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Blogs > Rentier1 > What? Me worry?


Rentier1
1652 posts
11/27/2014 11:52 am
The efficiency of private enterprise

I had an interesting experience recently that shows how lacking in smarts the much vaunted efficient private enterprise system can be.

I love freebies, especially if it involves ripping off a large corporation.

I sometimes get email for credit card offers that will get me a $25 or $50 Starbucks card if I get the card and use it at least once.

So I apply for these.

Back in the spring I applied for one and was turned down.

The rejection letter didn't give an email address or toll free number, so I didn't bother to dig into it.

I later got a phone call from the credit card issuer, and it seems I was refused because my credit history only went back two years.

Now this is absurd since I have been doing business in Canada for 50 plus years.

Turned out that the credit bureau had two files on me. The one under my full legal name went back years. But it seems that they only looked at the other since when I filled in the application form I used the abbreviated name I normally go by. Somehow a second file on me was opened up at some point when I applied for something.

As a commercial applications computer geek of many decades, it astonishes me that their systems would not check for duplicates. Apart from the difference in Christian name, all the other info - birth date, surname, address, phone no - was the same. If I were building a system, that is certainly a basic check I would put in. Nobody wants duplicates in their database.

I applied again for the same card a few days ago, this time under my full legal name. Again I was turned down. Again it was for the same reason. They only checked the credit bureau file that has the two year history.

This time I called them and explained the situation, and the light finally went on for them. I still don't know why they didn't look at the file with the longer history.

They called back this morning to tell me the card is being mailed to me. I didn't tell them that I plan to use it only once to qualify for the Starbucks card.

Rentier1

12/8/2014 6:26 am
    Quoting  :
I thought that having too many was a black mark.


Rentier1

12/2/2014 7:22 am

 Got my $25 Starbucks card in electronic form yesterday.

Was it worth all the trouble!

You bet your bippie it was!

Anything to rip off The Man and Evil Corporations.


Rentier1

11/28/2014 9:18 am

 George:

I deleted your comment for breaking my one and only rule.

No insults allowed that target anyone but me.


Rentier1

11/27/2014 3:51 pm
    Quoting  :
Nope - not when there are cash dollars on the line.


Rentier1

11/27/2014 1:20 pm

 Sometimes I just get curious and go down the rabbit hole to see how far it goes.

Besides, $25 is $25.




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