[comp.dcom.telecom] Caller ID at American Express -- How Do THEY Know Your Phone #?

gnu@toad.com (John Gilmore) (10/23/89)

ben@sybase.com said:
>                                  I should test this by calling in on
> my unlisted number sometime, and see if the response is any different
> from when I call from my other, listed number, the one that appears on
> their records.

Why would your phone number appear on the records of a credit card company?
Or is that just one more blank on the application form that you filled in
without thinking?  It's certainly none of their business...

[Moderator's Note: None of their business you say? Maybe they never
have to call *you* to get you to pay your bills, but it is a common
enough thing. Credit is not a lawful entitlement or a right -- it is a
privilege you are given. In exchange for the credit grantor considering
you worthy of credit and a minimal financial risk, you agree to provide
a phone number and other information. You provide what the creditor wants;
the creditor provides what you want.  Why do you assume the creditor has
bad motives with your phone number?  PT]