Registration of the buyer when u buy a mobile

stef.steve

What's this story that mobile phones shops ask for your name and address - always - when you buy a new mobile phone? Even when you buy a mobile broadband dongle (even when if it is pay as you go, I mean).

I bought a new phone and when I asked why, the shop assistant told me that it was because they needed to know I was the owner if I went back into the shop with a problem.
When I told her that I would have given away the phone as it was a gift, so she told me: no problem as it is important the receipt.

So then, names are not important at all, I commented, and she told me that she needed to register the phone on the name of someone.

I asked why they need to register the phone on the name of someone and she could not answer me.

Why this insistence in asking for names??? What's the story?

Many thanks.
Stef

OneADay

Marketing ploy most likely - although then you should be asked if you give consent etc to marketing.

I did buy a gift phone for someone once - pay and go from cpw. Paid with card and it was automatic then that they had my details.

robberrob

Of course its sensible to have a registration of who has
purchased a mobile phone -
Havent you seen what they are used for these days ??

I've nothing to hide and if someone else is Bombing, balckmailing,
murdering me or bullying my kids I want them found.

OneADay

robberrob - good point but I would rather they used credit cards as a means of tackling that issue. Do away with money maybe :-)

stef.steve

OneADay wrote: »

Marketing ploy most likely - although then you should be asked if you give consent etc to marketing.

I did buy a gift phone for someone once - pay and go from cpw. Paid with card and it was automatic then that they had my details.

No, I disagree. Companies cannot store even not the credit cards numbers of customers; they just use some third party billing systems to let you pay.

Instead, shops register your data, names and address.

Please note that those data can also be fake as they do not ask you for a identification document. Apparently, they are just asked to associate some letters and numbers to any phone purchase.

I agree with the previous reply, where they should ask for your agreement to keep your data.

Cheers
Stef

stef.steve

robberrob wrote: »

Of course its sensible to have a registration of who has
purchased a mobile phone -
Havent you seen what they are used for these days ??

I've nothing to hide and if someone else is Bombing, balckmailing,
murdering me or bullying my kids I want them found.

First of all, you can get as many sim cards as you want for free and anonymously. Criminals are calling from those SIMs not those you buy in the shops. Then, you can leave them all the fake data you want that they do not care to check whether it is you or not.

Then, do you think it is possible to know the mobile phone serial number (not which brand and model but its unique identification number) you are calling from?

In other words, criminals can still do all their dirty jobs but you have become a marketing victim in the meanwhile.

Cheers
Stef

PS if you have nothing to hide, how comes you are so obsessed and afraid of being blackmailed or murdered? :rotfl:

Cerenia

Personally, I hate just taking details - box breakers just use false names, and i'd get in trouble if I refused to serve someone without seeing ID, wheras, personally, I think we should require ID, sims and phones, I know its not everyone's point of view, but i'm sick off seeing people come in after the same phones all the time, trying to give different names, wasiting my time, they know I won't serve them if I reconise them.

stardoman

Cerenia wrote: »

Personally, I hate just taking details - box breakers just use false names, and i'd get in trouble if I refused to serve someone without seeing ID, wheras, personally, I think we should require ID, sims and phones, I know its not everyone's point of view, but i'm sick off seeing people come in after the same phones all the time, trying to give different names, wasiting my time, they know I won't serve them if I reconise them.

They're probably mystery shoppers.

Mandy.

Cerenia

stardoman wrote: »

They're probably mystery shoppers.

Mandy.

Nope, some of them have confessed to me that they make loads of profit sending the Tocco Lite abroad.

Besides - would you really be trying to spend £130 a day for 2 weeks, just for some mystery shopping scores? The old mystery shoppers wern't meant to spend a penny, the new system asks everyone now via text.

robt_2

Cerenia wrote: »

Nope, some of them have confessed to me that they make loads of profit sending the Tocco Lite abroad.

Why do you care at store level? As long as you get your £130 quid you should be happy as a store? Does the network penalise your store for handsets which don't turn out to be profitable?

jago25_98

PS if you have nothing to hide, how comes you are so obsessed and afraid of being blackmailed or murdered?

^ absolute classic. Privacy is there for an imperfect world.

Imagine if all bank accounts were public by design. That would be interesting