This. Sorta. You can make a sale, but a refund is a pita. I personally don't care if someone doesn't want to give their name. Not one bit. But please, don't be surprised if I have trouble with a refund. And if your card isn't signed, I will ask for an ID. Of course, my favorites are the peeps that don't want to give a name and then pay with a credit card.
There's nothing wrong with refusing to allow a merchant to collect your information for their database and then using a card. Nothing at all. Do you write down the name, address and phone number of everyone who uses a card? No. Do you collect the receipts at the end of the day and copy that info into your database? I'd bet a significant amount you don't, and even more than few, if any, do. Can purchases be tracked after the fact by tracing card activity? Absolutely... only cash purchases can get around this, and likely not very easily anyways - there are tons of other ways to track your activities.
The point is to keep MERCHANTS from routinely collecting your private info, not to keep law enforcement or credit cards companies in the dark on your activities. I just don't want merchants sending me more junk mail, calling me on my home or cell phone or whatever. It's a convenience thing, not trying to be "off the radar" or something. I fecking HATE junk mail, spammers and telemarketing. Period. I do what I can within reasonable means to try to limit that... so I'm your "favorite" customer who doesn't understand what he's both refusing and allowing at the same time?
OK....
I'm perfectly ok with someone checking my ID to verify my identity and my right to use the credit card/debit card I'm providing. I have ZERO problem with that. But that's not what we're talking about... I refused to allow a merchant to COPY my ID, eff that. No way.