CVS rejects student's Puerto Rican ID, asks for immigration papers to buy cold medicine [View all]

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CVS officials say they are investigating a claim by a Purdue University engineering student who said he was denied the purchase of an over-the-counter cold medicine because employees at an Indiana store looked at his Puerto Rican driver’s license and told him he needed a valid U.S. ID, before pressing him about his immigration status.

The episode started when Guzman Payano went to bed Oct. 24 feeling like a cold was coming on and woke up to a sore throat and congestion bad enough that it was difficult to breathe. A diagnosis at the Purdue University Student Health Center later that day pointed to bronchitis. That morning, though, he said figured Mucenix, an over-the-counter medication, would do the trick.

He said he rang up the items in a self-scan checkout and waited for a store clerk when the machine’s screen noted that an ID check was required for the cold medicine. When he showed his ID a clerk told him it wasn’t enough. “She said I needed a visa,” Guzman Payano said. He said he had his (U.S.) passport, so he showed that, with no luck. He said the store employee told him he still needed to see some sort of immigration status before he could buy the (over the counter) cold medicine.

He left and then came back minutes later to see whether a shift supervisor or manager could help. Guzman Payano said he received the same line about corporate policy (his driver’s license from Puerto Rico didn’t fit the company’s policy of accepting only U.S., Canadian and Mexican IDs).

CVS did offer an apology, via a statement, when asked by the J&C.
“We are committed to ensuring that every customer receives courteous, outstanding service in our stores, and we apologize to the customer for his recent experience,” Amy Thibault, a CVS spokeswoman, said.

https://news.yahoo.com/cvs-rejects-purdue-students-puerto-161311488.html