eli@memora.pws.bull.com (Steve Elias) (11/29/90)
[sorry if this is a repost, or worse yet, a rerepost.] check out this week's NOVA episode. once again, we've got uncanny syncronicity between their program and the latest threads here in the electronic frontier. it's a kick when they bring up Dan Quayle's credit report. he shops at Sears extensively, ya know. next, they bring up the credit record of John G. De Armond! (just kidding :) on another note -- if you are concerned about your credit record and who is querying or modifying it, you might consider joining the TRW Credentials service. no vested interest -- i'm just a satisfied customer. they've got an 800 number. call 800 info if you're interested. and be sure to check out the NOVA episode if you've got the time and a TV. peace, cowpokes. /eli eli@spdcc.com -- /* eli@spdcc.com 617 932 5598 508 294 7556 don't send to eli@pws.bull.com */ /* "Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked him." 1 Samuel 1:17 */
mkapor@eff.org (Mitch Kapor) (12/03/90)
A word of warning about the TRW Credentials service. In my opinion it's really a device for TRW to get you to voluntarily enahnce the quality of their database. It works like this. You sign for about $35 a year and you get to see what they have on you and who's asking for it. Leaving aside the propriety of making you pay to see information about yourself, what happens after you sign up is that they want you to fill out an incredibly detailed questionnaire about yourself, your expenditures, income, and lifestyle. They promise you that if you complete the questionnaire you'll recieve many other valuable benefits. But what happens is that they stick all this information right into the database so everybody else can see it. When I found out what the deal was I wrote a really angry letter to the CEO and demanded my money back and an apology. I got the money but no satisfaction. Credit bureaus are a scummy business, if you ask me.
rose@beowulf.ucsd.edu (Dan Rose) (12/03/90)
mkapor@eff.org (Mitch Kapor) writes: > A word of warning about the TRW Credentials service. . . . >. . . Leaving aside the >propriety of making you pay to see information about yourself . . . This was the think that bothered me the most. Imagine if you had to pay a bank to tell you your balance. I tore up their letter. I really don't think people should support this service. This information ought to be available anyway. Of course, since I didn't sign up, I didn't even know about the further invasion of privacy. -- Dan Rose {ucbvax,decvax,akgua,dcdwest}!sdcsvax!beowulf!rose.uucp UC San Diego rose%cs@ucsd.edu