It's actually the company which makes cola, flies planes, sells CDs and runs a mobile phone network (naming no names, but I was going to call this message Virgin' on the ridiculous)!
I'm trying to move from them to Pipex, because my little home network is suffering poor performance. Can't move without the CBUK number and I've been forwarned that Virgin tend to be a bit reluctant to part with the info. - hence my thinly disguised suspicion that it's a stalling tactic.
And I didn't think they had my mother's maiden name, but I later found out that they probably do. Mind you, the world and his cat now seems to have that information about me, which rather devalues it as an identifier, doncha think?
Charles Christacopoulos <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Su Goulding wrote:
>I've just had the following message from my broadband
>suppliers in response to a query that I sent from the
>e-mail account I hold with them. In case you're
>wondering what I asked for that caused such a hoo-ha,
>it was the CBUK reference number for my ADSL line.
>Feel free to discuss ad nauseam the whys & wherefores
>of whether this could constitute personal data, if you
>really must.
>
>Now, I fully appreciate the need to verify customer
>identity as much as the next dp nerd, but wondered why
>this company (which prides itself on communicating in
>plain English and being down with da kidz) really
>feels the need to approach dp in such a nursery school
>teacher manner? Most peculiar - especially since they
>didn't ask for any of it last time when I e-mailed
>them from my work address.
>
>(If I were being unkind, I might think it was a
>stalling tactic to avoid giving me the information
>which will enable me to move to an ISP who can provide
>an internet link that doesn't drop out at
>unpredictable times. But I'm not that uncharitable.
>Yet.).
>S
>
>*******
>
>Dear Sir / Madam.
>
>Thank you for your recent E-mail.
>
>Unfortunately we are unable to provide you with any
>information about the account or make any changes as
>you have not passed security. This is enforced upon
>****.*** and other companies by the government, who
>passed a law called the "Data Protection Act". This is
>both for the benefit of the company and the customer.
>
>If you could provide us with your mothers maiden name,
>we would be more than happy to assist in any way
>that's possible.
>
>Kind Regards
>
>
Och aye, NTLI which rhymes with NTL!
If you are a nerd and you don't mind paying for fixed IPs etc, and you
want no freebies, ZEN networks. Else Pipex. Not sure about DP in me
disclosing my choice companies though :-)
Regards
Charles
BTW Would they have your mother's maiden name ?
--
Charles Christacopoulos, Management Information Officer,
Planning & Information, University of Dundee, Dundee, DD1 4HN,
Scotland, United Kingdom. Tel: 44(0)1382-344891. Fax: 44(0)1382-348845.
http://www.somis.dundee.ac.uk/
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