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By SINCLAIR STEWART
Wednesday, November 23, 2005 Posted at 5:24 AM EST
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
Don Rogers wanted to make a statement. A 32-foot credit card statement, to be precise, one he hopes will help him win a long-simmering privacy feud with his bank and at the same time nab a place in the Guinness Book of Records.
The 62-year-old retired city councillor from Kingston, Ont., paid his $230 Visa bill last month in 985 instalments, often pennies at a time, to protest against the fact that his bank outsourced some of its credit card processing to a U.S. company. Mr. Rogers said he asked Vancouver-based Citizens Bank of Canada several times to end the practice, because U.S. authorities could potentially gain access to his personal information under the wide-ranging Patriot Act, a piece of legislation designed to crack down on terrorism.
When the bank refused to take action, he decided to employ what he describes as his "creative solution" -- paying down his Visa in tiny increments over the Internet and generating a statement that was 35 pages long and a half-inch thick.
The manoeuvre created a considerable headache for the account folks at Citizens Bank, who were forced, he says, to process some of his payments manually after the system jammed.
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"It's difficult for the average citizen to get large corporations to listen," explained Mr. Rogers, who nevertheless managed to get a one-on-one conversation with the bank's chief executive officer this year, and has had a dialogue with its privacy officer.
"Us retired guys are the most dangerous, because we have time on our hands. You have to look for the weaknesses in their system, and I think I found it."
Mr. Rogers said he has become so adept at the multiple payments, he can whip off about 50 in 20 minutes. Even so, that's almost seven hours worth of work -- and he plans to continue his assault next month, unless the bank provides a written promise that it will stop sending its cardholders' information south of the border.
That isn't likely to happen, says Rolf Baumbusch, vice-president in charge of Visa for Citizens Bank, a branchless operation of Vancouver City Savings Credit Union that has devised an ethical charter and markets itself as a socially responsible financial institution.
Mr. Baumbusch said his options are limited in terms of card processing companies, and insisted there are few in North America -- let alone Canada -- that can provide the kind of security his bank requires at a competitive price. He also pointed out that Citizens Bank has privacy agreements in place with its processor in Columbus, Ga., Total Systems Services Inc., to protect customers' information.
"Changing this is not an easy thing to do," he said of Mr. Rogers' request. "It's a huge project, a high-risk project, and a very expensive one, too."
Mr. Baumbusch said the Visa cardholder agreement requires clients to make payments of at least $10, and said this rule will be communicated to Mr. Rogers. If he doesn't stop, the bank might have to take more serious measures.
"One option is to close the account, because we do get the message here, but it does hurt our other members."
Mr. Rogers, meanwhile, says he might dust off a few credit cards from other Canadian banks, and unleash his creative solution upon them as well.
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Royal Bank of Canada and Canadian Tire are among domestic companies that, like Citizens Bank, process their credit card transactions with Total Systems.
"It's subjecting me to American laws, which is just unacceptable to me as a Canadian citizen," Mr. Rogers said. "This is a profoundly serious issue. Canadian credit card holders should be concerned about this. "
Not serious enough to stop him from having a little fun. Given how heavy his statement was this month (he says it "landed with a thud" from his mail slot), he's planning to see whether he can earn some notoriety for his efforts. He plans to enter his Visa bill to the judges at Guinness to see whether he can qualify as a world record holder.
"This may be my only chance for world fame."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl...tory/Business/
Check out the comments from the users..
Wednesday, November 23, 2005 Posted at 5:24 AM EST
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
Don Rogers wanted to make a statement. A 32-foot credit card statement, to be precise, one he hopes will help him win a long-simmering privacy feud with his bank and at the same time nab a place in the Guinness Book of Records.
The 62-year-old retired city councillor from Kingston, Ont., paid his $230 Visa bill last month in 985 instalments, often pennies at a time, to protest against the fact that his bank outsourced some of its credit card processing to a U.S. company. Mr. Rogers said he asked Vancouver-based Citizens Bank of Canada several times to end the practice, because U.S. authorities could potentially gain access to his personal information under the wide-ranging Patriot Act, a piece of legislation designed to crack down on terrorism.
When the bank refused to take action, he decided to employ what he describes as his "creative solution" -- paying down his Visa in tiny increments over the Internet and generating a statement that was 35 pages long and a half-inch thick.
The manoeuvre created a considerable headache for the account folks at Citizens Bank, who were forced, he says, to process some of his payments manually after the system jammed.
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click here
click here
"It's difficult for the average citizen to get large corporations to listen," explained Mr. Rogers, who nevertheless managed to get a one-on-one conversation with the bank's chief executive officer this year, and has had a dialogue with its privacy officer.
"Us retired guys are the most dangerous, because we have time on our hands. You have to look for the weaknesses in their system, and I think I found it."
Mr. Rogers said he has become so adept at the multiple payments, he can whip off about 50 in 20 minutes. Even so, that's almost seven hours worth of work -- and he plans to continue his assault next month, unless the bank provides a written promise that it will stop sending its cardholders' information south of the border.
That isn't likely to happen, says Rolf Baumbusch, vice-president in charge of Visa for Citizens Bank, a branchless operation of Vancouver City Savings Credit Union that has devised an ethical charter and markets itself as a socially responsible financial institution.
Mr. Baumbusch said his options are limited in terms of card processing companies, and insisted there are few in North America -- let alone Canada -- that can provide the kind of security his bank requires at a competitive price. He also pointed out that Citizens Bank has privacy agreements in place with its processor in Columbus, Ga., Total Systems Services Inc., to protect customers' information.
"Changing this is not an easy thing to do," he said of Mr. Rogers' request. "It's a huge project, a high-risk project, and a very expensive one, too."
Mr. Baumbusch said the Visa cardholder agreement requires clients to make payments of at least $10, and said this rule will be communicated to Mr. Rogers. If he doesn't stop, the bank might have to take more serious measures.
"One option is to close the account, because we do get the message here, but it does hurt our other members."
Mr. Rogers, meanwhile, says he might dust off a few credit cards from other Canadian banks, and unleash his creative solution upon them as well.
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Royal Bank of Canada and Canadian Tire are among domestic companies that, like Citizens Bank, process their credit card transactions with Total Systems.
"It's subjecting me to American laws, which is just unacceptable to me as a Canadian citizen," Mr. Rogers said. "This is a profoundly serious issue. Canadian credit card holders should be concerned about this. "
Not serious enough to stop him from having a little fun. Given how heavy his statement was this month (he says it "landed with a thud" from his mail slot), he's planning to see whether he can earn some notoriety for his efforts. He plans to enter his Visa bill to the judges at Guinness to see whether he can qualify as a world record holder.
"This may be my only chance for world fame."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl...tory/Business/
Check out the comments from the users..
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