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Sprint Asks For SSN

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Anton Sherwood

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Jan 19, 1998, 3:00:00 AM1/19/98
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Friday I decided, what the hell, I'll get a cellphone and see how I
like it. Who knows, after a month I may wonder how I ever lived
without it. So I went into the Sprint salesroom (across the street
from my office) ... and was promptly asked for my Social Pseudo
Security Number for a credit check.

"I don't like to give that out," I said. "Can't I pay a deposit
instead?"

"Even if you pay a deposit, we still need to do a credit check."

Then he told me about the prepayment plan, which has fewer features
and a much higher time rate. What's the point?

"I'm not going to further compromise my privacy for a luxury," I said,
and left.

All very polite and civilized and understanding.

But dammit, am I hallucinating when I think that previously when I
ordered new phone service (about four times in the Eighties) I didn't
go through this nonsense? Wasn't there a time in America when one
could do business without baring one's soul at every turn?

My ISP didn't ask for my SSN. My maildrop didn't ask for my SSN.
Pac Bell Information Services (voicemail, see below) didn't ask
for my SSN, at least I don't think it did.

End rant.


Anton Sherwood *\\* +1 415 267 0685 *\\* DASher at netcom point com
"How'd ya like to climb this high WITHOUT no mountain?" --Porky Pine 70.6.19


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Since they began in the early 1980's,
cellular phone companies have always run credit checks, and set the
amount of the required deposit accordingly. This was probably because
their rates were so much higher than conventional phone service. If
your monthly charges to some company are likely to be in the twenty,
thirty or forty dollar range, doing a credit check when opening the
account is of dubious value, since getting those credit reports costs
money also. If your relationship is likely to lead to larger amounts
of money -- and cellular phone service can tend to generate large
bills -- then credit checks can be warranted. Some of the long
distance carriers now do credit checks also, but it is not as common
with local telcos. PAT]


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