Carded at Target

[xoprincessmomxo]

I'm glad that stores take their responisibility of carding seriously. Sometimes, though, they take it too seriously! When I was pregnant with my first DD, my DH and I went to get groceries. We had a cart full of groceries, and my DH had a six pack of beer. When it rang up and he went to pay, the girl insisted she needed to see both of our ID's. I told her I was not 21, but we were buying all of our groceries and they were my DH's, and since I was 7 months pregnant I would not be indulging. She refused to let him buy them, simply because I was there with him! It made me wonder if parents who bought groceries with their children in tow could not buy a bottle of wine for dinner since the children were underage.

 

[Octoberbride03]

I don't think the complaint is that she was carded but that they wanted the ID to enter in info to buy it.

I've found target in general to be a register hassle but not nearly as bad as my local walmart.

I forgot what store I was in the other day but there was a sign up that all liquor and nicotine sales will be carded. ALL was in capital letters. I wonder if target has that policy.

I work at Target and though I'm no longer a cashier I still have to know the state laws for carding in case i have to jump on the register for some reason. When you are carded at Target the cashier MUST scan your ID barcode or slide the magnetic strip(VA has both but I've never seen the magnetic strip work yet. This is true for everything from buying wine to paying by check. If the register prompts the cashier they have to follow it.

For the PP who left over $300 in merchandise for the lighter, I'm sorry you felt that way,but you spent probably what? 10-15 minutes arguing about a small principle when handing it over would have taken 10-20 seconds. Congratulations, you proved your point.

In my world some things are just not worth arguing about. This is 1 of them. As far as leaving the house without ID. This really should NEVER EVER be done. I used to be terrible about this, but you really don't know when you'll need it for a true emergency.

 

[npmommie]

Take it as a compliment.

It was not meant to be a compliment, it was a technicality

Cut the cashiers some slack. They have to do what they are told. They could lose their jobs if they don't. You should always have ID with you. I learned that the hard way by thinking I was going out for 10 minutes and didn't need my purse.

I did not give the cashier a hard time, not at all, in fact i laughed about it because it was so absurd to me, and i had my license, it was in the car.

There are some store register systems that require a birth date be entered for liquor, tobacco, R-rate movies, spray paint and similar items. My cousin recently went to a Wal-Mart store here in New Mexico to purchase spray paint and here a minor can't buy spray paint. My cousin does look young for his age. He's 25 but could pass as a teen. He was asked for his ID and the cashier told him a birthdate needed to be entered in.

that would be fine if I was buying cigerettes or liquor, and even if they only wanted to manually enter a birthdate. but that was not the entire issue.
they would not sell it to me just with me telling them by very obvious birth year

At Target here, my almost 50yr old DH had to show his license to buy beer. Actually they had to slide the license like a debit card into their register before he could buy it. She also had to call a manager over I guess because she wasn't old enough to sell it. What a hassle! (we don't normally go there for beer, but happened to be there and thought we'd save a trip to the store)

This was my biggest issue, even though i didn't have my license on me, if i had i wouldn't had allowed it to be scanned for something like this

I'm very pleased to learn Target is taking their responsibilities seriously.

I'm very disappointed to learn that Wal-Mart is not.​

oh please! well i guess you can count cvs and rite aid in too because they never ask to scan an ID either its nicorette gum, yes it is laced with nicotine, but not as much as cigarettes, it is not like buying cigs or liquor.

I understand the OP's frustration, as I often don't carry my ID into a store with me. Heck, the state liquor store doesn't card me (I'm 47) I would be surprised if a store carded for Nicorette too.

thank you

I don't think the complaint is that she was carded but that they wanted the ID to enter in info to buy it.

I've found target in general to be a register hassle but not nearly as bad as my local walmart.

I forgot what store I was in the other day but there was a sign up that all liquor and nicotine sales will be carded. ALL was in capital letters. I wonder if target has that policy.

yes exactly. like i said even if i had the id on me, i wouldn't have given it once i knew they would scan it.

Far be it for me to complain about a store employee following their own policy. It's certainly not as though that particular cashier made up that rule just for themselves! I remember my days as a cashier, and the carp I used to have to put up with from customers who apparently seemed to make it some kind of a sport to try to get the cashier upset, fired, or both. There must have been a long-standing game going on to that effect...

Personally when it comes to alcohol/cigarettes/that type thing, I am overjoyed to see stores being more careful about who purchases them.

My boyfriend (at that time) was purchasing beer at a supermarket once, and we were both carded since I was there with him. I, personally, don't see anything wrong with this policy; considering the number of times I've had to direct people to lawyers to respond to a charge of furnishing alcohol to minors, not to mention to minors who were caught drinking... nope, doesn't bug me at all.

first of all i did not give the cashier crap, not at all, i was very nice, even to the manager, i did not get snippy, i just ended it with i guess i won't be buying anything then. i was not mean at all.
and second of all, it was not alcohol or cigarettes we are talking about.

As part of a standardized national process most if not all states put a magnetic strip on the back of drivers liscence and state issued id's. Targets policy which in the litigious world we live in today is actually a good idea is that if you buy certain items, cigerettes or alchol for example then the cashier has to scan your id period. If you do not have an id then you cannot buy the product. What they are doing is tieing a specific id to every purchase such that if they are accused of selling such products to a minor or a far reaching lawsuit comes back to them (someone buys their beer at Target gets drunk and kills someone in a car wreck) then they can show that the id was checked because all the information from the id was recoreded with the sale. Your age, even if your 90 is not as [/COLOR]important to Target as linking your id to the sale of that age limited product. Now as others have said linking lighters and other products to their id policy might be a stretch, but in many areas items like that can fall under the legal classification of drug paraphenalia believe it or not.

To me in the sue at the drop of a dime world we live in today Targets practice is merely good business. Is it a hassle when I buy wine at Target and have to take my id out of my wallet and let the cashier scan it? Yeah it is, but I completely understand why they do it and know that if I want to buy that product at Target I have to do it.

SO ok, lets see in the case of nicorette gum, the only person who could POSSIBLY get hurt would be the person using it.
and that's a BIG stretch. yes it used to be prescription, but you can do far worse things to yourself with many more of the over the counter medications that do NOT require id to purchase.

 

[brerrabbit]

Like it or not Target can be held responsible for someone "hurting themselves" if that person is underage. Nicotenne (sp) is in fact a poison. Gardeners in some cases use it as a peticide. In concentrated doses it can kill a person. Now I am a borderline Libertarian myself and hate government intrusion into my life and feel that people should be responsible for their own actions etc., but from a business standpoint if the product is on a government list then the retailer is only protecting their interests when requiring a scanned id for the purchase of the product.

 

[robinb]

At Target here, my almost 50yr old DH had to show his license to buy beer. Actually they had to slide the license like a debit card into their register before he could buy it.

I'm also close to 50 and Target always cards me too. Last year I innocently gave the cashier my Driver's License and she swiped it before I had a chance to object. I had no idea she was going to do it! There is a LOT of information on my DL that I do not want Target to have. Sure, their register might be programmed to only read and store the birthday ... but maybe not. I don't want to trust my personal information with any retailer. From that point on, I store my DL in the window part of my wallet and I show it to them with the wallet in my hand. They have not asked for me to remove it ... yet. And if they do I will not give them permission to swipe it ever again.

 

[npmommie]

but from a business standpoint if the product is on a government list

where is this government list?

and again, i would have had no problem if all they wanted was to look at my birthdate, or even if they just entered my birthdate manually, I offered my birthdate, but the manager said the register would not proceed without the license, meaning scan the license.
it wasn't like there was a question of whether I was of age or not

 

[Disnydad]

My son worked at a grocery store recently and they were required to enter the birthdate off a government ID for any cigarette or alcohol purchases. The register will not complete the sale if not.

 

[Shyvioletisme]

I tried to buy a lighter once at Target...one of the long ones for candles, BBQ, etc.

I'm 38, and they said sorry you don't have an ID. I asked what I needed an ID for, the cashier said for a lighter. Um no, there is no law about buying lighters in Texas. I asked for a manager. The manager came up and said it was "Target" policy not to sell lighters to anyone under 18.
No probelm, I left my cart that was probably over $300 (school shopping) and told the manager that I hoped their policy about buying a $4.00 candlelight lighter might change.

really?? I buy those from Target a lot and have never been asked for ID...and I'm only 27.

 

[ccgirl]

IMHO, some people are way overreacting here. It is store policy that you need to have your license information entered. You cannot just tell them your birthdate, how do they know you are not lying. I believe in my state, they enter both the bdate and lic#. To those upset that the person they were with couldn't purchase alcohol because they didn't have their id...come on now. It is illegal to furnish alcohol for minors, the store needs to cover their @$$. The arguments were....if a parent were with their 5 year old, would they need to be carded??? Let's be real here a 5 year old is not going to consume alcohol but a 20 year old might. Sometimes I think people are just looking for reasons to be argumentative. I always laugh when people say they don't want their id entered. In today's world, everything is online anyway. To the other stores not asking for ID, they are breaking the law and could receive hefty fines.

 

[Octoberbride03]

I'm also close to 50 and Target always cards me too. Last year I innocently gave the cashier my Driver's License and she swiped it before I had a chance to object. I had no idea she was going to do it! There is a LOT of information on my DL that I do not want Target to have. Sure, their register might be programmed to only read and store the birthday ... but maybe not. I don't want to trust my personal information with any retailer. From that point on, I store my DL in the window part of my wallet and I show it to them with the wallet in my hand. They have not asked for me to remove it ... yet. And if they do I will not give them permission to swipe it ever again.

This is what i really don't understand about ppl. Do you have a Target credit card? Or a credit card with any store retailer? Because if you do then they already have way more info on you than what's stored on that license. All the scan does is confirm your ID. That's it. the screen doesn't even show the cashier what was scanned, all it does it let the cashier proceed to the next step in checking you out.

Yes it does protect Target to scan your license. Following this small procedure is what saves the company thousands in fines every yr, which helps keep our costs down.

'And what happens when you travel, because you know down the road the airlines and all will eventually be scanning your ID to alllow you to travel. What will you do then? Stay home?

 

[~disneydiva~]

People will complain about anything...

 

[disneyfav4ever]

At my store we always need to see ID and enter a DOB, otherwise the computer won't finish the sale, but we don't need to swipe the ID. Makes me glad I live in PA though and don't have to deal with alcohol sales.

And some people do get very rude when they're asked for ID. They really should calm down, and realize that the employee is just doing their job, and is not trying to make their life more difficult.

 

[JEmaryland]

You guys are just lucky that in your states, those stores can actually sell alcohol. The laws in Maryland are totally ridiculous. Alcohol can only be purchased in liquor stores.

 

[robinb]

IMHO, some people are way overreacting here. It is store policy that you need to have your license information entered. You cannot just tell them your birthdate, how do they know you are not lying. I believe in my state, they enter both the bdate and lic#. To those upset that the person they were with couldn't purchase alcohol because they didn't have their id...come on now. It is illegal to furnish alcohol for minors, the store needs to cover their @$$. The arguments were....if a parent were with their 5 year old, would they need to be carded??? Let's be real here a 5 year old is not going to consume alcohol but a 20 year old might. Sometimes I think people are just looking for reasons to be argumentative. I always laugh when people say they don't want their id entered. In today's world, everything is online anyway. To the other stores not asking for ID, they are breaking the law and could receive hefty fines.

I think you're missing the point. It's not the birth date that many of us object to. It's all the other information encoded on my DL that they have access to when they swipe it. There is no reason for any retailer to have that information and I cannot know for sure exactly what fields off my DL they are reading and storing. My DL number? My name? My address? My height? My weight? My eye color? My hair color? My social security number? ALL of that information is available on the 2-D bar code on the back of my DL. Why in the world would I give Target access to any of that information? Heck, I refuse to give retailers my phone number or zip code when they ask me.

 

[manning]

I've had problems with getting ID checking at Target, too. My mom & I had a "girls day out" this past winter and went shopping and had dinner. Afterward, she wanted to go get some groceries before she dropped me off at my place. No big deal. She got all her groceries, which included a bottle of wine, and went to the checkout. The girl was ringing up all her stuff, and carded my mom when she got to the wine. I laughed (my mom is 45), and then the girl turned and asked me for my ID. I'm 22, so it's not a big deal, but I had left my bag in my mom's car. I told her they weren't my groceries, and I wasn't paying, so I didn't have to show her my ID.. I worked at a gas station for 5 years, and did tobacco & alcohol training every year at our police station - I know the ID laws. She argued with me about it and said that because I was with my mom, that I had to be 21 for my mom to buy the wine. So I asked her.. if I was a 5 year old kid with my mom buying groceries, would my mom not be able to buy wine? She sat there with a dumbfounded look on her face for about a full minute, then AGAIN told my mom she wouldn't sell her the wine. Eventually we had to get a store manager to come over to settle it, but sheesh.. you'd think that if you're going to be allowed to sell tobacco or alcohol, you'd know the laws about how to do it.

Target is a little behind in things. I went into one and bought some things with a credit card. I ran the card through the scanner and it was accepted by the credit card company. The clerk then starts to take an imprint of my card. Wait a minute what are you doing, I don't want my cc number laying around. Clerk said that it is their policy and have the right to do so. "No once you go beyond the point of CC company approval of the sale you are going beyond my privacy rights, do not make an imprint."

Well, after some discussion with corporate they acknowledge I was right. I went back to that store and bought more things and they did not try to imprint my card.

 

[sbell111]

... There is a LOT of information on my DL that I do not want Target to have. ...

Which info do you not want them to have?

I just pulled my license out of my wallet. Here's the info on it:

• a bad picture
• my name
• my address
• my birthdate
• my sex
• my height
• my eye color
• License Class, Endorsements, and Restrictions
• my license number
• dates of issue and expiration

I can't for the life of me find any information on here that would make me care about whether Target scanned the ID.

If they manually wrote down your name, birthdate, and license number, would you be up in arms?

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I think you're missing the point. It's not the birth date that many of us object to. It's all the other information encoded on my DL that they have access to when they swipe it. There is no reason for any retailer to have that information and I cannot know for sure exactly what fields off my DL they are reading and storing. My DL number? My name? My address? My height? My weight? My eye color? My hair color? My social security number? ALL of that information is available on the 2-D bar code on the back of my DL. Why in the world would I give Target access to any of that information? Heck, I refuse to give retailers my phone number or zip code when they ask me.

I get why you'd want them to not have most of that info, but why not zip code?

 

[robinb]

I get why you'd want them to not have most of that info, but why not zip code?

They ask for zip code for marketing purposes so they know where their customers live. I simply don't care to share that information. Sell me my stuff and let me go on my way . FWIW, I'm nice when I refuse. I usually say "I'm sorry, I don't give out that information." and the cashier enters in a fake number without a blink.

 

[FireDancer]

I went to WalMart this summer to buy spray paint because we were making our tent sign for our Relay for Life Team. They would not sell it to me without ID. I had it in the car, so I went and got it. I am 31 but have never bought alcohol without having to show ID. I am prepared for that but didn't realize it was such a hassle to buy spray paint. Apparently you have to be 18, which is a bit silly. What if I had to get some paint for a school project, like the home coming float and my parents were busy?

 

[GoodFairies]

The only thing I find odd about the story is that you went into a store to make a purchase, so you obviously had a wallet on you, but for some reason your wallet doesn't contain your ID. That's odd compared to 99.9999% of all other people.