Current:Home > NewsJewelry chain apologizes for not accepting U.S. service member's Puerto Rico driver's license as valid U.S. ID-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Jewelry chain apologizes for not accepting U.S. service member's Puerto Rico driver's license as valid U.S. ID
View Date:2024-12-24 00:23:18
U.S. service member Abdiel Gonzalez said an employee at a Shane Co. store in Roseville, California, didn't accept his Puerto Rico driver's license when he tried to buy an engagement ring for his soon-to-be wife.
When the employee didn't accept his license at the jewelry chain last October Gonzalez says he showed his military ID to back up the fact that as Puerto Rican, he is a U.S. citizen. But the employee, Gonzalez said, didn't accept either ID as valid.
Shane Co. asked for a driver's license because Gonzalez wanted to finance the ring using a Shane Co. credit card.
"I felt discriminated and treated like I was a lie," Gonzalez told CBS News.
Shane Co. CEO and president Rordan Shane offered his "sincerest apologies" in a letter to Gonzalez after CBS News called the company about the incident. He thanked Gonzalez for his service and offered him a $1,000 gift certificate, as well as a $1,000 donation to the charity of his choice.
"We are deeply sorry for his experience and are making every possible effort to ensure that it never happens again," the company told CBS News. "This is not reflective of our brand values and was not done with malicious intent."
Shane Co. said it investigated and found that the company needs to improve employee training.
Gonzalez ultimately purchased the ring online without having to use his driver's license. He wrote a message to Shane Co. through its Facebook account but never heard back.
The company said the message was "unfortunately overlooked by our social team and therefore left unaddressed for an unacceptable amount of time."
"We will be taking corrective measures to make sure all direct messages are responded to in a timely fashion," the company said.
In a similar recent case, Hertz apologized last month for denying a Puerto Rican man a car because he didn't have his passport. Humberto Marchand didn't need his passport because he is a U.S. citizen and has his Puerto Rican driver's license, which is as valid as any other driver's license issued in the United States.
And in April, a Puerto Rican family traveling from Los Angeles to the island of Puerto Rico was denied travel on Spirit Airlines because the parents didn't have a U.S. passport for their toddler. The parents didn't need one, nor did their child, because Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens and Puerto Rico is not an international destination. Spirit Airlines apologized.
David BegnaudDavid Begnaud is the lead national correspondent for "CBS Mornings" based in New York City.
Twitter InstagramveryGood! (48674)
Related
- Wicked Director Jon M. Chu Reveals Name of Baby Daughter After Missing Film's LA Premiere for Her Birth
- U.S. soldier believed to be in North Korean custody after unauthorized border crossing, officials say
- India's monsoon rains flood Yamuna river in Delhi, forcing thousands to evacuate and grinding life to a halt
- These 15 Cheap Beauty Products Have Over 10,000 Five-Star Reviews on Amazon
- Mississippi woman pleads guilty to stealing Social Security funds
- Love Is Blind’s Marshall Reveals He Dated This Castmate After the Show
- The U.S. is divided over whether nuclear power is part of the green energy future
- The future cost of climate inaction? $2 trillion a year, says the government
- Burger King is giving away a million Whoppers for $1: Here's how to get one
- A previously stable ice shelf, the size of New York City, collapses in Antarctica
Ranking
- Will Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul end in KO? Boxers handle question differently
- Billy McFarland Announces Fyre Festival II Is Officially Happening
- Cyber risks add to climate threat, World Economic Forum warns
- How much energy powers a good life? Less than you're using, says a new report
- 3 Iraqis tortured at Abu Ghraib win $42M judgement against defense contractor
- Ariana DeBose Will Do Her Thing Once More as Host of the 2023 Tony Awards
- Home generator sales are booming with mass outages, climate change and COVID
- Hot weather could be getting in the way of good sleep, a new study finds
Recommendation
-
As Northeast wildfires keep igniting, is there a drought-buster in sight?
-
Ukraine is advancing, but people in front-line villages are still just hoping to survive Russia's war
-
World's largest cruise ship that's 5 times larger than the Titanic set to make its debut
-
Climate change is killing people, but there's still time to reverse the damage
-
Fighting conspiracy theories with comedy? That’s what the Onion hopes after its purchase of Infowars
-
How can we tap into the vast power of geothermal energy?
-
Cerberus, heat wave named for dog that guards Greek mythology's underworld, locks its jaws on southern Europe
-
John Wick Prequel Series The Continental Trailer Showcases Winston Scott's Rise to Power