# MD/VA dopers - illegal to ask for phone #?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/md-va-dopers-illegal-to-ask-for-phone/335293>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 12, 2005, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/md-va-dopers-illegal-to-ask-for-phone/335293 "2005-12-12T19:15:50Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\
**Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/md-va-dopers-illegal-to-ask-for-phone/335293/21 "2005-12-13T10:59:52Z")

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My standard spiel:

“I don’t have a phone number, I don’t have a zip code, I don’t have an email address.”

That always works.

Yes, the new hair cutting place had a fit the first time I went in. But they were new at it. Now they don’t care.

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**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\
**Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/md-va-dopers-illegal-to-ask-for-phone/335293/22 "2005-12-13T13:59:13Z")

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My standard reply to retailers insisting on a phone number:

202-456-1414. That’s the White House switchboard.

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**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\
**Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/md-va-dopers-illegal-to-ask-for-phone/335293/23 "2005-12-13T16:00:20Z")

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I’ve been asked plenty by stores like Best Buy, Advance Auto, Circuit City, and Radio Shark. But only once or twice has my declining ever been a problem. Once was at Sears, the lady running the cash register got flustered and didn’t know how to do the transaction without the phone number. So I made up one.

After that I decided to get devious and wrote down the phone number of my local Better Business Bureau to give when I was “required” to give one, but I haven’t had to and it’s been a couple years.

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**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\
**Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/md-va-dopers-illegal-to-ask-for-phone/335293/24 "2005-12-13T16:01:35Z")

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Oh, and another thing. I’ve started noticing stores asking for ZIP codes instead of phone numbers. That I don’t have a problem giving out.

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