Why do some stores now ask for your phone number...

ctpres · Dec 15, 2006

Be careful and think about "fake" or different forms of ID. Big brother is recording. I frequently use variations of my name: CR, Charles, Charlie etc. for professional mag. subscriptions, internet site id. office phone for home phone etc. I have found some of the data collection agencies (not just credit card) are figuring out how to tie all this together. Recently had reason to find out why home insurance rate was not at best rate. Lo and behold my office address, phone CR Charlie etc. all showed up on my personal report. They believed I was running scam or fake ID and it still is a problem.

RobertN · Dec 15, 2006

I have never had Home Depot or others ask for a phone number. We do have a Safeway grocery chain that is local to parts of Ca and Or that will give you a club savings card, and is linked to your phone number. If you don't have your card, they can bring up your info from your phone number.

When asked for a phone number, what usually works if the "Jenny" song. "Jenny I got your number... 867-5309"

Dargo · Dec 15, 2006

RobertN said:
I have never had Home Depot or others ask for a phone number. We do have a Safeway grocery chain that is local to parts of Ca and Or that will give you a club savings card, and is linked to your phone number. If you don't have your card, they can bring up your info from your phone number.

When asked for a phone number, what usually works if the "Jenny" song. "Jenny I got your number... 867-5309"

Hey, good number, but what area code? Also, this week was the very first time that my local HD asked me for my phone number. I know Harbor Fright always asks for my zip code. I have no issues with giving that. I can clearly see how they can accurately use that for marketing penetration analysis. But a phone number? To me, it's just too personal and I see no advantage over a zip code if they are just using it for market penetration reasons.

I do like 867-5309 (but I'm afraid I'll try to "sing" the number with the last number being nineohnine). Also, I wonder if it would help if all of us who disagree with the practice to go to Home Depot's website and register a complaint? I got very aggrevated one time when they didn't have any "live" cashiers and I had to check my own items. The machine kept ringing up an item wrong and when I tried to get help, the one person who was supposed to watch over all the "Self Check Out" lanes told me that she was going on break and another person would be here in 5 minutes or so.

Now that time I did just leave; cart in line and half the items already processed. It was then that I found a place on HD's website for comments. They sent me a $25 gift certificate to their store for my problems.

Jagmandave · Dec 15, 2006

I don't sign any of my credit cards, and have never had one refused - that's sort of the good news/bad news isn't it? It means that every store I've used takes my card without verifying the signatue. A few ask for ID, and compare the name on the front of the card to that on my driver's lic, but I've also noticed that it doesn't matter how I sign my name, the card always goes thru. My take on this is that it doesn't matter, you're only liable for so much (used to be $50) if someone steals you card and uses it, so "who cares?" - seems to be the prevailing attitude...........
I've not had the local HD ask for my phone number, I must not be "cute" enough...........

TrippleT · Dec 15, 2006

Dargo, you should have said, BR549. LOL

hazmat · Dec 15, 2006

Well I think I've got y'all beat -

I recently called Comcast to cancel my service (got verizon fiber - one of the benny's of living in the burbs). Anyway - it was their policy that I couldn't cancel until I verified that I was the account holder - I had to look up how much my last bill was "Around $50" wasn't accurate enough. I almost asked to speak with a manager, but instead made the guy hold while I looked up the transaction online. Apparantly knowing my phone number, address & last 4 #s of my SSN weren't enough

This is to stop service, not buy anything!!!!

Richard · Dec 16, 2006

A couple lifetimes ago, I use to work for Service Merchanidise. I ended up there for 10 years.

Anyone who shopped there knows they always asked for your phone number. Usually in front of 30 other customers on the other side of the (jewlery) counter for all to hear

Though I don't know any/all the uses they did with it, you can draw an analogy that at least for S.M., they used your phone number to identify you. Sort of an account number.

If you came in the store, without receipt, I could ask you for your phone number and look up the purchase. The screen would show me ALL your purchases, refunds and as I recall, the net amount you spent. In other words, if we found you'd spent a net $10,000 (all purchases less all refunds) verses $150, we were going to jump through hoops to help. If on the other hand, you had a NEGATIVE "net purchases" (and I have NO idea how it happened, but we saw it on one person who ironiclly was trying to return something & had no receipt and was being a hiney) Anyways, if you had a negative net purchase, we ended up simply playing by the rules & regulations... "we need a receipt".

So, there was one example where giving your phone number COULD have bailed you out of a situation and you didn't have your sales ticket.

czechsonofagun · Dec 16, 2006

Dargo said:
I do like 867-5309 (but I'm afraid I'll try to "sing" the number with the last number being nineohnine). Also, I wonder if it would help if all of us who disagree with the practice to go to Home Depot's website and register a complaint? I got very aggrevated one time when they didn't have any "live" cashiers and I had to check my own items. The machine kept ringing up an item wrong and when I tried to get help, the one person who was supposed to watch over all the "Self Check Out" lanes told me that she was going on break and another person would be here in 5 minutes or so. Now that time I did just leave; cart in line and half the items already processed. It was then that I found a place on HD's website for comments. They sent me a $25 gift certificate to their store for my problems.

Yup, sometimes it is easier to steal it than to pay for it

I use the self checkout line often - with few items - but if I have more than 10, the machine will for sure get confused and me pi$$ed off.

Dusty · Dec 16, 2006

eanjay said:
Asking for a phone number is one thing. What gets my goat is when the store prints out the entire credit card number on the receipt and presumably the store copy as well. Just think of all those bit of paper floating around with your card number?

A local supermarket was recently taken to task about that in the press. Their reply was that they would be correcting their checkouts - but it would take time. Not going back there for sure!

EanJay

Printing the full account number is a violation of the terms of service of the credit card issuers. I don't know for certain, but I believe that this is a result of a Federal law. I do know that we had to be in compliance by a certain date, or the credit card processors would cancel our agreement. As far as I know, all the old machines that captured the full number and printed it, are no longer in use. The processing centers can tell what machine you use and what information it captures, so they have to be aware of this problem in that store. It is a software change, so it shouldn't take months, but only a few hours to resolve the issue with all there machines.
Dusty

thingy · Dec 16, 2006

Just had that happen to me at lowes,,asked why she wanted my phone number,she said in case I lost my reciept and wanted to take it back to them,,since they have never had any problems with me bringing stuff back and crediting my card,I said ok,,sure they was more to it than that though,,thingy