Scary shop, need advice

I had a telecom shop today where the rep never showed me any paperwork, never told me what she had signed me up for, and never asked for my consent. She simply grabbed my ID, debit card (prepaid, thank God), and the paper on which she had written my ss# and ran off to the back room. She came out 30 min later and said "You're all set. Your device will be mailed to you." She did not have me sign or read anything. I had to ask twice for a receipt.

I have reached out to the scheduler, but he has not responded. I did the report because it was due tonight, but I have no idea how to proceed with the client. Clearly this is fraud and I need to protect myself, but how do I proceed so that I don't jepordize the shop (if possible)?

Anyone dealt with this before?

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That does sound scary! I've never had that before. I can't believe she wrote your SS# on a sheet of paper and then took your debit card, etc out of the shot of your eyes. I'd keep an eye on my credit report. Was anything charged to your debit card? Can you call back up there and ask to speak to a manager and tell the manager what you just wrote in this post? It might help.

Shopping Arkansas, Louisiana, & Mississippi.

The only charge was the $50 listed on the receipt she gave me after the fact. I still pulled all of the rest of the funds off the card as a precaution.

It was the manager's office in the back that she took everything to. The manager was the one who helped her set everything up.

I put a freeze on my credit report.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/29/2021 01:20AM by stormraven73.

Yes, that's scary. I hope there were "comments" areas on the report where you could explain all this.

One good rule is never -- NEVER -- let your credit/debit card out of your sight. Too many opportunities for theft/deceit.

And combined with your social security number? I think I would close that account totally!

Even an explanation would have eased my concerns. You know, "I'm brand new, I need to take this to the manager's office, OK?"

(Nice bonuses currently available on opening a new account at a nation-wide bank, LOL!! -- check IPSOS)

As I said, it was a prepaid debit card purchased specifically for MS work, so no account to close, thankfully. And yes, there was plenty of comment space to fully detail what happened.

Call the Telecom provider and cancel the order and line of service.

I would worry more about the SSN. Who did she sell it to? Where is that piece of paper? Did she copy it onto a new paper to keep? A stolen identity is not always immediately apparent. It could take time to set it up.

That is why I did a credit freeze. Even if she kept it, she can't use it for much.

Why did they need your SSN for this assignment? (I vaguely remember some shops from years ago where credit-worthiness was a factor in making a purchase and paying for the item over time. I never bought anything. I only completed inquiries and gathered information.)

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao-Tzu

It was a new service/new customer shop.

So they really did need your SSN. Hopefully, they shredded the paper with that number after they used it that day,

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao-Tzu

The really does smell bad.

Did a compliance shop with a cell phone provider yesterday. The agent never sees the SSN because a customer would type it into a keypad. My own provider's stores are also set up like that. Any physical paperwork is given back to the customer or shredded right in front of them.

Yep, that's how it should be. I tried calling customer service but they would not talk to me because I had no way to verify any account info. I then went to a corporate store to report what the franchise store had done.

The CS manager was appalled. He apologized profusely, pulled up my account info, saw sevrral red flags, and immediately contacted Asset Protection and Business Services on my behalf.

He said the investigation will take a week or two, and he will keep me posted on any developments. He is also trying to get Business Services to set up a legitimate account for me under the terms the franchisee promised.

I will post any developments.

You better get paid for this! You might have uncovered something big. If it wasn't as fraudulent as it looks there is a huge need for training.

I agree. Got a 10 on the shop, from a notoriously low scoring company, lol

SO glad you went to the Corporate store to report this. It's not worth losing your credit rating for any sort of mystery shop. I do hope you get paid, but if, for some reason they pull back on you for reporting this to the Corporate office, well, it's better to keep your credit integrity no matter what!! Yes, keep us posted!!

I checked with the scheduler before reporting, and was told to handle it as a regular customer. I may be barred from shopping the company, but I am pretty sure I will be paid.

Wow; that's crazy! I never heard of purchasing a new service of any kind without being given a contract or itemized agreement to sign and a copy of the executed document. It's good you reported this on your shop and to the corporate location. Sounds like the location you shopped might be pulling some very shady stuff.

I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.

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Scary shop, need advice

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