(Dis)Loyalty Cards

March 31, 2017

So, about those loyalty cards you sign up for, the ones that let you earn points or instant discounts when you give the store your card or your phone number:

I couldn’t remember what phone number I had at a certain store (old home, cell, new home), so I gave the new number. None of the names that came up was mine, although I did recognize one because we keep getting collection calls for her. (We get collection calls for several people. Apparently this number was issued to a lot of different people who skipped out on bills.)

I picked a name at random, figuring I could get the instant discount and she could get the points; and I’m darned if we didn’t start getting collection calls for that person, too!

Two points:

1. Apparently the loyalty only goes one way. The store is giving out your info to all and sundry.

2. If you plan to go on the lam, don’t use your cell number as the phone number for your loyalty card. You’ll save yourself a lot of collection calls.