Last year, I joined Clear, operated by Verified Identity Pass, Inc., for an initial annual fee of $128.00. Clear staff took my photo, fingerprints and an iris scan and subsequently issued a membership card on which my biometric information resided on a microchip. On its web site, Clear lists the following benefits of membership: * Fast passage through airport security * Access to a designated Clear security lane staffed by professional, courteous Clear attendants *Extraordinary customer service * Fewer missed flights * A stress-free, predictable airport experience. I used the Clear service one single time at Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA) in June 2008 for a trip to Greece. Here is my experience. After locating a Clear attendant, I was escorted to the so-called Clear security lane, where my biometric data were verified. This process was not trouble-free and took several minutes, because the placement of my finger on the scanner had to be so precise that the process had to be repeated several times before my prints were recognized. Similarly, the position of my head/eyes had be exact, and the scanner failed several times to lock on, causing the attendant to have to reposition me repeatedly. Meanwhile, the regular security lines leading to the x-ray equipment, which, on that particular day were, admittedly, not very long, were moving at a brisk clip. Once my biometric data had been verified by the Clear attendant, I was escorted to the head of the regular waiting line leading to the x-ray machines. From that point, to my dismay, there was no/zero/nada difference in the processing of Clear members and non-members by TSA personnel. Along with all the non-members, I had to remove my shoes, jacket, belt, metal objects, allowable toiletries (contained in a special plastic bag as required), and my notebook computer and place them, along with my carry-on bags and camera, on the conveyor belt that then moved them through the x-ray equipment. My Clear membership card was of no benefit whatever, and I also had to show my boarding pass once again to be allowed into the secure area. If I saved any time by not having to wait in the regular feeder lines leading to the x-ray machines and, instead, being subjected to the "verification" procedure in the Clear lane, it was negligible, and certainly not worth the expense of membership. What I find most reprehensible, however, is that Clear, by recording members' biometric data and issuing a membership card, creates the illusion that a security benefit derives from issuing the card and subsequently verifying members' biometric data. This illusion is immediately exploded when the new member realizes that he/she is subjected to the identical security screening by TSA personnel that non-Clear members have to undergo. For that reason, I feel Clear is, at minimum, guilty of misleading advertising; indeed, it is my personal view that Clear may be committing fraud. I have communicated with Clear multiple times, via its website/e-mail, in an effort to obtain answers to these simple questions: 1. What personal benefit do I derive from being a Clear member (in view of the facts outlined above)? 2. How does recording my biometric data on a Clear membership card and verifying those data at the airport contribute to airport/flight security (again, in view of the facts enumerated above)? 3. Finally, how does Clear, as an organization, contribute to homeland/national security. I have yet to receive a single answer to any of these questions from Clear. My inquiries have remained without as much as an acknowledgment. The reason should be obvious to all, as it is to me now: Clear is a fraud. I wonder, if an attorney would be interested in initiating a class action lawsuit against Clear on behalf of all the "pissed" consumers who have been taken by Clear. I would not hesitate to join such an action.