ee171bbi@sdccsu3.UUCP (ee171bbi) (05/12/84)
Having worked for a credit reporting/researching company, I can tell you all from direct experience the following: 1. If a creditor is willing to investigate your credit even though you refuse to give your SSN, your credit record can be accessed by your address, last name, and the first few letters of your first name. If a credit file matching these keys exists (This may match your father's name, of course), it will contain a social security number. The creditor will note this number for his records. 2. If, on the other hand, you just moved to your present address, it is extremely unlikely that a file will be found at all. The credit records are not matched to name alone. Either an address or a valid SSN is mandatory. 3. The SSN is preferred to the address because it matches your file to all of your previous credit in the reporting region, listing credit long-forgotten at all of your previous addresses for the last seven years. If this credit is good, it is to your advantage to supply the creditor with your correct SSN. 4. Oil companies and Am. Exp. do not generally report credit unless it is bad. I hope that this little review will help somebody out there.
rkp@drutx.UUCP (05/15/84)
Whoever made the point about credit offices needing your SS number to report any interest paid has a good point. If they don't get your SS number, how do they report you interest, especially if you name is Joe Smith or Dave Jones. Hmmmmmmmmm......
wally@cornell.UUCP (05/16/84)
A word to the wise:
If an agency (public or private) requires you SSN, the are required, BY LAW,
to tell you why.
Companies that CHARGE you interest, by the way, don't have to report it to
the IRS.
Wally Dietrichron@brl-vgr.ARPA (Ron Natalie <ron>) (05/17/84)
Yes, unfortunately do to some brain damaged credit laws, CHOICE was forced to stop their practice of paying 5% interest on credits to your account. -Ron
petec@umcp-cs.UUCP (05/21/84)
>>> 1. If a creditor is willing to investigate your credit even though you >>> refuse to give your SSN, your credit record can be accessed by your >>> address, last name, and the first few letters of your first name. If a creditor is willing? Any creditor that "requires" a SSN is looking for a fight from a lot of people. If they are threatened with legal action or having to deal with the government, they will probably give in right away. Make them be the ones to give up! >>> 2. If, on the other hand, you just moved to your present address, it is >>> extremely unlikely that a file will be found at all. The credit records >>> are not matched to name alone. Either an address or a valid SSN is >>> mandatory. Mandatory? To me, mandatory means I have to do it, and I won't be giving my SSN out to anyone without a legal right for it (as has been pointed out previously, this means anyone paying me interest, or my employer). At least there's an 'or' condition; I'll supply my address. >>> 3. The SSN is preferred to the address because it matches your file to >>> all of your previous credit in the reporting region, listing credit >>> long-forgotten at all of your previous addresses for the last seven >>> years. If this credit is good, it is to your advantage to supply the >>> creditor with your correct SSN. It's preferred because it makes your credits records easier to retrieve. And, potentially, your life history, job history, family history, etc. It is only to your advantage if you wish to contribute to the dehumanizing idea of turning us all into numbers in a global database. The only reason all this information is being requested is that it can be stored cheaply. >>> I hope that this little review will help somebody out there. And I hope that my response will help others. I'll be the first to admit that what I'm saying can be construed as paranoid, but I'm not alone. We have all seen 'good' ideas that have backfired with unforeseen consequences or that have been twisted by unscrupulous or over-zealous persons. As computer scientists, we more than others should realize how our work can be abused to the point of infringing on our rights of privacy. Some may flame that this isn't happening, but I claim it is to a certain extent, and if it really isn't happening, let's not let it start. In conclusion I remind you that this is net.consumers; we are the consumers, and the retailers, vendors, leasers et al exist to serve us. The burden of business should be on them, not us (idealistic, to be sure, but that's how it should be). You don't have to agree (that's what makes the world go 'round), but at least think about it. -- Call-Me: Pete Cottrell, Univ. of Md. Comp. Sci. Dept. UUCP: {seismo,allegra,brl-bmd}!umcp-cs!petec CSNet: petec@umcp-cs ARPA: petec.umcp-cs@CSNet-Relay