Huddle House, Inc Huddle House Restaurants Violates Mastercard Requirements for Credit Cards Atlanta, Georgia

Mastercard and Visa have rules for merchants who take their cards, this location decided that they were going to start requiring 'ID' from customers using cards.  This clearly violates their Mastercard agreements and Mastercard has an internet site for such complaints about card violations.  I have made a complaint about the below to http://www.mastercard.us/support/merchant-violations.html

This complaint regards one unit of the 400+ units of the Atlanta based restaurant chain:

Huddle House at
430 S. Marietta Pkwy SE
Marietta, GA 30060
Tel: 770-424-3784

I have been eating at their Marietta location for 2 1/2 years, probably once a week between 1:30 and 3:30 pm, that is about 130 meals.  I am not their best customer but the wait staff know without asking what I have to drink and that I want 2 packets of dressing with my salad.  So I am not a stranger to this Huddle House location.

This is my first complaint to their HQ sent to 3 people whose email addresses I found online:

Sept 4, 2012
Dear Sirs:

I have patronized your Marietta, Georgia location for about 2 1/2 yrs, probably once a week.
Today I had a small meal (Cost $5.02 + $2 tip) and went to pay and the waitress asked me for my 'ID'. I refused. Not only do I not show Huddle House my ID, I refuse to show anyone other than a Police Officer my 'ID'.

 I am also quite well aware that the merchant agreements for Visa and Mastercard prohibit the merchant from asking for additional identification as long as the card is signed. Mine was signed.

Some other employees got involved and one older waitress who I knew from prior visits told me that this was 'for my protection'.

The world is in a pretty darn poor state when I have to rely on a Huddle House waitresses protect me. Your employees are not KGB Border guards and they have absolutely no right to demand that I show them my identification.

I am using the Mastercard complaint site below to file a violation against your chain for attempting to require me to provide identification.

Eventually they took the card without any additional ID and I made sure to let the staff and the other diners there know just why I would not return to a Huddle House and the reason.

Bill H 
former Huddle House customer
Kennesaw, Ga 30065

I never got any reply from HQ but I thought I would try a second time, this is what I found and I put in this follow up complaint via email to 3 people at their HQ:

Sept. 13, 2012
Two weeks ago I sent you the below email in complaint about your Marietta location. Of course I never got any reply.
Despite this I did return to the location today for lunch. Entering I saw all manner of tacks signs posted to the effect that customers had to provide their ID if using a credit card.
Just to be sure I went to the register and asked if they were serious about this nonsense. They were and I told the fry cook that I had been eating there for 2 1/2 yrs and I was not about to show any ID and that I would not be eating there today or any day.

I am filing another complaint against your location today with Mastercard and sending them photos of those signs. It is entirely against both Visa and Mastercard regulations for any firm to require customers to provide additional ID if the card is signed.
I am also going post complaints on consumer blog sites about your firm, including the Rip Off Report.
Bill H

I am no longer a customer of Huddle House.