Every piece of correspondence I have received from them has only a PO Box and was either Albuquerque, NM; Tampa, FL; or Dallas, TX. Who knows.
Anyway, I am in Washington State. T-Mobile had an attended kiosk in a Costco store near where I live. I wanted to try them out (cell phone and landline). I was told I could cancel within 14 days and not pay fees.
Well, one of their requirements was that they needed my SSN to check my credit. I don't have issues with them checking credit, I have issues with providing my SSN. Reason? They don't automatically "wipe" it after the credit has been checked. If a company is not a bank or credit card, they have NO statutory authority to keep your SSN on file.
Well, after one day, I discovered I wasn't going to get the "savings" they claimed. Also, I told them I DO NOT WANT "VOIP" service on landline. The rep at the Costco kiosk, would never admit that their service was VOIP. Turned out it WAS "VOIP" service. I took everything back the next day.
Later that day, I called and requested that my SSN be wiped from the database, as they do not need it. I was told, "we use your last four of the SSN as a "pin" for accessing your account." I reminded them that there is no statutory authority for them to retain my SSN and I want the SSN wiped and substituted with a PIN that I will select. I had to go up three levels, but I was told it would be "wiped."
One month later, I got a bill for a whopping amount, to include "activation" fees (that were not supposed to be charged to me if I canceled within 14 days). I called, and discovered my SSN had NOT been "wiped" and replaced with a PIN as I had requested. I screamed and told them to wipe it, and while you are at it, reverse all these charges! I was told the charges would be reversed and my SSN wiped.
Two weeks later, I called, and AGAIN discovered that the charges had not been reversed and my SSN was still in the system (I had to use last four to access the account).
I'm taking a wild guess that since my account was in "canceled" status, they didn't feel any great need to wipe my SSN.
I screamed again, and told them to wipe it or I would get an attorney!
I called back an hour later and my SSN was replaced with a PIN. Also, the charges were reversed. I made them send me a corrected bill.
Future reference for anyone who gets cell phone or landline, or any utility service. If they ask for your SSN to "check your credit" well, they do not have statutory authority to KEEP your SSN in their database. After your credit is checked, call them up and DEMAND that your SSN be wiped. If they require you to have a PIN, make one up and ask that it be used instead of your SSN.
The only exception I am aware of so far is Verizon. Verizon doesn't have statutory authority to keep your SSN, but Verizon reports to the credit reporting agencies, so they will not wipe your SSN from their database. To me, that is not an allowable use of the credit reporting agencies. Verizon is a utility, not a credit card. Therefore, utilities should not be reporting to the CRA's, but what can we do.
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