ss requirement

A radio report says that DirecTV is requiring a social security number to activate units purchased from retailers such as Circuit City.

Iv seen this listed on the D* brochures, for the past year or so. I wonder why theyd need a ss#?

Steve

They require it for new subscribers.

Old subs may have not have to given it before and DirecTV may not have their SS information.

Is that even legal? Requiring a SSN just to subscribe to satellite TV is a little much.

I was told by DirecTV that giving your SSN is voulentary. If you do not feel like giving it then you can voulentarly go to another service.

So you dont have to give them your SSN unless you want them to turn on your service. :D

Scott

You don't have to give Directv your Social Security Number, if you refuse to provide it, they will simply require a Pre-Payment of the first months services!

Dishnetwork doesn't require it either, however if you want to participate in DHP, you must provide it to the CSR when activating!

Probably for purposes of establishing credit.

Yes, it is legal. The same will happen if you try to get a cel phone, rent an apartment, or apply for a credit card. Your credit history and credit rating are keyed on your SS number.

Actually its because they want to try to weed out the people who don't pay their bills. I have actually had customers Directv has refused to activate because of the customers credit, and the only way they would activate the customer would be if they pre-paid their first months bill.

Too many people sign up for dbs service and never pay the first months bill!

For those with less than stellar credit, why not offer "Pre-Paid DBS" in much the same way as Pre-Paid Cellular?

The prospective customer would pay full retail for the system and perhaps even have to pay for the install or do a self install.

Then, there would be cards at each local dealer good for one months service of which ever AT package you want, and maybe a card for, let's say, a $25 credit toward PPV. Multiple cards could be redeemed on to an account, but never more than a year's worth of monthly service.

If you quit redeeming cards, your receiver is deactivated.

I assume in the above example that each card has a unique number, similar to the Tracfone system, and that number would be punched in by remote control or touch tone telephone. (In case of remote control, phone connection would be required to send in the info to the DBS provider.)