Because when you don't use your pin with your card, it is required that ID is seen with signature base transactions. Reason being: If you would have disputed that transaction after you did it, and the clerk didnt check ID. Home Depot would have taken a loss and she would have gotten fired. I work for a bank and people try to defraud the system all the time. Feel glad that she is protecting you because the 1st time someone dont ask for id and it's not you using the card. I am sure you would have a fit.
Come on get real man. I've been to several home Depots all across Michigan and every single one of them I have gone into, they have asked to see my card and ID. Every single one of them. Lowes is the same way. If your credit card was stolen and they didn't check ID, how will they know that you are the actual owner of the credit card? Stop trying to pull the race card. How exactly do you know that you are the only one who got asked for ID that day? I bet when you left Home Depot, everyone in line who was using a credit card as payment got asked for their ID. I get asked for my ID whenever I use my credit card and I'm white. I don't feel like business are discriminating against me because I have to show ID each time. I actually feel better knowing that businesses are trying to stop identity theft before it happens.
What happens if someone stole my credit card and went to Home Depot, Lowes, Red lobster and all three places failed to ask for ID? They would forge my signature and they would go on a wild shopping spree. Now if all 3 places checked for ID and theirs didn't match then I bet they would be on the phone with the police and having them arrested.
I bet he voted for Obama without even listening to one speech about "Change" Some people just can't get a grip. I dislike black biggots just as much as I dislike white biggots. It's amazing how much reverse racism there is now today. I guess all the "Change" is getting alot of minorities stirred up. Maybe some black employees from Home Depot or Lowes can post thier opinion here and let us know how it feels to work in such a terrible racist job. In my town, there might be a dozen white people working in Home Depot. I wonder how that happened if Home Depot is racist.
Maybe with a little more "Change" we can all get along some day. lol
I always THANK the person asking to see my I.D. when I'm using one of my credit cards. It's not any problem or hassle for me to have it ready when I hand my card over. I don't get pissed off and quickly start talking that I'm being harassed, humiliated and discriminated against because I'm a white 51 year old female. What big Company in this country discriminates against any customer purchasing in their store in this bad economy? I think if your mind thinks that B.S. you're certainly going to find it by creating it. You should be nicer to Cashiers trying to protect you from your credit card ever being stolen/lost and used by an unauthorized person. You think you were harassed and humiliated by that cashier in "HOME DEPOT"? Wait until you are victim of identity theft! It's a nightmare that can last years. With more severe cases it's caused people to lose everything and put them on the streets homeless. Obviously this hasn't happened yet to you!
The cash register/computer is the one that makes the decision regarding which cards require identification. If you are prompted to check ID you check ID, plain and simple. Please drop the race card it is so pathetic and overused. Do you have such a sad existence that this is all consuming for you? Trust me nobody cares about anything on your ID except for a signature match. Get over it.
I am still here. thing is i finally got back on facebook after being banned for 3 years for reasons i dont know. so thats where most of my time on the internet has been spent. i still can't believe this guy is still pulling the race card. tell him i said to go cry to his boy al from new york. that would be that fake ### reverend al sharpton.
Hey, you have it wrong..its to your benefit that on all credit card purchases they ask for ID expecially since for the past few years knowone seemed to be checking ids. Gladly show it because if they dont have the ID they might have stolen the card. By the way, the same thing happened to me ..they did racially pick on me. Stop thinking its about you...its about protection. You should be mad if they dont check.
So get off that complaint step and move on.
m29lewis needs to get off this race card crap. I never experience any of the above and they are
both equal stores on hiring all kinds of people from all races. SO STOP THIS annoying attitude complaining about things that just are not happening! What do you want to file a lawsuit for money?
SO ENOUGH IS ENOUGH...MOVE ON WITH YOUR LIFE IF YOU HAVE ONE>
I have worked in retale for over 10 years now and I can tell you that every retale store I have ever worked at and for that matter every place that I have ever worked at the excepted credit cards whether it be a grocery store resteraunt etc. has always required you to ask for ID when a customer preents a credit card or even uses their debit card as a credit. This is actually for your protection to ensure someone else is not using your card. Just so you know we get paid anyways it is you that is effected if someone has stole your card and we do not check ID.
On one particular incedent I had a woman come through my line and bought about $150 worth of stuff. She was using a credit card. Now I could have eaisly allowed her to swipe her card and move on to the next customer. However I asked to see her ID and when I looked at the credit card it was a mans name. I compared the last names and they were different. (If they have the same last name we allow them to use the card because it is probably their husband/wifes card.) I apoligized and explained to her that I could not except the card. She pretty much begged me to take it and I told her that I would call my manager to see if they would autherize me to accept it. The manager came to my register she looked at the card and ID and confirmed that we could not eccept the card. Not an hour after this encedent our loss prevention manager came out of his office with a fax that was sent with the same womans picture on it and a warning that this lady had stole a mans wallet and was using his credit cards all over town. The woman was white BTW as am I. I have never worked at a Lowes or Home Depot and honsetly have always felt like I was not hired there because I am white and there are many black people working there. Racism goes both ways. In fact it goes many ways. We should not try to make every little thing that someone of another color does or says to us a negative or about color. The lady was just doing her job.
I've been in Walmarts before and I simply choose to boycott them. Every Walmart location that I have been to in Michigan has RUDE employees. I can relate to your situation because I was standing in line once where the line next to me there was this guy that waited 45 mins for service and once he got up to the front of the line you wanna know what the cashier told him? " Oh my shift is over i'm sorry" He said well can't you ring me up? No! my shift is over. Half of those managers that work at walmart shouldn't be managers. They have no management skills to begin with. So I'll agree no matter what time you go to any walmart on the weekend it's always busy. The managers will just stand around and won't open a register to help out either. I save More money at Vg's food center then I do at Walmart.
Caligurl, you need to pay more attention in your english class. Since when is "excepted" used for the word accepted? Since when is retail spelled r-e-t-a-l-e? Do you eat at a "resteraunt" or a restaurant? you also spelled incident wrong. You spelled it i-n-c-e-d-e-n-t. Also where you put the word "effected" it should have been affected. "Mans" is not a word. Man's is. "Autherize" is a-u-t-h-o-r-i-z-e. "eccept" is a-c-c-e-p-t. "honsetly" is h-o-n-e-s-t-l-y...you really need to take a class in english. Caligurl, please do not leave any opinions or comments until you are able to spell the words out properly. Your killing all of us who have read your response.
@Joey Excuse me I did not realize the spell police would be here. Had I known I would have used spell check. It really gives me a good laugh when people think they have to correct others for their spelling and grammer. Who really cares besides you? I know I really dont. This is a public forum where somebody posted something and gave others the oppertunity to respond with their opinions and facts. No where is there a rule that states you must be a spelling bee champ or use proper grammer to reply here. Heres a clue... not everyone is great at spelling. Some people are better then others. I have a sister that could spell any word you say and she didnt even finish high school. She can also remember things that happened to her or she done when she was 2 years old. I am a college graduate and cant spell well. In spelling you rely on memory. That is something I dont have much of. So congrats to you for having a great memory I guess that puts you on a pedistool... Psst.
opps sorry I didnt use spell check again. JERK!
@Anita If I dont want to use spell check I dont have to. I am not here to impress you Joey the Jerk or anyone else. I have a right to post my opinion on here with or without using spell check. GET OVER IT!
Yes you do have a right to "critique". Whatever! How about you and Joey make sure yall never miss spell anything and use spell check every time so you can be perfect spellers. It doesnt make either of you less hateful. I cant spell whoop whoop! I gaurantee I have more compassion then the both of you put together.
I had a store near me in San Diego request photo ID even though my picture was on my credit card. I was told that I could have glued my picture on my Bank of America card. PLEASE! They flat out denied the transaction unless I showed them my drivers license. I was told they have had fraud recently. I replied, do you really think I'm using a fraudulent credit card making at $33 dollar purchase and yet my photo is on my card!?!?! A district manager told me that it's Home Depot's corporate policy yet couldn't explain why cashiers on Facebook mentioned that it's not Home Depots policy and why it's not enforced nationwide. A merchant-Home Depot in this case, cannot refuse to process a transaction if the cardholder will not show ID. I really don't think the cashiers are trained on what a valid ID looks like. I'm sick and tired of being told that it's for my protection when I have more faith in the software processing the credit card transaction. Here in Southern CA, no one looks at the back of the card to see if it's signed or even if the hologram is in the correct location. Followed Visa/MasterCard guidelines or don't accept them!
I totally get if if my photo WAS NOT on my card, but it was...hence no reason to show ID.
The register prompts the cashier to ask for ID when buying paint to verify the customer is of age to purchase it. They are suppose to enter your birthdate.
I work in the industry and know the merchant regulations of accepting Visa and MasterCard. Showing Photo ID IS NOT a requirement of using a Visa/MasterCard and a merchant can request photo ID but cannot deny processing a sale if you refuse to show ID. My Photo ID was on my card so what was the point of showing Photo ID? The cashier did not follow the other guidelines verifying that the card was actually valid, meaning the hologram was in the correct location, mag stripe, card signed, etc. Actually, most credit card fraud occurs online and not in a store.
@Mellen I agree with you. These people want to get on here and complain about this but the fact of the matter is if their card was stolen and used at Home Depot or where ever they would be pissed and would want to know why the card was accepted. What they really want to do is just complain about something and it doesnt matter who it hurts or effects in the process. As a former Cashier i will be the first one to tell you if you came through my line and was using a Credit Card I was asking for an ID. Most people thanked me for it. If you could not show an ID I would call a manager AND loss prevention. The company is going to back the cashier up on this because in the long run it is protecting their assets.
Now if the person had a BOA card or any card that had the picture on the card I would eccept that as proof of ID but for all you know this cashier could have been new and not aware that it is ok to eccept that as a form of ID. When it comes down to it the cashiers main goal is to keep their job and they know that one stupid mistake could cause them to lose it. Why dont you all be more understanding to that and yes if you are using a credit card have ID ready to show. Its not that hard to do and its not really going to hurt you to show it. But it could hurt someones whole family if they ask for it you refuse to show it they take your card anyways and the card turns out to be stolen.
I understand your point. However, if the card is reported lost or stolen in a timely manner, then the card holder is not responsible for any of the charges. I would have no problem showing ID if my ID WAS NOT on my card. However, my picture was clearly on my card and it was recent. I had fraudulent activity on my Capital One Visa last year, yet the card was in my possession. Showing ID would not have accomplished anything since the charges were online. In order to solve this entire problem, US financial institutions need to migrate to the Pin and Chip System that the rest of the world uses. The card holder enters a PIN when using a Visa/MasterCard. It's been proven to reduce fraud but I don't see it happening since we are moving to mobile payments (NFC) and a card will not be present for the transaction.
It's principle and I know the regulations. Cashiers only look at the drivers license and match the card name with the license. They never look to see if the card is signed or if it's an altered card which can be another charge back reason. Technically, Visa and MasterCard are transferable so I can give the card to anyone so they can use it. However, the merchant does not know that.