Bank Gives Credit Card Number to Telemarkers
r...@wing-1374.net
Life[styles]" of Connecticut that I did not make or authorize. I
called the number (1-888-747-7030) that was shown in the transaction
line on my credit card bill. The woman at Burpee said that someone
had called my phone number and received my approval to join their
club. This is an absolute fabrication because:
1. No one from "Burpee" ever called
2. I never buy from telemarkers
3. I never give my credit card number to anyone who calls
I couldn't figure out how they got my credit card number. It had to
either be from the bank itself (First USA) or from another merchant
with whom I've done business. I called First USA. After some time,
they admitted that THEY HAD GIVEN MY CREDIT CARD NUMBER AND OTHER
PERSONAL INFORMATION to Burpee. They said that this it is common
industry practice to give such information to "third party lists."
The woman at First USA said she would put me on the "exclude list" but
this is only done for people who explicity ask for it.
It is troubling that my credit card information was given to a third
party, and equally troubling that the charge was made to my account
without my authorization. This is analogous to long distance
"slamming."
This is the first time, to my knowledge, that any of my credit card
information has been given to a telemarker by the bank. I guess this
must be legal; does anyone know for sure?
Is any consumer or govermental agency looking into these practices?
--------------------------------------------------------------
For e-mail replies, please remove "-1374" from "From" address.
--------------------------------------------------------------
David M. Spera
due to this practice.
Chris Vander Rhodes
: The same thing happened to me with my BankOne BPVisa. I cancelled the card
: due to this practice.
And BankOne and FirstUSA are affiliated. I've never heard of this
happening- I wonder if it's unique to that company? If I hadn't already
cancelled my card with them, I'd do so now, stating that these sorts of
business practices are unacceptable to me.
Chris
--
Kitty Haiku of the month (unattributed) I want to be close
To you. Can I fit my head
inside your armpit?
Chris Vander Rhodes - chr...@spamfree.bu.edu (replace spamfree with ultra)
Marvin L. Zinn
Thanks for the warning. I had no idea any credit card company would
give my number to anyone for any reason. I will write them a letter and
tell them I forbid them to do so!
marvinlzinn
Deborah Stevenson
>This is a little overbroad. They give it to credit reporting agencies.
>Credit reporting agencies sell the info. You cannot prevent this. In
>fact, I'd be surprised if you didn't agree to this when you accepted your
>card. You DID read the Cardholder Agreement, didn't you? ;)
>I agree that it is a Bad Thing for your credit card company to sell your
>personal info to merchants, but even if they didn't, the information is
>semi-public anyway.
I've always known/assumed that for personal info, but I've never heard
before that "personal info" sold by the agencies included the actual
credit card number. Has this really always been the case? Yikes.
Deborah Stevenson
(stev...@alexia.lis.uiuc.edu)
Ron Newman
>
>On my recent credit card bill, I had a charge for "Burpee Home
>Life[styles]" of Connecticut that I did not make or authorize.
Is this the seed company?
--
Ron Newman rne...@thecia.net
http://www2.thecia.net/users/rnewman/home.html
Ramon
>| Ron,
>
>| Thanks for the warning. I had no idea any credit card company would
>| give my number to anyone for any reason. I will write them a letter and
>| tell them I forbid them to do so!
>|
>
>This is a little overbroad. They give it to credit reporting agencies.
>Credit reporting agencies sell the info. You cannot prevent this.
Wrong. You can prevent it by contacting the credit card company and opting
out of having your name sold to marketing lists. You can then contact all
three credit bureaus and have them not sell your info. Then you also need
to contact the Direct Marketing Association and have your name removed from
their lists. Then you need to contact every company that you are already
getting junk mail and calls from and opt out of their lists.
Deborah Stevenson
>In ne.general Deborah Stevenson <stev...@alexia.lis.uiuc.edu> wrote:
>| I've always known/assumed that for personal info, but I've never heard
>| before that "personal info" sold by the agencies included the actual
>| credit card number. Has this really always been the case? Yikes.
>I believe that your credit report has account numbers on it. Maybe I'm
>incorrect? It would seem that it would HAVE to have the account number in
>order to accurately set forth which account is being reported on.
But is that part of the information for sale to all comers or part of the
stuff I have to authorize? Anybody know?
I guess that's another reason to find 'net commerce comparatively
unfrightening--if people can just acquire my CC# rather than stealing it,
why would they bother to steal it :-(?
Deborah Stevenson
(stev...@alexia.lis.uiuc.edu)
Phaedrus
<eskw...@SPAMBLOCK.shore.net> wrote:
>In ne.general Deborah Stevenson <stev...@alexia.lis.uiuc.edu> wrote:
>| I've always known/assumed that for personal info, but I've never heard
>| before that "personal info" sold by the agencies included the actual
>| credit card number. Has this really always been the case? Yikes.
>I believe that your credit report has account numbers on it. Maybe I'm
>incorrect? It would seem that it would HAVE to have the account number in
>order to accurately set forth which account is being reported on.
Yes, that's true. Credit reports do include account numbers. But
there are limits on who the full text of credit reports can be given to;
those limits have huge loopholes, but they're still there. If a credit
bureau were to start selling mailing lists that included customers' account
numbers, they'd be violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act, not to mention
setting themselves up for the mother of all class-action suits.
Credit reporting agencies can legally sell "header" information--
information about you that's not actually associated with a particular credit
account--to just about anyone. They can sell your name, address, telephone
number, birthdate, and SSN; all of this is header information, not covered
by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. For more information, have a look at
<URL:http://www.privacyrights.org/ar/fedres.html>.
So you don't need to worry about the credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax,
and TransUnion) selling mailing lists that include account numbers. However,
if you have a credit card from First MegaGigaBank, and your credit card
agreement with them allows them to sell personal information about you,
then they could indeed sell your account number if they so chose. It would
be monumentally stupid, but that doesn't mean it couldn't happen.
--
\o\ If you're interested in books and stories with transformation themes, \o\
/o/ please have a look at <URL:http://www.halcyon.com/phaedrus>. Thanks! /o/
\o\ FC1.21:FC(W/C)p6arw A- C->++ D>++ H+ M>+ P R T++++ W** Z+ Sm RLCT \o\
/o/ a cmn++++$ d e++ f+++ h- i++wf p-- sm# /o/
Jim Dompier
> On my recent credit card bill, I had a charge for "Burpee Home
> called the number (1-888-747-7030) that was shown in the transaction
> line on my credit card bill. The woman at Burpee said that someone
> had called my phone number and received my approval to join their
> club. This is an absolute fabrication because:
>
> 1. No one from "Burpee" ever called
> 2. I never buy from telemarkers
> 3. I never give my credit card number to anyone who calls
>
> I couldn't figure out how they got my credit card number. It had to
> either be from the bank itself (First USA) or from another merchant
> with whom I've done business. I called First USA. After some time,
> they admitted that THEY HAD GIVEN MY CREDIT CARD NUMBER AND OTHER
> PERSONAL INFORMATION to Burpee. They said that this it is common
> industry practice to give such information to "third party lists."
>
I am completely speechless...
This is absolutely inexcusable. This is criminal.
> The woman at First USA said she would put me on the "exclude list" but
> this is only done for people who explicity ask for it.
>
> It is troubling that my credit card information was given to a third
> party, and equally troubling that the charge was made to my account
> without my authorization. This is analogous to long distance
> "slamming."
>
> This is the first time, to my knowledge, that any of my credit card
> information has been given to a telemarker by the bank. I guess this
> must be legal; does anyone know for sure?
>
> Is any consumer or govermental agency looking into these practices?
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------
> For e-mail replies, please remove "-1374" from "From" address.
> --------------------------------------------------------------
>
--
__**__
**
Jim Dompier
http://www.islandshades.com
Ramon
>|>Credit reporting agencies sell the info. You cannot prevent this.
>
>| Wrong. You can prevent it by contacting the credit card company and
opting
>| out of having your name sold to marketing lists. You can then contact
all
>| three credit bureaus and have them not sell your info.
>
>Wouldn't that have all the info?
>
Yes, I am sure. If you fill out a credit application and authorize a credit
check, they will release the info as usual and your existing creditors can
still monitor your credit report. This does not stop that, it just stops
the credit agencies from having your name in the pool for mass screenings
for pre-approved credit or general direct mail marketing lists etc..
Your credit history info will still be sent to the credit bureaus, but you
can stop the credit card company from selling your info to direct marketers.
You will still have to contact each credit agency and stop them from
releasing your info to direct marketers.
Jerry Natowitz
<eskw...@SPAMBLOCK.shore.net> wrote:
> ...
>It would seem that someone could provide this service, at a profit, to
>save the average person some time. Is anyone aware of such a service?
Just wait a while and they'll get your name and credit card numbers
and then contact YOU.
:-)
Seriously, I'll bet the outfits like Credit Guard, that (for a yearly fee)
will cancel all your cards for you if they are lost or stolen, are offering
such a service. And the banks usually act as agents for these outfits.
--
Jerry Natowitz - jN...@sNpOdScPc.cAoMm
r...@wing-1374.net
>>>|>This is a little overbroad. They give it to credit reporting agencies.
>>|>Credit reporting agencies sell the info. You cannot prevent this.
In this case, the information did not go through a credit reporting
agency. First USA Bank sold customer information directly to Burpee
Home Lifestyles. (So the customer rep told me.)
I suspected something was going on when I called First USA. The rep
asked what item I was calling about and as soon as I said "Burpee,"
she said, "Oh, let me transfer you to their customer service"! So it
seems that First USA and Burpee have a close relationship. I wonder
what other telemarketers First USA is working with?
Someone asked if Burpee was the seed company. It is. Check out
http://www.branddirect.com/burpee.htm. Evidently this "BrandDirect"
is another company that Burpee has contracted with to push the "Burpee
Home Lifestyles" gimmick. (BTW, what I supposedly received for the
$69.95 charge was membership in the "Burpee Home Lifestyles Club.")
Elisabeth Anne Riba
that you didn't order, you could refuse the charges and were allowed to
keep the item.
I remember one time, I had placed an order with a catalog company
(Signals or Wireless) and a few weeks later received a t-shirt that I
didn't order. I called them up, figuring wires got crossed and the wrong
label was placed on the package. They noted the error, but told me to
keep the t-shirt. In fact, they weren't allowed to take it back.
Ah... here's a link with some more information:
http://www.lectlaw.com/files/cos50
--
---------------> Elisabeth Anne Riba * l...@netcom.com <---------------
"[She] is one of the secret masters of the world: a librarian.
They control information. Don't ever piss one off."
- Spider Robinson, "Callahan Touch"
David M. Spera
eskw...@SPAMBLOCK.shore.net wrote:
> In ne.general Marvin L. Zinn <marvi...@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
> | Ron,
>
> | Thanks for the warning. I had no idea any credit card company would
> | give my number to anyone for any reason. I will write them a letter and
> | tell them I forbid them to do so!
> |
>
> This is a little overbroad. They give it to credit reporting agencies.
> Credit reporting agencies sell the info. You cannot prevent this. In
> fact, I'd be surprised if you didn't agree to this when you accepted your
> card. You DID read the Cardholder Agreement, didn't you? ;)
>
> I agree that it is a Bad Thing for your credit card company to sell your
> personal info to merchants, but even if they didn't, the information is
> semi-public anyway.
>
> =========================================================
BankOne actually allowed another company direct access to their database
including account numbers. That is not routine with other companies.
Jim Dompier
says...
> On Mon, 01 Feb 1999 18:14:08 GMT,eskw...@SPAMBLOCK.shore.net stitched
> with finest floss on pure irish linen:
>
> }This is a little overbroad. They give it to credit reporting
> agencies.
> }Credit reporting agencies sell the info. You cannot prevent this.
> In
> }fact, I'd be surprised if you didn't agree to this when you accepted
> your
> }card. You DID read the Cardholder Agreement, didn't you? ;)
> }
> }I agree that it is a Bad Thing for your credit card company to sell
> your
> }personal info to merchants, but even if they didn't, the information
> is
> }semi-public anyway.
> }
>
> birth, Mother's maiden name, and any other information you have given
> them. My Mother was cheated by First USA- she was charged $49 for a
> travel and sales club membership. When I called them, they claimed
> that they had spoken to her on the telephone, and that she had agreed
> to sign up for this service. On the date they claimed to have spoken
> to her, she was lying in the hospital. They claimed that they must
> have spoken to her because they had her date of birth..then I found
> out that First USA gave this company (which they own, BTW) the
> information. This is simply fraud, and a way to prey on people who
> are not careful.
> Ruth Mays
> Cinnaminson NJ
> I finally got my head together, then my body fell apart.
>
My God!
I would have sued the pants off of them...
Jeffrey Hurwit
> Then you also need
>| to contact the Direct Marketing Association and have your name removed from
>| their lists. Then you need to contact every company that you are already
>| getting junk mail and calls from and opt out of their lists.
>
>
>It would seem that someone could provide this service, at a profit, to
>save the average person some time. Is anyone aware of such a service?
http://www.privatecitizen.com/
http://www.junkbusters.com/
--
jhu...@netcom.com Jeffrey Hurwit
"Sometimes, I just can't help myself!" --Babs Bunny
The Fisher's
"scammed" with a $49 travel club charge on my card. I called the company
and told them that I did not want it and to take the charge off my card.
They informed me that they were unable to do so and that I should call
Wachovia. After many phone calls and transfers, I was finally (reluctantly)
informed that Wachovia owned this company and that's how they had all the
information and charged me for it. I canceled my card right then and there.
The lady could not understand it. She said that I was getting a very good
rate and all I had to do is notify them if I didn't want the service. I
told her that nobody...and I meant nobody...had the right to make a charge
on my card without my previous consent and this was unacceptable to me.
After that incident, I got many mailings and phone calls from Wachovia
enticing me to sign up again. I finally got fed up and wrote the
Vice-President a letter telling him that I considered that harassment and
that if Wachovia didn't take me off every list they ever had and didn't stop
contacting me, I would turn them in to the proper authorities. I have not
heard from them since.
I do not intent to do business with anyone the least bit unscrupulous...and
that includes credit card companies.
Debbie
Jim Dompier
says...
> I had a credit card from Wachovia and the same thing happened to me. I got
> "scammed" with a $49 travel club charge on my card. I called the company
> and told them that I did not want it and to take the charge off my card.
> They informed me that they were unable to do so and that I should call
> Wachovia. After many phone calls and transfers, I was finally (reluctantly)
> informed that Wachovia owned this company and that's how they had all the
> information and charged me for it. I canceled my card right then and there.
> The lady could not understand it. She said that I was getting a very good
> rate and all I had to do is notify them if I didn't want the service. I
> told her that nobody...and I meant nobody...had the right to make a charge
> on my card without my previous consent and this was unacceptable to me.
>
> After that incident, I got many mailings and phone calls from Wachovia
> enticing me to sign up again. I finally got fed up and wrote the
> Vice-President a letter telling him that I considered that harassment and
> that if Wachovia didn't take me off every list they ever had and didn't stop
> contacting me, I would turn them in to the proper authorities. I have not
> heard from them since.
>
> I do not intent to do business with anyone the least bit unscrupulous...and
> that includes credit card companies.
It really makes me angry that I have to be on the lookout for my credit
card companies, phone companies, banks, doctors etc because they may try
to rip me off. Really makes me sick and disgusted.
>
> Debbie
>
> >> They not only sell your credit card number, but also your date of
> >> birth, Mother's maiden name, and any other information you have given
> >> them. My Mother was cheated by First USA- she was charged $49 for a
> >> travel and sales club membership. When I called them, they claimed
> >> that they had spoken to her on the telephone, and that she had agreed
> >> to sign up for this service. On the date they claimed to have spoken
> >> to her, she was lying in the hospital. They claimed that they must
> >> have spoken to her because they had her date of birth..then I found
> >> out that First USA gave this company (which they own, BTW) the
> >> information. This is simply fraud, and a way to prey on people who
> >> are not careful.
> >> Ruth Mays
> >> Cinnaminson NJ
>
>
>
>
--
Zone
wrote to All:
TT> It really makes me angry that I have to be on the lookout for my
TT> credit card companies, phone companies, banks, doctors etc because
TT> they may try to rip me off. Really makes me sick and disgusted.
One thing you could do is use fewer, or only one, credit card to help
reduce the exposure to fraud. I have only one credit card now: VISA
from my credit union and use it for mail order or for buyer protection
leverage.
I seem to remember Montgomery Wards tried to charge me for some sort of
service without me ever authorizing it. It was about 5 years ago and
only time anyone tried to fraudulently put a charge on a credit card
in my name.
I'm looking for a credit monitoring service that will alert me
if their is activity on my credit files at the three major credit
bureaus to help guard against identity theft. Does anyone have
recommendations for credit monitoring service?
jh -
ChrisMik
I told her that nobody...and I meant nobody...had the right to make a charge on
my card without my previous consent and this was unacceptable to me.
<<
Don't waste your time complaining to the charge companies. They could care less
if one or two of thousands vocalize their displeasure. Send a note to your
state's attorney's office.
I had a problem with a credit card company that said I sent them an "incomplete
application" and they needed more info. I haven't applied for a credit card in
years and challenged that they produce a signed application. Of course, my
calls and letter were ignored. But a week after my state's attorney's office
sent a note I got an apology in the mail for their "mistake." It's only when
you get officials involved can something happen. If enough people complain,
your officials will take action.
Good Luck,
C.
Charley
awakend (and had a repeat call an hour later) from JaneDoe @ "Physician's
Mutual". "Jane" refused to give me her phone number only saying
"Physicians Mutual is in Omaha". When I looked up the corp. headquarters
and called for their executive offices I was informed that P.M. does not
do ANY telemarketing and that I could have been called by one of 2
companies. Funny thing, CAPITAL ONE was one of the 2 companies and I had
recently gotten a business credit card from them.
I have written and fax'd a letter to the General Counsel for CAPITAL ONE
and I have yet to hear anything from his office. They probably don't
care.....
I would encourage EVERYONE with any credit cards to write a letter to
their credit card company demanding that they remove your name, phone
number, etc. from each and every mailing list that they may sell, trade,
or give away to any other company and not to be called by the credit card
company for any reason whatsoever unless it relates to the servicing of
your account.
Charley
r...@wing-1374.net wrote:
> On my recent credit card bill, I had a charge for "Burpee Home
> Life[styles]" of Connecticut that I did not make or authorize. I
> called the number (1-888-747-7030) that was shown in the transaction
> line on my credit card bill. The woman at Burpee said that someone
> had called my phone number and received my approval to join their
> club. This is an absolute fabrication because:
>
> 1. No one from "Burpee" ever called
> 2. I never buy from telemarkers
> 3. I never give my credit card number to anyone who calls
>
> I couldn't figure out how they got my credit card number. It had to
> either be from the bank itself (First USA) or from another merchant
> with whom I've done business. I called First USA. After some time,
> they admitted that THEY HAD GIVEN MY CREDIT CARD NUMBER AND OTHER
> PERSONAL INFORMATION to Burpee. They said that this it is common
> industry practice to give such information to "third party lists."
>
> The woman at First USA said she would put me on the "exclude list" but
> this is only done for people who explicity ask for it.
>
> It is troubling that my credit card information was given to a third
> party, and equally troubling that the charge was made to my account
> without my authorization. This is analogous to long distance
> "slamming."
>
> This is the first time, to my knowledge, that any of my credit card
> information has been given to a telemarker by the bank. I guess this
> must be legal; does anyone know for sure?
>
> Is any consumer or govermental agency looking into these practices?
>
f...@hotmail.com
a preapproved credit card application and then turned the
person down because they did not wish transfer any credit
card balances to them.
In article <36C1313B...@bellsouth.net>,
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