No thanks, CCCU
A while ago I was in the Gabriola office of the Coastal Community Credit Union, doing some financial stuff.
I showed my driver’s licence to the teller, then took it back. At the end of the transaction, the teller asked for my licence again, saying now we’ll scan your driver’s licence, so it’ll be in the system.
<boggle />
Since when does this happen? I don’t want my drivers licence scanned, or in the system, I told her. I figured I’d have to have a chat with a supervisor about it, and was already reviewing Canadian privacy legislation in my head.
But there was no objection. Oh, ok, she said, and that was that.
Is the CCCU doing this with all customers? If it’s an option (and clearly it is) then why is it not presented as such?
I can’t fathom why I would I want to provide personal information to CCCU, above and beyond what I have already given them and what is required by law.
If you’ve had an account at CCCU for a while, you’ll remember that their customer data was stolen a few years ago, and it took them months to get around to notifying all of their customers. It didn’t inspire my trust or confidence.
Anyway, why on earth would I provide CCCU with more of my personal information? So the next data thief will have my driver’s licence details and photo, too? I don’t think so.
Filed in Gabriola Island 3 Comments so far
3 Responses to “No thanks, CCCU”
specialk on 14 Feb 2010 at 12:45 pm #
It is all a little unnerving. At the checkouts on my last trip into Nanaimo I was asked for my postal code at one place and my phone number at another. Call me paranoid… but I’m not into divulging any more information than required. They can take their data mining strategies and pack sand as far as I am concerned. I shudder to think of the situations that could arise from some weird clerks out there asking whomever comes through the register for their phone numbers. I wouldn’t even want the person behind me in line knowing my phone number thanks. You know there are a bunch of crazies out there don’t you?
Staying over with friends in town a few weeks back we decided to pick up (take out) some pizza at Pizza Hut near Woodgrove. They wouldn’t even submit my order until I gave them my phone number. I told them I don’t even live in Nanaimo and my number didn’t matter for any reason… as I was picking the pizzas up 15 minutes later from the counter. The grumpy over-worked, under-paid manager said there was no way to submit my order without a phone number on the order… to which I replied, okay, 250 755-5555.
There were no visual clues that our pizzas were tampered with in any way.
Gabriolan on 14 Feb 2010 at 10:35 pm #
specialk, I wish I could find an .mp3 of The Privacy Song (by Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie) to play for you. It’s a classic.
The thing is annoying, isn’t it? I used to respond like the polite Canadian I usually am, saying no thanks, or sorry, no. But now I’m older and grumpier so I just say no or of course not.
It’s all just so stupid. There is no way that sharing that information is in my interest. And there’s no way that allowing the credit union people to scan my BCDL is in my interest, either.
BTW, we were in Home Depot last year, and had to give them our phone number because we were ordering some stuff from them and having it delivered. Upon typing our number into the computer, the sales guy asked
This is how we learned the full name and address of the guy who had our phone number before we moved to the island: Home Depot spat it out for us. Debt collectors are after the guy, as we know from the nasty phone calls we get for him. It would be so easy for a debt collector (or stalker) to go into a store like Home Depot and place a bogus order. He could give the target’s phone number, and would then have the target’s address a moment later. Same thing with pizza ordering, yes? You order a pizza and give them a local number. They respond with Poof! You’ve found the name and address behind an unlisted number.
Maybe I’m the only one who considers these possibilities, but I suspect that debt collectors, stalkers, and private detectives are well aware of techniques like this.
Of course, I might not be so concerned about it all if I hadn’t dealt with a stalker of my own a few years back.
Sigh.
Mason on 11 Mar 2010 at 12:36 am #
Personally, I think both of you are a little paranoid. Is it worth making all this fuss? Life is too short, live it to the fullest, quit wasting time making excuses why the world isn’t up to your standards, and either accept it as it is, and appreciate what you do have over people in poor living conditions, and stop making everything a big deal. Be thankful for what you DO have.
Pick your things to whine about, and either do something about it, or don’t say it at all. Whining isn’t going to solve the problem. People listening to other people’s whining isn’t either.
Make change happen.