Does Anyone Have The Right To Refuse Cash?

Cold, hard, cash has always been "legal tender for all debts public and private" in the U.S.A. It says so right on the face of every dollar bill. That means it's accepted everywhere, right?

Wrong. Next time you want to rent a car, don't offer to pay cash. It will probably be refused. Recently, I reserved a car with a major nationwide rental company, via the Internet. But when my husband and I went to pick up the vehicle, the local office of that company insisted we present a major credit card, which we did not have in hand at the time. Then they even refused cash on the barrelhead as an alternative.

We use only debit cards; it keeps us from spending money we don't have. With virtually every other business in town, that makes us the very best, most-preferred, kind of customers, but not at this establishment.

In fact, they wouldn't even accept a valid Florida driver's license as proof of identity. They wanted two local utility bills. Two! Now there's something everyone just happens to carry around in their hip pocket.

Since when is a driver's license not proof of identity? Since when is cash not good enough? What will they demand next - my firstborn as security?

I don't doubt there are deadbeats around who try to rent vehicles using fake IDs, but I'm not one of them. People with stolen identities don't have a whole pocketful of photo IDs with the same local name and address, and a spouse in tow with several as well. They also don't have five family members waiting to use that vehicle to drive to a very important graduation.

Accepting a major credit card, even with a matching ID, still carries some risk. But it's a risk retailers agree to take because it increases business. So why refuse cash? It's literally risk free!
At the very least, the company could have notified me in advance about their ridiculous restrictions. They e-mailed me to confirm the vehicle was reserved. They told me when and where to pick it up and what it would cost. Did it just slip their minds to mention that I needed to bring two local utility bills along?

At 7:30 in the morning, after I had driven 10 miles from my home to the rental office, was not the time to announce the restrictions. They might as well have said "Oh, by the way, we need your mother's birth certificate and a pint of blood before you can have the vehicle we promised you."

Well, lesson learned. Next time I will go to a local car dealership to rent a vehicle, not to this major nationwide company that doesn't know the value of the almighty American dollar.