PRIVACY MATTERS 123 cancelled account before it was completely processed Internet

I, like many before me, found this company online through a "pop-up" link on my local paper's website. In processing my membership for the free credit report only, I was unable to finish the identity verification, and called the company from the number that was provided on line: 800.436.0817.

The person who answered started asking me questions to "verify my identity" since this process did not work on line. The first question was: "what is your social security number". Since I NEVER give that verbally to anyone, I then gave him my name and he found me in their records.

It became clear early on in the conversation, that they had information that was over 12 years old, and I was unable to give credit card numbers that matched current accounts. Once he understood that, he said they would send me a "tracking number" to use, and send that in the mail to my home address.

So....I was already a bit hesitant about this, and when I went back to the google search after getting off the phone with the guy, I saw this "Rip-off" site and freaked out when I saw all the complaints about this same company. I immediately called them back, and told them I wanted to cancel everything, was not interested, etc....they gave me one number to call to cancel, and then suddenly changed the number, which confirmed what someone else on this site had already said.

The number they gave me was: 877.993.6264. It was an automated system that allowed you to cancel the membership, which I did. I hope that might provide some help for others in this situation. Guess I will be double checking the credit card I provided for the $1.00 fee to process the credit report to be sure I don't get billed for anything. fyi: I did get a confirming email a moment ago, stating that my membership was cancelled; it included a "cancellation" number confirmation.

One of my "rules of thumb" when talking to strangers on the phone about anything like this, is I ask them where they are physically located. When I asked the person on the first call this question, he said that for "security reasons I am not allowed to give out that information". My history with this response is that 99% of the time the individual, and the company, are NOT located in the United States. Usually I stop at that point and do no further business with the individual or company...should have followed my instincts (sigh).

Fiona
Santa Cruz, California
U.S.A.