Shopping Discussion

Driver's License and Signing up for Services

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  • Feb 1st, 2009 11:54 pm
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Deal Addict
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Nov 5, 2005
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Mississauga

Driver's License and Signing up for Services

Rogers called me last week to offer me a package and to elaborate/sell their service to me. I told him that I had to think about it and today he called me back again. Now after I agreed to sign up for some services, I was wondering why do companies need date of birth and SIN or Driver's License? I gave him my driver's license number since there is no way I'm giving my SIN unless I absolutely need to. This also happened a few years ago at a kiosk when I was singing up for Fido services. They wanted my driver's license again. What can be pulled off of a driver's license that Rogers can use? and is this a common practice amongst other companies?
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Nov 13, 2008
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Fort Saskatchewan
Blackmajik wrote: Rogers called me last week to offer me a package and to elaborate/sell their service to me. I told him that I had to think about it and today he called me back again. Now after I agreed to sign up for some services, I was wondering why do companies need date of birth and SIN or Driver's License? I gave him my driver's license number since there is no way I'm giving my SIN unless I absolutely need to. This also happened a few years ago at a kiosk when I was singing up for Fido services. They wanted my driver's license again. What can be pulled off of a driver's license that Rogers can use? and is this a common practice amongst other companies?
They are asking for that information to perform a credit check on you. If you have a poor credit history they would ask that you pay a deposit, then if you refuse they would recommend prepaid.
Deal Addict
Mar 11, 2008
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Langley
Since you are signing a contract with them they also want to know that you are who you claim to be.
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Nov 13, 2008
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Hunter316 wrote: Since you are signing a contract with them they also want to know that you are who you claim to be.
*grin* yeah that probably has something to do with it too.
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Nov 5, 2005
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Hunter316 wrote: Since you are signing a contract with them they also want to know that you are who you claim to be.
No there is no contract... I made sure I asked that. And if Rogers decides otherwise when/if I do decide to cancel, well that will be another thread.
Deal Guru
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Aug 20, 2005
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Nowhere
I've never had to show a DL or SIN to sign up for any service. Are you sure this was Rogers calling and not some scammer. You shouldn't be giving out any info unless you initiated the call.

Unless Rogers is renting cars, I don't know why you would need a driver's license. Exactly what are you signing up for with Rogers? Do you know that you don't have to provide a SIN when applying for a bank account if it doesn't pay interest? Companies are asking for too much information and people just give it. You should be asking what they need this information for, what they will be doing with it and how long they will store it.

From the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada: So, what can I do when asked for my SIN?

* Ask if you are required by law to provide it (see list below);
* Ask why the person needs it, how it will be used and to whom it will be given;
* Your SIN is not a piece of identification. If it is not required by law (and you are not satisfied with the explanation), tell the person you prefer not to use the SIN and offer other identification;
* If the organization refuses to give you the product or service unless you give your SIN, complain to the Privacy Commissioner of Canada;

Do some reading on privacy and you will see some interesting discussions on the collection of personal info.

Again from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada: "In general, privacy legislation (such as the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, PIPEDA, and Alberta
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Nov 5, 2005
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[quote="Cheap Cat" post_id="8178692" time="1233367286" user_id="28525"]I've never had to show a DL or SIN to sign up for any service. Are you sure this was Rogers calling and not some scammer. You shouldn't be giving out any info unless you initiated the call.

Unless Rogers is renting cars, I don't know why you would need a driver's license. Exactly what are you signing up for with Rogers? Do you know that you don't have to provide a SIN when applying for a bank account if it doesn't pay interest? Companies are asking for too much information and people just give it. You should be asking what they need this information for, what they will be doing with it and how long they will store it.

From the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada: So, what can I do when asked for my SIN?

* Ask if you are required by law to provide it (see list below);
* Ask why the person needs it, how it will be used and to whom it will be given;
* Your SIN is not a piece of identification. If it is not required by law (and you are not satisfied with the explanation), tell the person you prefer not to use the SIN and offer other identification;
* If the organization refuses to give you the product or service unless you give your SIN, complain to the Privacy Commissioner of Canada;

Do some reading on privacy and you will see some interesting discussions on the collection of personal info.

Again from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada: "In general, privacy legislation (such as the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, PIPEDA, and Alberta
Deal Addict
Mar 11, 2008
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Langley
Blackmajik wrote: I'm very aware of exposing my SIN number but in the past I have given my driver's license to many companies. When I traded in games at EB and when I sold my lens to Henry's I had to give my driver's license. When I signed up for Fido, they took my driver's license. Now if they don't use a driver's license to do a credit check, what do they use it for?
If you are curious about it why not call Rogers and ask them. They should be able to tell you.
Newbie
Jan 6, 2009
31 posts
1 upvote
Toronto
Its used for security reasons so that someone couldn't mess with your account by using easy to obtain info like d.o.b or address. That said, i dont know why they limited you to just DL and SIN, i used my health card, and there are a few more that they'd accept.
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Oct 15, 2008
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Atikokan
Gold Digga wrote: Its used for security reasons so that someone couldn't mess with your account by using easy to obtain info like d.o.b or address. That said, i dont know why they limited you to just DL and SIN, i used my health card, and there are a few more that they'd accept.
Exactly, there are about a dozen different forms of ID that can be used to run the credit check (including obscure things like Certificates of Citizenship and easily forged items like status cards), but driver's licences and SINs are most often used because: a) they're most likely to be had by most people and b) they contain most of the info needed to sign the person up (DOB, proper spelling of the complete name, being able to match the signatures).

AFAIK, health cards actually weren't allowed to be used in Ontario because the older red ones have no information on them, and there's some law against asking to see it. If that's still the case now (I haven't sold a phone in a couple of years) I don't know.

It's amazing how many people would go to do a credit check without their DL, "Oh, okay, I'll drive home real quick and grab it" :lol:
Member
Jun 4, 2008
353 posts
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Toronto
Yeah, it's almost certainly for a credit check -- which are run sometimes on services even without a contract. But also I've requested to see a driver's license from customers when I needed to spell a difficult name or quickly look up/copy their address, etc., especially when their English is hard to understand. If you're not sure, ask.

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