Saturday, July 18, 2015

Cablevision wrote that it requires Social Security Number only for "standard retail rates", i.e., rates NOBODY takes.

Cablevision (Mathew, of Corporate Executive Customer Relations (CECR)) wrote a paper letter to me dated June 30, 2015, post marked July 15, 2015, which arrived yesterday July 17, 2015.  You can't make up stuff like this.

I have written several recent posts on this topis, including:

Cablevision called but insisted on recording our conversation. I declined. SUNDAY, JUNE 28, 2015

A couple of days ago a guy (Mathew, I think) from Cablevision called to discuss what's described in my previous post ...


There are two things that federal and state legislatures need to do:
1. Prohibit private companies, especially those providing utility and pseudo-utility services, from demanding that a customer provide them with his/her Social Security number.
2. Ban the recording of conversations unless a copy and/or transcript is made available to the consumer...

Unfortunately, when a company with monopoly or duopoly power in an industry asks it is really a demand.

I call upon my elected representatives to pass legislation to fix this.

________________________

Mathew did not provide a last name.  He did provide a phone number (631-846-5317), which I called yesterday about 7 PM.  It was answered by a person who had no idea who Mathew was.  She assured me that Mathew did not have a voice mailbox where I could leave a message.  She did, however, provide an e-mail ID for the group that Mathew is in: cecrdesk@cablevision.com.  It turns out I already had that for a guy named Thomas Hagzan.  I'll send a link for this post to that e-mail ID and also to:

James Dolan, Cablevision CEO: JDOLAN@cablevision.com

OK, here's what Mathew wrote:

... providing your Social Security Number to Cablevision is not a requirement. If a Social Security Number is not provided by a prospective customer, service would still be offered at our standard retail rates.  Please note, we do request a Social Security Number when a customer wishes to sign up for a promotional offer."
________________________

Nobody pays standard retail rates when switching to a company like Cablevision. NOBODY. To suggest that this policy is not an absolute requirement is to present a distinction without a difference. It is either ironic or a poor choice of words that Mathew wrote they "request a Social Security Number ... for a promotional offer".  If that's really true then there is no issue.  They request.  I decline.  Cablevision provides service at the rates for a promotional offer.  But that won't happen.

Mathew also mentioned the phrase "sign up".  I think part of the attraction of a Cablevision "promotional offer" is that there is no annual contract, so a new customer is not required to "sign up".

Cablevision "promotional offer" is pricing intended to entice you to switch.  Then after the promotional period expires, maybe in a year, the rates increase to, I guess, "standard retail rates".  At that point a customer decides whether to switch and take a "promotional offer" from a competitor, in this case Verizon and its FIOS.  Mathew did not provide any rates, either "standard retail" or "promotional".  He should have.

In his opening sentence Mathew wrote:

"The complaint that you filed with the (New York State) Public Service Commission has been forwarded to my attention for investigation and handling."

New York State Public Service Commission complaint against Cablevision for collecting Social Security numbers. THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2015

Complaints have also been filed with the FCC, Social Security Administartion and a message sent to the New York State Attorney General.  Messages sent to both U.S. Senators and member of the House of Representatives.  Oh, and Executive Director White Plains Cable TV...

Communicated by phone and e-mail with Thomas Hagzan, Corporate Executive Customer Relations Cablevision: cecrdesk@cablevision.com 631-846-5317

____________________________

Let the "investigation and handling" begin! But do not record conversations without providing me with a copy. And I think that New York State requires that both parties consent to a phone conversation being recorded. Companies do not even come close to asking for consent. They don't even hedge anu more and state that it may be recorded. They tell you that it is being recorded and then plow ahead with their prepared telemarketing script and completely ignore any objection or question. This has to stop.

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Cablevision record keeping sucks. And it wants my Social Security Number to provide service.

In January I had tried to switch from Verizon FIOS to Cablevision.  "Tax" on Verizon was causing my bill to be unacceptably high and Verizon was too inflexible to provide any meaningful price concession.  Part of the reason for that is that Cablevision's agreement with the City of White Plains has expired, which entitles Cablevision to not pay PEG, whatever the heck that is.  Nice system of regulation, huh?

I ordered service from Cablevision and scheduled an installation.  That day I received a call from the Cablevision installer who said I was next and that he'd be here soon.  After a while he called again and asked for directions.  Eventually it became clear that the Cablevision installer had an incorrect address.  It wasn't even close, not in any way, not even the street number.  Not the street.  Not the town.  In fact it was private house and I live in a large apartment building.

The Cablevision installer put me in contact with the the Cablevision dispatcher who did not help.  I said you must have someone either here or nearby but the dispatcher would not do the installation that day and asked me to reschedule.

Later that evening I tried to reschedule but Cablevision started asking me a lot of basic questions and it turned out that they needed to start the signup process all over again.  Why?  Bad systems.

Fast forward to the recent nonsense over:

Cablevision collects VERY personal data and it's OK with the local government. THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2015

"This call may be recorded for quality purposes." Who will give you a copy? THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2015


Which led to:

Cablevision called but insisted on recording our conversation. I declined. SUNDAY, JUNE 28, 2015

A couple of days ago a guy (Mathew, I think) from Cablevision called to discuss what's described in my previous post:..

There are two things that federal and state legislatures need to do:
1. Prohibit private companies, especially those providing utility and pseudo-utility services, from demanding that a customer provide them with his/her Social Security number.
2. Ban the recording of conversations unless a copy and/or transcript is made available to the consumer...

Unfortunately, when a company with monopoly or duopoly power in an industry asks it is really a demand.

I call upon my elected representatives to pass legislation to fix this.

_______________________________

There was actually more to that aborted conversation.  Cablevision guy tried to check for a record of my having been a customer years ago.  Guess what he found?  The incorrect address from the failed installation in January.  I was shocked.  I assured him that I never lived anywhere near that location and might never have been in that town.

Then it dawned on me.  I wondered if I had been foolish enough to have provided my Social Security Number to Cablevision back in January to complete that installation order for new service.  Sure enough, I had.  I asked Cablevision guy to check and he was able to view it on his screen.  Oh, not the entire number.  Just the last four digits.  You know, the four that now serve as the universal mini ID that everyone and his uncle gets to request.  I asked Cablevision guy if he could remove my SSN.  He tried by backspacing the four digit value in the field and I guess saving.  Of course, that doesn't mean that it was deleted from the Cablevision database and I'd be very surprised if it was, especially since Cablevision preferred to lose me as a customer rather than provide me with its service without my SSN.  So when I tried to get Cablevision service a second time this year did Cablevision again ask for my SSN when it already had it?

Finally, I just received a second paper communication from Cablevision addressed to someone I have never heard of but to my mailing address, including apartment number.  Cablevision's database thinks that someone else lives here.

And Cablevision wants my SSN?  Again?

Social Security Administration replies to inquiry on use of SSN by businesses.

Below is the e-mail reply I received.  The only thing missing is an incomplete laundry list of "situations" which "require an SSN".

Emphasis added.

from:SSA.Comments@ssa.gov
to:ken
date:Sat, Jun 20, 2015 at 11:18 AM


The Social Security number (SSN) was originally devised to keep an accurate record of each individual’s earnings and, subsequently, to monitor benefits paid under the Social Security program.  However, use of the SSN as a general identifier has grown to the point where it is the most commonly used and convenient identifier for all types of record keeping systems in the United States.
 
Specific laws require a person to provide his or her SSN for certain purposes...

The Privacy Act regulates the use of SSN’s by government agencies.  When a federal, state, or local government agency asks an individual to disclose his or her Social Security number, the Privacy Act requires the agency to inform the person of the following:
 
-- the statutory or other authority for requesting the information;
 
-- whether disclosure is mandatory or voluntary;
 
-- what uses will be made of the information;
 
-- the consequences, if any, of failure to provide the information
 
If a business or other enterprise asks you for your SSN, you can refuse to give it.  However, that may mean doing without the purchase or service for which your number was requested.  For example, utility companies and other services ask for a Social Security number, but do not need it; they can do a credit check or identify the person in their records by alternative means
 
Giving your number is voluntary, even when you are asked for the number directly.  If requested, you should ask why your number is needed, how your number will be used, what law requires you to give your number, and what the consequences are if you refuse.  The answers to these questions can help you decide if you want to give your Social Security number.  The decision is yours.
 
For detailed information, we recommend our publication, “Your Social Security Number and Card,” at the following Internet address:
 
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10002.html

_________________________________

Replies on complaint to New York State Public Service Commission, FCC, etc.

My New York State Assembly representative (David Buchwaldreplied with a personal e-mail message.  My New York State Senator (ANDREA STEWART-COUSINS) has never replied.

No response from either the New York State Public Service Commission or FCC.

No reply to my message sent to James Dolan, CEO Cablevision, and posted here.

I did get a reply from the Social Security Administration. I'll deal with that in the next post.