When I get a credit card replacement with a new expiration date, for several yearw now it comes with a little sticker giving me a number to call to activate it. It always says I have to call from my home phone, quite emphatically.
Why?
I thought either they use caller ID to make sure the number matches my home number on their records, but it still worked when I called from my cell phone. Then I thought maybe they are using caller ID to actually capture my number for their records.
Also, it seems the only reason they do it at all is to get you on the phone to try to sell you some credit card protection “insurance” or some crap. I really hate calling these.
A credit card sent to my daughter through the mail disappeared, so I’m glad for the home phone requirement. You can usually tell envelopes with new cards, and this no doubt cuts down on theft.
In a similar vein, I changed my home phone service from work, and every interaction with the phone company required giving a special number on my bill for security. But that would be unknown to anyone who knew my number, while all security info you need is on your card.
And the sales pitch is annoying, but most of the people I’ve spoken to don’t try very hard.
I believe I am correct on this, but someone who know more may feel free to correct me.
If you call from home, which they normally have on file, they can simply match the number from the caller ID to their database and do an automated activation. If you call from a different number, they will need to have a live rep validate, and live reps cost more money than automated systems. So it is just a way for them to save money.
And they will probably try to sell you on something no matter where you call from.
I did it from my cell phone once, because I’d already dialed the number and I didn’t feel like going inside. Worked fine. (Of course, a lot of people don’t even have a landline anymore.)
I always activated from my cell phone and never had a problem. Honestly considering the number of people who are passing up the land line in favor of cell phones it makes no sense for a business to demand its customers have a home phone number before they can use its services.
Some facts, as I’ve worked on these telco projects:
The reason is definitely caller I.D. = auto activation w/out agent assistance.
Some companies have low-risk customers receiving new cards and they get auto-approval no matter what # they call from.
Some other non-low-risk people will call from different telephone numbers and will get a rep, who does basic security screening. These could be new customers, or customers whose original credit report had an address flagged, or any other indicator that might increase risk.
By the way, caller I.D. block does not work when you dial a toll-free number.
Sometimes you will call from home and be destined for an auto-activation, but a system is down or the caller I.D. and phone system don’t synch up properly at the exact moment with the company d-base and the call routing defaults to an agent.
That’s right. It’s not really caller id, it’s a different system called ANI (Automatic Number Identification). Probably more importantly, it can’t be spoofed either so someone can’t make their phone pretend to be yours when activating a card.
I don’t think that they insist your home number be a land line. It’s insisting (or rather, suggesting) that you call from the phone number listed on the account as your home number. This could be a cell phone number or your work phone number or your granny’s number. It’s whatever number you gave them when you signed up.
Some of you are confusing the idea of “home phone” with “telephone plugged in to a jack in your home.” That’s not the case.
Every time I’ve used a different line other than my land line, I’ve never had a problem with automatic authorization. It’s been so consistent that I assumed it was to just capture a phone number in the event they needed to find me if I had an unpaid balance.
In all the places Ive lived that box is locked. Sure, you can break the lock, but its not as easy as you make it sound. Mail theft is a quick and easy crime. To go back to the house, break into the yard, and break into the call box and make a phone call seems a lot more involved and a lot easier to get caught than grabbing some mail and running.