Store Refuses Cash For iPhone Purchase

[red states rule]

I found this hard to beleive - but it is true. Cash is not accepted at this store


What can cash buy? Not an iPhone

By Samantha Maziarz Christmann NEWS BUSINESS REPORTER
Updated: 05/11/08 11:18 AM


Alex Palen’s visit to the Apple Store in the Walden Galleria last week began as a pleasant one. Walking the electronics retailer’s sleek aisles, Palen found the sales staff helpful in selecting the 16 gigabyte iPhone he wanted to buy.

But when he took the cash from his wallet to pay for the latest must-have gadget, things took a turn for the worse.

“She looked at my money and said, ‘We don’t accept cash as a form of payment for the iPhone.’ When I asked why, she would only say it was the store’s policy that I use a credit card,” Palen said.

Since he doesn’t have one, Palen asked another customer if he could give him the $499 plus tax to charge it for him. Store staffers said that was against the rules, and then escorted him — and his pocket full of bills — from the store.

“I was so outraged. I was so humiliated. I just sat in the mall and couldn’t even talk for half an hour. I was so surprised this could happen in America,” Palen said. “I’ve never been told that U. S. currency isn’t enough to buy a product


http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/343856.html

[PostmodernProphet]

????....try signing up for anything except a prepaid phone without a credit card......

[red states rule]

????....try signing up for anything except a prepaid phone without a credit card......

for auto billing sure

but for the initial purchase?

[midcan5]

RSR, I find it sort of ironic that you would complain about a business exercising its legal rights. Is there anything you don't complain about? How about sunny days?

I see you took the picture of you on your tricycle off, I kinda liked it.

[red states rule]

RSR, I find it sort of ironic that you would complain about a business exercising its legal rights. Is there anything you don't complain about? How about sunny days?

I am asking why they refuse cash - not complaining

Do have anything to add to this discussion, or just trolling?

[theHawk]

for auto billing sure

but for the initial purchase?

I would assume that when you buy the phone, you are also purchasing the initial contract with AT&T for a year or two service.

[red states rule]

I would assume that when you buy the phone, you are also purchasing the initial contract with AT&T for a year or two service.

You can still pay by check monthly with a service contract. I believe AT&T lets you pay online via your checking account. As well as auto debit

[manu1959]

RSR, I find it sort of ironic that you would complain about a business exercising its legal rights. Is there anything you don't complain about? How about sunny days?

I see you took the picture of you on your tricycle off, I kinda liked it.

legal rights to not accept the currency of the nation it does business in....how about they not get us dollars for the credit slips.....

and just cuz i feel like tormenting someone today....which "legal right" was the business exercising......

[red states rule]

legal rights to not accept the currency of the nation it does business in....how about they not get us dollars for the credit slips.....

and just cuz i feel like tormenting someone today....which "legal right" was the business exercising......

Why any business would turn down cash is amazing. they have the legal right to do so, but it is strange

[Hagbard Celine]

He was "outraged?" Someone needs to get a life.

[red states rule]

He was "outraged?" Someone needs to get a life.

Maybe he was pissed because he had cash to buy the item he wanted, and the store refused

Good reason to be pissed. Why turn down cash money?

[Hagbard Celine]

Maybe he was pissed because he had cash to buy the item he wanted, and the store refused

Good reason to be pissed. Why turn down cash money?

Apparently the store has a policy against accepting it. It doesn't make sense to me but it's not like the guy has some "right" to purchase things with cash. The store can make-up whatever policy it wants concerning methods of payment and it's absolutely silly for the guy to have gotten "outrage" and "humiliation" out of this. The poor little paper tiger must wilt at the slightest difficulty. What a pitiful existence.

[red states rule]

Apparently the store has a policy against accepting it. It doesn't make sense to me but it's not like the guy has some "right" to purchase things with cash. The store can make-up whatever policy it wants concerning methods of payment and it's absolutely silly for the guy to have gotten "outrage" and "humiliation" out of this. The poor little paper tiger must wilt at the slightest difficulty. What a pitiful existence.

Yes the store has the right dto do so, Maybe if the guy was black and played the race card you will be more understanding of his fustration

[Hagbard Celine]

Yes the store has the right dto do so, Maybe if the guy was black and played the race card you will be more understanding of his fustration

You're a clown and an extremist who no one takes seriously.

[red states rule]

You're a clown and an extremist who no one takes seriously.

Touched a neerve there, eh? Yes, libs do respond to pissed of minorites, the rest are ignored

[Hagbard Celine]

Touched a neerve there, eh? Yes, libs do respond to pissed of minorites, the rest are ignored

Now that you've proven your ability to conjure non-sequiturs out of thin air, what will you do next?

[red states rule]

Now that you've proven your ability to conjure non-sequiturs out of thin air, what will you do next?

For someone who you bellow is not taken seriously, you keep repsonding to my posts

I must be hitting a nerve with you

[Hagbard Celine]

For someone who you bellow is not taken seriously, you keep repsonding to my posts

I must be hitting a nerve with you

It's just that you're the only one posting at the moment so you're stuck with me. Make no mistake about it, you haven't hit a single nerve. I don't take you seriously at all.

[Yurt]

legal rights to not accept the currency of the nation it does business in....how about they not get us dollars for the credit slips.....

and just cuz i feel like tormenting someone today....which "legal right" was the business exercising......

the dormant commerce clause :laugh2:

j/k

a private business does not have to accept US currency, the coinage act applies to creditors.....


The pertinent portion of law that applies to your question is the Coinage Act of 1965, specifically Section 31 U.S.C. 5103, entitled "Legal tender," which states: "United States coins and currency (including Federal reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal reserve banks and national banks) are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues."

This statute means that all United States money as identified above are a valid and legal offer of payment for debts when tendered to a creditor. There is, however, no Federal statute mandating that a private business, a person or an organization must accept currency or coins as for payment for goods and/or services. Private businesses are free to develop their own policies on whether or not to accept cash unless there is a State law which says otherwise. For example, a bus line may prohibit payment of fares in pennies or dollar bills. In addition, movie theaters, convenience stores and gas stations may refuse to accept large denomination currency (usually notes above $20) as a matter of policy.

http://www.ustreas.gov/education/faq/currency/legal-tender.shtml

[hjmick]

From the article:


According to the Coinage Act of 1965, creditors must accept U. S. currency as legal tender for debts, dues and taxes. However, according to the U. S. Department of the Treasury’s Web site, “Private businesses are free to develop their own policies on whether or not to accept cash unless there is a state law which says otherwise.”

So Apple is violating no law, they are exercising their right to only accept particular types of payment. An individual is free to take their business elsewhere. There are numerous consumer electronics outlets that sell Apple products and accept cash.


But, why would Apple discourage business and refuse paper money? No other wireless phone retailer requires the use of credit cards.

So jog down to an AT&T store and buy your iPhone from them. Problem solved.


Then again, not every other retailer has customers waiting in line for 30 hours in advance of a phone’s release like Apple has for the iPhone. When the phone was first released in June, customers happily dished out $599 for an 8 gigabyte model, only to see the price slashed by $200 just months later.

Yeah, those who just had to have one immediately got screwed over.


Apple has been tight-lipped about the reasoning behind its no-cash policy, reading the same statement over and over to dozens of media outlets.

Uh...well...yeah. The less we the consumer know about their reasons, the less likely we are to become annoyed and take our business elsewhere.


“We require a credit, debit or gift card as payment to discourage unauthorized resellers,” said Teresa Brewer, Apple spokeswoman.

Some customers have made a quick buck buying and reselling the iPhone at a higher price, especially during the holidays when supply is down and demand is up. In addition, Apple has said that about 250,000 of the 1.4 million iPhones the company has sold so far went to “unlockers.”

Yeah, as if purchasing one with a credit card would keep someone from selling it for a profit. Whatever.


As the result of a five-year exclusivity deal, Apple iPhones are programmed to work exclusively on the AT&T network where wireless plans are available for between $59.99 and $119.99 per month. As soon as the phones were released, hackers worked to develop software that would divorce them from AT&T, making it possible to use the iPhone on any network.

A representative at the Walden Galleria Apple Store said the credit-only policy is in place “to make sure the iPhone is going to the person making the purchase, so that they can be informed of Apple’s policies.” As part of Apple’s sales policy, customers who unlock and activate their iPhones outside of the mandatory two-year AT&T wireless service contract automatically void their warranty.

Yeah, so? I would think that this goes without saying, but then again...Some folks never really think about such things.


The policy also states that Apple can cancel or refuse any order they suspect is intended for resale, and it limits purchases to five phones per person.

I have never known anyone who needed five phones. I can't help but think that Apple is being somewhat hypocritical in this regard. What do they think is happening to those four extra phones? As a father of three, having seen the way my kids treat their cell phones, I know I'm not giving any of them one of my extra iPhones. But that's just me.


Bloggers, such as those for the Macintosh News Network’s MacNN.com, have speculated that storing customer credit card information enables Apple to track customer purchases, and in turn, enables them to refuse sales to resellers and unlockers on record as multiple purchasers.

According to Glenn Boyet, a spokesman for the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council, tracking of such purchasing and activation habits does not violate customer privacy laws.

Big Brother does not come to us in the form of our government after all, instead our privacy is exploited by corporate behemoths.

Ultimately, Apple has done nothing wrong. If you don't like their policies, take your business somewhere else. That's what I do. I have never bought anything from an Apple Store. I find the better prices at other retailers and only go to an AS for support.

[manu1959]

the dormant commerce clause :laugh2:

j/k

a private business does not have to accept US currency, the coinage act applies to creditors.....

http://www.ustreas.gov/education/faq/currency/legal-tender.shtml

he used the word right......not accepting currency is not a right.....

[Yurt]

he used the word right......not accepting currency is not a right.....

you didn't like my dormant commerce clause joke? congress uses it to make up any right they want :D

[AllieBaba]

Maybe the clerk can't count change!

[KitchenKitten99]

The only issue that I can see is because the store is an electronics store, and many of the items are worth $100 or more, they don't want to be the target of robberies or employee cash theft because of the likelihood of the till having a large amount of cash in it. This could also put employees at risk for being injured in the attempted robbery or even on the way to dropping the nightly deposit to the bank. They probably don't take it for liability reasons, and given the values of the merchandise they carry in the store, I understand completely.

[AllieBaba]

I think it's more along the lines of they want that credit card information.

[red states rule]

The only issue that I can see is because the store is an electronics store, and many of the items are worth $100 or more, they don't want to be the target of robberies or employee cash theft because of the likelihood of the till having a large amount of cash in it. This could also put employees at risk for being injured in the attempted robbery or even on the way to dropping the nightly deposit to the bank. They probably don't take it for liability reasons, and given the values of the merchandise they carry in the store, I understand completely.

Valid pint, but other types of stores have larger amounts of cash on hand. It is a strange policy that costs them sales

[DragonStryk72]

Apparently the store has a policy against accepting it. It doesn't make sense to me but it's not like the guy has some "right" to purchase things with cash. The store can make-up whatever policy it wants concerning methods of payment and it's absolutely silly for the guy to have gotten "outrage" and "humiliation" out of this. The poor little paper tiger must wilt at the slightest difficulty. What a pitiful existence.

Um, actually, he does.... 9th amendment, actually, covered right under the inherent rights, otherwise you'd never have the "right" to own anything.

[diuretic]

Need help from our lawyers but wouldn't it be simply the terms of the contract that the store has developed? Offer and acceptance and all the rest of it?

[KitchenKitten99]

Valid pint, but other types of stores have larger amounts of cash on hand. It is a strange policy that costs them sales

Maybe they have been burned in the past by theft of any kind and don't want to take the chance, so they eliminate part of the problem. You can't spend credit card receipts.

[Yurt]

Um, actually, he does.... 9th amendment, actually, covered right under the inherent rights, otherwise you'd never have the "right" to own anything.

that is an incorrect application of the law...the "right" to own something comes from the 5th amendment and is applied to the states throught the 14th amendment:


nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

as hjmick, myself and others have already pointed out, under the coinage act, the store is not required to take cash.

[Yurt]

Need help from our lawyers but wouldn't it be simply the terms of the contract that the store has developed? Offer and acceptance and all the rest of it?

true, you do need offer and acceptance, however, usually most important, you need consideration. what method the consideration is given is up to the offeror, not the offoree. apple could require payment in brownies and girlscout cookies if they wanted.

[diuretic]

true, you do need offer and acceptance, however, usually most important, you need consideration. what method the consideration is given is up to the offeror, not the offoree. apple could require payment in brownies and girlscout cookies if they wanted.

Thanks for that - I reckon that sorts it.