Amount of personal info wanted by companies

Joolski

Is it just me that gets a little peeved at the amount of personal info required by some companies running competitions?  I know they want/need a certain amount for market research, etc, but I get tired of the amount of times they try to get your DOB and phone number, yet when they advise you of a win, they do it by email or post (I'm not including radio phone comps here).   Yes - I know I have the choice not to enter competitions if I don't want to submit info - and there are many times I don't.

An example - I have just won a small prize on the Coca Cola Instant Win comp currently running.  I am always pleased to win anything, even small prizes.  But they want you to complete an online form: DOB and phone, in addition to name, and address.  And then they want a photo upload of proof of addess:  either a utility bill, bank statement, or driver license.  All this for small instant win prizes such as:  sticker, badge, embroidered patch, bottle opener, football, towel, speaker, jacket!  

Hoenir

Companies want something in return for their marketing spend. Otherwise why bother. 

Brie

I was getting some on line pension quotes the other day and they wanted so much info.  Ok - they need to know my DoB or at least my age, if I want an enhanced quote I have to give them medical info, if I want a copy of the quote I have to give them an email address.  But they don't need my phone number so I gave them a random number.  Later I got an email saying they had tried to ring me but got someone completely different.  I am sorry that someone got a call meant for me but I'm glad I didn't receive the call.  

chocoholic123

They are not supposed to be able to ask for more information than is necessary, under data protection laws. So they can ask if you are over 18, even a year of birth - but there is no justification for full date of birth - but companies always still ask. I tend to put the 1st of the month as a default and then my actual month and year of birth. A utility bill or bank statement is mad especially for a small prize. 

Brie

chocoholic123 said:

They are not supposed to be able to ask for more information than is necessary, under data protection laws. So they can ask if you are over 18, even a year of birth - but there is no justification for full date of birth - but companies always still ask. I tend to put the 1st of the month as a default and then my actual month and year of birth. A utility bill or bank statement is mad especially for a small prize. 

The problem is that with some things they will be able to say there;s a good reason.  They want my phone number so they can ring me and try to sell me their product.  I'd prefer it was obvious why they are asking for things and give the option to not provide some things.

JayS24

I won a very nice cap on the recent Coca Cola Adidas comp. For the proof of address I took a photo of the top left hand corner only of a Building Society letter that just showed my name, address and the Building Society name/logo. Cap arrived with no problem.

Just won the glasses on the Schweppes comp. Wasn't sure whether to bother with this one since they want proof of age. In the end I've just sent a photo of the right hand side only of my driving licence and removed the details not required with the erase tool on the Photos app. 
If not acceptable I'm not too worried about missing out on this one. 
 

Joolski

Brie said:

I was getting some on line pension quotes the other day and they wanted so much info.  Ok - they need to know my DoB or at least my age, if I want an enhanced quote I have to give them medical info, if I want a copy of the quote I have to give them an email address.  But they don't need my phone number so I gave them a random number.  Later I got an email saying they had tried to ring me but got someone completely different.  I am sorry that someone got a call meant for me but I'm glad I didn't receive the call.  

I know - I don't like it when they ask for too much info up-front.  I'm glad I'm not the only one disliking it.

Joolski

chocoholic123 said:

They are not supposed to be able to ask for more information than is necessary, under data protection laws. So they can ask if you are over 18, even a year of birth - but there is no justification for full date of birth - but companies always still ask. I tend to put the 1st of the month as a default and then my actual month and year of birth. A utility bill or bank statement is mad especially for a small prize. 

Exactly, and I resent it.  And avoid it as much as possible.

Joolski

JayS24 said:

I won a very nice cap on the recent Coca Cola Adidas comp. For the proof of address I took a photo of the top left hand corner only of a Building Society letter that just showed my name, address and the Building Society name/logo. Cap arrived with no problem.

Just won the glasses on the Schweppes comp. Wasn't sure whether to bother with this one since they want proof of age. In the end I've just sent a photo of the right hand side only of my driving licence and removed the details not required with the erase tool on the Photos app. 
If not acceptable I'm not too worried about missing out on this one. 
 

Well done on the wins.  Yes, I covered over pretty much everything on a utilility bill apart from the company logo and my name + address - seeing as how they specifically want it just for "proof of address". I certainly wasn't going to send them any bank statements.

And what do they do with all this paperwork they request?  You can bet that not everyone will hide their details on the documents...

eyeballpaul

Agree   Too much info.

Some years ago I won a £1,000 laptop.
They wanted me to send a photo of my passport which I did and received prize OK
I felt that was justified in that case. But for small prizes I wouldn't bother.

Joolski

eyeballpaul said:

Agree   Too much info.

Some years ago I won a £1,000 laptop.
They wanted me to send a photo of my passport which I did and received prize OK
I felt that was justified in that case. But for small prizes I wouldn't bother.

Yep, there is so much of our info being requested, and far too many data breaches for my liking.