Credit Card Trouble at Petit Monde & SM Megamall (Ire)

Petit Monde A 20% discount can mean hundreds of pesos in savings, and can easily sway a consumer towards buying a certain item. However, the pleasure of a good find can easily vanish when one learns that the 20% discount will be lessened to just 10% upon the use of a credit card.

So I spoke with Ms. Rizza Espino to suggest that the consumer be informed in two ways. One, visually, by having tags and signs proclaiming the cash and credit card prices, and, two, verbally, by having the sales personnel remind the customers that the cash and credit card discounts are different.

SM Dept. Store in Megamall I was asked by the cashier for an ID when I paid for my purchases via credit card. Although I was willing to show an ID, I wanted to know why.

The cashier didn’t provide an explanation but kept consulting with her co-employee. The silence was irritating, to say the least. After prodding a couple more times for the reason , the cashier finally explained that since there were scratches on the signature, it’s considered an “altered” signature, that’s why she wanted to see another ID with my signature for comparison.

Disgruntled, I reluctantly showed her my driver’s license.

A consultation with the department supervisor, Ms. Tolentino, revealed that a credit card, even with scratches obviously caused by credit card machines and not by deliberate tampering human hands, can be considered invalid and may be refused by the cashier to be used for the transaction. Therefore, she recommended that I ask for a credit card replacement from the bank.

At least now I had a more accurate explanation why I was being asked for an ID. What I suggested to Ms. Tolentino was to remind the personnel that an explanation would be really appreciated by the client instead of a stony silence.

The cashier could have said, “Ma’am, may scratches po ang signature sa kanilang credit card. Galing po yata sa machine. Pag ganito po kasi, pwede pong maging invalid ang credit card. Kung pwede po, pahiram na lang po ng ID na may signature nila para ma-verify natin.”

Of course, it would have taken a lot more effort on the cashier’s part to have done this, but I think a lot of consumers would prefer it rather than being left in the dark.

Consumer’s Right to Information Basically, these two incidents illustrate the consumer’s right to information. The Petit Monde incident regarding the difference in cash and credit card prices could have changed a consumer’s decision whether to buy or not, while the Shoemart Department Store incident showed that the consumer had a right to know regarding the status of his credit card, which may affect future purchasing practices.

Note: Both incidents occured on 30 April 2006 at SM Megamall during the 3 + 1 Day Sale.

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