ABN AMRO has screwed me (and many others)

[Orrex]

Received a letter from ABN AMRO today (my mortgage company) notifying me that they'd "lost" a tape containing confidential customer information, and my info was on it. You know, the usual low-sensitivity stuff like social security number, credit history, birth date, etc.

Well, I've basically decided to assume that I'm fucked. I know people who've suffered identity theft, and it's generally taken them years to get it sorted out and cost them quite a chunk of change in the process.

Not to worry, sez ABN AMRO: they've enrolled me, free of charge, in a credit protection program for ninety days. Ninety days? Ex-fucking-cuse me? My data is lost and potentially vulnerable forever, and they're giving me less than three months' consolation prize? What is this shit?

How about this as an alternative: declare my mortgage payments "paid" for each month until they retrieve the "lost" tape and verify that my data wasn't compromised? Or how about, if I incur loss, they knock that exact (or maybe 2X or 3X) dollar amount off of my outstanding mortgage? Or how about just declaring my mortgage paid-in-full?

"Sorry, ABN AMRO—I mailed a check for the remaining balance, but it got 'lost' somehow. Tell you what—I'll continue to pay on my mortage, free of charge to you, for ninety days. After that, you're on your own."

Very fucking nice.

[jobycom]

1. I'd wonder if it's a scam to get you to enroll in the credit protection

plan. They usually give you 30 to 90 days free to try to program.

That's my company, too. I've had a lot of problems with them.

[Orrex]

2. Whoa! Hadn't thought of that

How would I check to see if the scare is legit or a scam?

Thanks for the thought--I work in the finance industry, and I know for a fact that companies go to great lengths to do at least as much as they can within the bounds of law, and usually much more than that.

[jobycom]

3. I don't know.

I guess you've read the letter closely, to be sure they are saying they actually lost the tapes, and not something more vague, like "Your name and important information could be on a lost tape that bad guys could recover," or some such thing that would allow an attorney to claim that people misunderstood the letter.

[Orrex]

7. Well, I'm at work

My wife told me about the letter, but I didn't think to have her read it to me.

I'll try to post more info (maybe the whole text) tonight.

[jobycom]

9. That's okay, Post 5 seems to prove it's not a gimmic, although

ABM AMRO is claiming there's no danger, so they still seem to be using this to push their protection racket.

[Skidmore]

4. Are you calling them? I'd be interested in knowing what you

find out. They carry our mortgage.

[newportdadde]

5. Its real, they lost the tape.

http://yahoo.reuters.com/financeQuoteCompanyNewsArticle.jhtml?duid=mtfh18055_2005-12-16_17-54-00_n16151464_newsml

Yeah I got the letter too and my first thought was "When will they stop with these BS protection plan deals?"

I suppose I will try out their wonderful offer of 90days.

[jobycom]

8. Thanks for the link. I notice it was DHL who lost the tape. Figures

Neither company has been particularly competent when I've dealt with them.

[rman]

6. the Bin Laden family is client of ABN AMRO

Bin Laden taint hurts family empire
Saudi group under spotlight
Special report: terrorism in the US
David Teather and Brian Whitaker
Friday September 21, 2001
The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/waronterror/story/0,1361,555700,00.html#article_continue

Calls to the Saudi Binladin Group's outpost on Berkeley Street in the heart of London's West End were diverted straight to the answering machine yesterday. No one was returning any messages.

<snip>

Citigroup, the Wall Street bank which is one of Binladin Group's backers, said it had no cause for concern but would cooperate with US investigators into the terrorist attacks.

"We provide typical banking services to the Saudi Binladin Group which has denounced and completely disowned Osama bin Laden," a spokeswoman said.

<snip>

Perhaps the oldest business relationship is with Saudi Hollande, part of Dutch bank ABN Amro, which has backed the company for 70 years and, has a watching brief. It yesterday returned to the US authorities to confirm the company is not on any blacklists.

<more>