A company called Inphonic ILLEGALLY opened up a cell phone account in my name without out my consent..I contacted Inphonic and they said that this is legal for them to do this because I never sent back a phone they sent me within 30 days...I never even used this account once, because I NEVER requested to do business with Sprint or Inphonic. Can they do this legally? Just steal somebody's identity then use it to open up an account without their consent and then turn around and send it to a collection agency?
2007-01-22 16:45:41 · 7 answers · asked by honeyaintthissweet 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
my whole point being, that as easily as Inphonic got my name and address to send me this phone with out my consent they could have just as easily got my phone number to verify that I actually wanted this account.. around the time that I got this cell phone, I was filling out alot of online credit card applications, and we all know when you fill out a credit card application they have to check your credit report..If Inphonic had put forth half the effort that the credit card companies did, they would have known that my credit was full of holes, like a piece of swiss cheese..Every credit card company that I applied to sent me a big fat rejection letter..This is the most likely way that I can figure that Inphonic could have gotten my information..I wouldn't knowingly do business with Sprint, even if they were giving the phone and the service away for free...corporation buy and sell mailing lists and email addresses like they're candy..
2007-01-23 15:58:33 · update #1
I'm not being nasty or anything..This is very agravating to me...To prove my point further, I can remember when I first applied for car tag , two or three weeks later I had so much junk mail sent to me through the regular U.S. mail that I could have started a bonfire with it. Is Sprint and Inphonic so desparate for business that they have to resort to predatory marketing practices like this? If Sprint and Inphonic are supposed to be some kind of big name publicly traded companies, they should have had the resources to check my credit report..then all of this could have been avoided..
2007-01-23 16:20:32 · update #2
Yes that is illegal for anybody to use your information without your permission. My experience with inphonic was terrible. I ordered some phones from them and NEVER GOT THEM. There is no telling what may happen with that stuid phone company. I hate I ever did "business" with them. They were gonna charge me double for shipping and everything. They took my money but never sent my phones and when i called and asked then why he said bcuz once you submit your order they take the money. So i saked him so yall take money but dont approve? I got no answer so dont ever do business with them ever again.!!
2007-01-24 09:39:19 · answer #1 · answered by Krysten P 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What very likely happened is that you filled out a form for a "free phone" somewhere without reading the terms and conditions. No one can set up a Sprint account for you without your having filled out a credit application. Inphonic is a public company (NASDAQ: INPC) and the internet's largest authorized Sprint retailer -- You may not have heard of INPC because you dealt with one of their marketing affiliates (Sprint's own family-discount site is run by inphonic, so it might not be obvious because of the co-branding).
Do you remember signing up for a "free cell phone" offer anywhere?
Terms of pretty much all free phone offers are contingent on signing up for a new contract with a wireless provider. Not having read the terms, you gave them or one of their partners your information . Once you got the phone (you never said that you didn't receive the merchandise), you didn't read the paperwork that came with it about the terms of your account and the return policy, so you just kept the phone and thus committed yourself.
Or I guess it's possible someone else stole your identity and ordered merchandise, although I don't see the point of that since the phone ended up in your hands not theirs. And inphonic has very strict fraud protection measures in place. So this seems unlikely.
So it's all on the up and up. They've opened millions of wireless accounts for customers. Most of them understand what they're signing up for when they fill out the credit app (that usually sets of bells, no?).
Sorry dude.
2007-01-23 09:52:33 · answer #2 · answered by Joan of Fremont 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Inphonic is just an authorized agent for Sprint. Sprint would not set up an account in your name without a full credit application from you. Did you enter a sweepstakes for a "free phone?"
2007-01-23 10:03:45 · answer #3 · answered by Let Teddy Win 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It sounds like a typical marketing trap. If it's what I think it is then it is not illegal. A typical version is the "free magazine" deals that are offered. When you sign up for the free magazine subscription it says in the fine print that by signing you agree to allow them to charge you for the subscription if you do not cancel within a month. Most people either do not read the fine print or forget completely to cancel it. This is done with many variants. Be careful whenever you give away your info or your signature.
2007-01-22 16:56:54 · answer #4 · answered by Brandon 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you did not give them the information, they cannot. However, if you signed a contract or did something on the Internet that gave them this kind of information, they may be able to.
2007-01-22 16:52:05 · answer #5 · answered by msi_cord 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
somebody can donate money on your call as lengthy as they do no longer declare they are you. that's no longer robbery in the event that they supply money away. I even have not at all heard of someones identity being stolen so as to offer money away. LOL
2016-12-16 15:14:15 · answer #6 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
For starters do you have ANY idea how they got your information?
2007-01-22 16:49:38 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋