Why am I being asked to provide this information? Tobacco is a highly regulated item in every State across the US. At the point of purchase in your local store, the retailer is able to physically see your appearance and judge your age. Normally, if you look under 27 years of age, they card you. Online, there is no way that we are able to physically see you and cannot accurately determine your age in that method. The only way that we can check your age is to check your information against a central database to confirm your date of birth. There are many people in the US with the exact same name as you, so it is important that you provide the information on your drivers license so we can get a good match and get your order on its way!
Should I provide my drivers license number? Your drivers license number is optional and you do not have to provide it. However, it does speed up the age confirmation process because the number is unique to you. There are many people in the US that have the same name as you, probably even in your same State. Providing your drivers license number helps in the verification process. (For example, if your name is Robert and you have a young son in the household named Robert, Jr. Without your license #, the system will see that you have someone in the household with the same name, but underage...and could fail the check for that reason because the name and address is the same, but shows an underage person as well. When and ID number is used, it is unique to your information, thus it provides better search criteria and better results.
What do you do with my information? We use your information to perform an electronic age check by an unbiased age-check company. The information is securely submitted to check an electronic database which in turn gives us a simple “POSITIVE” or “NEGATIVE”. Once we obtain a “POSITIVE”, you are legal to purchase and we store your birthday and phone number in our customer database and you are able to order from ALL of our tobacco websites without having to provide proof of age again. All customer information is considered confidential and is not released to any other party unless required by law. We do not “SPAM”, sell, or otherwise distribute your information to any 3rd party beyond the initial age-check process.
I purchased with a credit card, that proves I’m of age...right? Effective September 2002 there was a Federal ruling stating that credit cards cannot be used to determine ones age. With the fact that banks issue “check-cards” to students (with parental consent) and “pre-loaded” credit cards can be purchased from Amex, Discover, Visa, and Mastercard, it is very easy for a minor to obtain a credit card and attempt a purchase online for a restricted product...like tobacco or alcohol. The burden of age verification is that of the seller, not that of the credit card company. Many tobacco resellers on the internet do not comply with that fact and are out to make a “quick buck” before being caught by the authorities. We card, its the law and it also protects children from buying tobacco online.
I’ve purchased cigars from other vendors online and did NOT have to do this... That is a very sad truth across the internet and one of the reasons why regulations on tobacco are becoming even more strict everyday. The internet has become a vast world of retailers who sell cigarettes and other tobacco online without knowing all the regulations, or choose to not comply with the laws for tobacco because they feel they will not get caught. See how long they have been in business before you buy, as they might not be around once they get caught in violation of the laws. Or ask them how they checked your age! The burden of age verification is that of the seller, not that of the credit card company. Many tobacco resellers on the internet do not comply with that fact which is clearly outlined in their credit card merchant agreement, until they are caught. Others have you read a disclaimer and agree to it when ordering. That does not protect children from tobacco and its not acceptable “age verification” when it comes to compliance.
Some vendors perform “silent” age checks in the background, or require you to be a “member” before you can order. However, if that vendor did not obtain your age in some manner, then there is a good chance that they are not in compliance with the tobacco laws. If you are considering ordering anywhere else, you do have a right to ask how they verify you are of legal age to order tobacco. Someday, it may be your teenager sitting at the computer terminal... our customers appreciate the fact that we are one of the only companies on the net who performs TRUE age checks.
We make every effort to ensure full compliance and disclose that fact to you because we would never want one of our customers to be involved in an underage tobacco investigation. From the day we opened our doors online in 1999, we have never had an underage purchase violation and are proud to say that we never will because of our strict policies and accordance with the tobacco laws.
We thank you for your compliance with the tobacco laws. Should you have any other questions, please feel free to email us at sales@tbs-cigars.com
