I applied for a new phone a couple of weeks back. The company selling the deal eventually replied and asked for a copy of a utility bill or credit card receipt.
I don't like sharing confidential details like this off so I grabbed the nearest credit card bill and, using a marker pen, blocked out the credit card number and the details of financial transactions.
I faxed this to them but received a phone call saying that the details must be visible. Not only that but whatever I send them will be "held on file" by the mobile phone company.
So far in my young life I've arranged a mortgage, several loans, received several credit cards, but I've never had to supply a copy of a bill for any of this. Nor do I think I shoudl have to - it's an invasion of privacy (perhaps a dangerous one - there's a slight but real risk of identity theft if the docs fall into the wrong hands).
So why do they want a utility bill? What's their reasoning behind this? Why can't they just use a credit check like everybody else?