Carol and I got a letter this afternoon from the National Consumer Telecom and Utilities Exchange (NCTUE), a subsidiary of Equifax based in Atlanta. As best I can tell (I’ve never heard of it before today) the NCTUE is a way for phone companies and utility companies to exchange data on deadbeat customers, so that when a guy who owes three grand to the phone company moves to another state, the phone company there can examine his application with a more critical eye and possibly deny the account. In that it’s a lot like a conventional credit reporting firm, albeit a vertical-market one.
The letter was very plain, not on any sort of letterhead, and relatively crude by my standards. (I could have set up a mail merge like that using a spreadsheet twenty years ago.) It did not come with a glossy explanatory flyer, as I would expect. The key message in the letter is this: According to Colorado law, a consumer reporting agency (like NCTUE) is required to send a free report to consumers who receive either:
- Eight credit inquiries (no indication of a timeframe) from a telecom or utility firm; or
- A single report that adds negative information to someone’s NCTUE file.
To receive a “free disclosure copy” of our report, it suggests that we either call the number 1-866-349-5185 or fill out the bottom third of the letter sheet and send it to:
Exchange Service Center – NCTUE
PO Box 105161
Atlanta GA 30348
The phone number is a robot that immediately asks for your social security number, and provides no option to speak to a human being. The sheet requires your social security number and date of birth, along with a signature. Needless to say, they’re not getting it. Carol and I have an autopay system for all telecom/utility payments, and we keep the autopay account well-stoked. Our use is fairly predictable, and nothing has changed in a long time. The account has plenty of money in it, and no bills have failed to be paid on time. (We checked.)
Interestingly, the NCTUE Web site is not accessible right now. When I try to go to nctue.com, I get a “Bandwidth Limit Exceeded” message. What this suggests is that NCTUE is engaging in some shady marketing. If they recently dumped several million of these letters in the mail, their web site may well not be able to handle the traffic. I doubt that we got the letter because of some mistake in our own payment management. I’m guessing that gazillions of people got the same letter, and they all arrived today, and everybody is trying to go up there at once and see WTF is going on.
Either that, or they’ve pissed off enough people to earn a DDOS attack…but somehow I doubt it.
It’s unclear what NCTUE is trying to sell, and I’ll keep investigating. I’m guessing Equifax (their parent company) is trying to hawk some kind of credit protection plan, but since I won’t hand them my SS number, it’s hard to tell. In the meantime, I’d be interested in hearing if you’ve received this letter and what, if anything, you’ve done in response.
UPDATE 3/11/2012: One thing I forgot to ask people to mention in their comments: Are you in Colorado? I’m trying to determine if this effort on NCTUE’s part (whatever it turns out to be) depends on some quirk in Colorado law, or if it’s national in scope.
Also, read my next entry, for 3/11/2012!
I am in Colorado received this letter–and it was addressed to my deceased husband (passed away 3 years ago). I thought perhaps a medical bill I hadn’t paid? Freaked out. When I called the number, and selected the option for more information, and then for an operator, it told me I had given too many incorrect answers and had to send my social security number, drivers license copy, and a copy of a utility bill! I do not think this “Shelley” is real..I think this IS a scam. They specifically ask you to not use any other address but the one given in the mail in form (with all your information).
I, and when my husband was alive both of us, were never late on a bill. I am fearful for other elderly people who will be scared into giving this information. This has nothing to do with credit card reports and state law!
Let me know if there is any place we can complain…Attorney General?
Let me know
Received the same letter… called the phone# and listened to the lack of options before being “required” to enter my ss#. Hung up without doing anything… then found your blog. Yeah… what a scam…
Thanks Jeff for the post. My girlfriend received it too. I told her right away it smelled funny and not to give her SS#. If this is their attempt to update their databases, they are going about it in a deceptive way. Hopefully most people will seek out some answers before sending personal information through the mail.
I just received mine today, at my work address. I’m in Colorado. I think this should be reported to the AG’s office. Also, I wonder if there is a centralized website for reporting scams.
Received the same letter today. I called the phone number on their website, which is slightly different than the one given in the letter. I was able to speak to a human that said the NTCUE is sending this to ALL Colorado residents to let them know they can have access to the database, but that it does not mean that there has been an event in the last 12 months that had a negative empact to my report even though that’s what it says in this letter. No thank you, I think I’ll pass on this offer!
Bingo! So it may be good news for everybody! If they were honest with you, it sounds like NCTUE is offering a credit report to *everybody in the state,* whether or not there was an “event” that would ordinarily trigger such a letter. This is sleazy in the extreme, since the letter sure made it sound like somebody had added a negative entry to the recipient’s credit report. Now that their Web site is back up, I’m going to call them and see what they tell me. Then there are a few other people I’m going to talk to.
Thanks much for letting us know!
okay…so what should one do if one fell for it and gave birthdate SSN address etc…..?
Yeah? What do we do if we gave them our SSN?
Same thing here… CO resident, letter dated March 2nd, website down, now it’s back up. I’m extremely leery any time someone asks for my SSN… definitely smells fishy, at the very least feels like a scam to try and sell me something.
http://www.privacytimes.com/fcra.html
http://www.cringely.com/tag/nctue/
I too have received this letter and am suspcious as to the intent. All of my utility bills are in my husbands name except for our sell phone which is paid automatically. My suggestion is not to give out ss# and birth date to this inquiry
Hi just got this letter in the mail and I live in Colorado..I have been job searching and also got a few new ccards?? I know my credit has been looked at a lot lately.. But NO none payments.. Now I want to go look at my credit. Don’t give any of this info out,, esp to fill this out and send it to who?? It seems you have to always be looking over your shoulder these days…!
Just now I called AT&T and verified they don’t use NCTUE.
I too received this letter, and live in Colorado. I haven’t called the phone number, and after reading the above reply’s, am not likely to do so. An interesting side note is that we received a piece of our neighbors mail that looked like the same thing. I have just one utility in my name and have never been late paying it. Thank you for posting about this. I thought it looked a little shady myself.
I received the same letter. Seemed suspicious so I’ve not contacted them or sent anything in. It all smells of fishing to me.
I live in Colorado and received the same letter. I hadn’t heard of NCTUE and am leary of any agency/letter asking for my SS#. After listening to the message I hung up and decided to “look up” such agency. I have good credit and my first reaction was what are they talking about, but my instinct said something didn’t seem right. Would love to contact someone regarding this letter to safeguard others…
I too have just received the same form letter and form letter is dated March 2 from NCTUE
same bottom 1/3rd asking for SS, name and DOB
I also live in Denver, CO
I am current ALL utilities, and never a late or missing payment
no way are they getting a SS ,name and DOB from me
I’ll call 9News tomorrow and give them a heads up, won’t call Colorado AG…. typical gov d@#chebags who won’t do their job
also same with the BBB, both are totally worthless
Thanks Jeff for putting up the info on your blog
please keep posting if anything new comes up, but this smells of a phishing scam
I did pull my credit report and there was NO derogatory info. Thus, I shipped this off to Channel 7 news. For those who already provided info and are concerned about identity theft, you can contact Transunion, Experian, and Equifax to have free fraud alerts placed on your accounts. Jeff, thanks for the post. Sorry for duplicating info. Hazards of phone viewing.
Have just spent some time researching this “company” online. I smelled a rat when I opened up this letter. No way was I giving away my SS number and etcs! My bills are paid thank you very much. I was SO relieved that your website came up. And yes – I live in Colorado.
I live in Colorado and also received the letter in the mail this weekend. Thought I would do some research before responding and stumbled across your blog. Thank goodness! I would never send my SS# or give it out to someone without purposely doing business with them. Also, if they received all these negative inquiries about me, shouldn’t they ALREADY have my SS#? Thanks for the information, your blog confirmed my intuition.
I too received the letter, and I’m in Colorado. When I saw they wanted my SSN, DOB and signature, I said NO WAY and Googled it. Thank you for your blog post! Now I definitely won’t contact them. I’ll also report it to the news… the more people report it, the more likely they’ll air the story.
I live in Oklahoma & have not received the letter. Congrat to all that refused their SS#. That is the path to identity theft.
James K
I live in Colorado. I just received the same letter. I was married and moved to CO three years ago. All utilities and phone etc are in my husbands name and have been for the past three years. I have never paid a bill late, and have outstanding credit. Thanks for the website. when I received this notice I immediately thought SCAM and began researching.
Yes, I live in CO and recieved the same letter dated March 2, 2012. I do have a questionable trash bill and almost responded to this letter, but a little voice in my head said BEWARE!!!! I called the number first and was again warned by the little voice as well as the hairs on the back of my neck raising! I am suspicious anytime anyone or anything asks for SS# and birthdate with no good explination and even sometimes when I do get to talk to a real person. This smacks of phishing scheme!!!
Thanks for the info and blog.
Just received this letter today (March 14th) and it is dated March 1st. I know for a fact I have no negative marks on my credit report.
THANK YOU so much for having this blog. I had no intentions of giving my ss# to anyone. I even checked the BBB and there was no information. I’m considering filing a complaint.
Well, after reading these posts I decided to call the NCTUE number from their website. The first phone center operator I talked to immediately asked for my SS#. I politely declined and asked what minimal information was required to receive this so called “negative information on my data report” since I didn’t know anything about their company and why they were trying to get my info.
He immediately said if I had an issue I could contact the FTC to validate their company. He gave me their number and I did.
The very kind lady at the FTC explained that she wasn’t familiar with the NCTUE(National Consumer Telecom & Utilities Exchange). Also that the FTC doesn’t validate companies and that is left to state better business bureaus and attorney general offices. To which she was gladly willing to give me the number to Colorado’s.
I became tired of dealing with the AG’s automated phone system, so I decided to give the NCTUE another call. I immediately requested to speak to a supervisor once I obtained an operator.
After some banter with this supervisor I wanted to push the subject and see what info they had on me. Since they obviously already had my name and address I went ahead and gave that info. This supervisor was able to confirm another address I had in CO by me suggesting I verify they have information by giving them the street number and them giving the street name.
Afterwards she gave me the “negative information on my data report” as a payment made more than 30days late (which occurred as a result in a glitch in automatic payments I had neglected to monitor) and had already known about since it’s the only time I have ever messed up paying a bill.
She explained that their business is new as of last May and have just recently started these automated mailings. She said that she would mail a copy of their report on me within the next 7-14 business days. So I was able to get results without compromising and personal information that can’t be found in the public domain.
Needless to say I am still sketchy about the whole thing, but did have information of mine that only a credit reporting type company should have. Although anyone who keeps up with their bills will know everything they do.
ok, now really worried. my husband got one of these letters, and we called a good lender friend and asked if he knew what it was about. (We had recently had him pull our credit for a loan, and it was great). He had not heard of it, and forwarded the info to some “expert” in his company, who also said they had not heard of it, but that we should follow up. My husband called the number and GAVE his SSN and DOB! We recieved a “official looking” report that reflected a late payment to a “Cellular Phone Service” in January. However, we were NOT late to our phone company in January or any other time. Now… what?
This is a scam. Place a FREEZE on your credit report in case someone tries to open new accounts. Since your information may have been compromised, keep a close watch.
just received our copy today. We are in Colorado. Seemed fishy and glad I came upon this blog… So now, who do we tell to make sure no one is getting scammed?
I live in CO and just got this letter today too. I wonder if the person who forwarded this to Channel 7 News has had any response from them?
March 14, 2012 -Colorado
received same letter. instantly suspicious. like others I did call the # but hung up without entering data.
Horse puckey at it’s stinkiest. All my bills are paid up to date and not late. I hope this is not federally funded. This looks sounds and smells of identity thieves or inept corrupt government intervention.
I feel very stupid. I live in Colorado and was a little late a few times paying for a Sprint bill. It looked official and I did provide my SSN.
What a dumb thing to do. Hope nobody else falls for it.
I called the NCTUE and left a VM for them to call me. I am hoping I have not just handed somebody to mess with my credit.
I will update as U find out more.
I got it too and I live in CO. I did just switch banking information with CenturyLink and there was a glitch so the payment was late. No late payment in 12 years so I thought it odd they would report me so quickly.
But no letterhead and they want an SSN number and DOB. Classic identity thief information.
Thanks for posting this page!
We just received our letter today.
The letter is also dated March 2, 2012, and we are Colorado residents.
There is no way we are going to give these people any of our info.
Thanks for posting this on your blog.
I got the letter a few days ago but haven’t opened it until today…questioning the legitimacy of the letter, hopped online and here I am. Thanks for the blog with all the info. I know I can just toss it in the trash now!
I received this notice March 1st and live in Colorado. Anything that asks for my SS# through the mail is obviously a scam, and we just so happen to be members of TrueCredit who notifies us of any “negative” events as this dumb letter claims has happened.
FYI – After reading some of these posts, I have to mention that **WE JUST CANCELED OUR LAND LINE WITH CENTURY LINK A FEW WEEKS BEFORE WE RECEIVED THIS LETTER**. Coinky-dink, I think not. I’m hoping the AG will look into this, obviously laws are being broken some how.
Thanks for creating this page! I hope NO ONE falls for this scam.
I received the same letter and also live in Colorado. I am very OCD and have never been late on an utility bill.
Have heard from Channel 7. Haven”t had a chance to call them back yet. Will keep everyone posted. Jeff-any new news on your end?
I received this letter dated March 1, 2012. The format of the letter is virtually identical to the format used by the three major credit reporting agencies. DO NOT FALL for this… it is a TOTAL SCAM.
This is a phishing expedition. Communicate with your Attorney General for further investigation. I am in Colorado.
I called NCTUE at (972) 518-0019. The phone is answered as NACM Southwest. A very nice lady answered the phone and mentioned that her boss is the one involved with NCTUE.
She mentioned that the State of Colorado passed a law that required NCTUE to notify everybody for whom they have any derogatory information regarding their utility service.
She said that the letter is legitimate and that they will send the information.
I have not checked to see if her statement regarding the State of Colorado bill is true or not. Does anybody know?
As far as I could tell, the lady sounded sincere and little exasperated because of the number of calls regarding the legitimacy of this letter that she has been fielding.
i received this letter also. called and hung up after listening to all the non-options. then googled until finding your blog. thanks for posting and to all those commenting.
has anyone reported this (to whom?) as a scam?
I live in Colorado and received this letter at my ex-husband’s house – where I have not even lived in seven years. I just had my credit report done for a refi and had excellent credit score and no negative items. This smells like a scam.
I just received this letter and thought something was up too. It was in my maiden name which immediately set up flags. The only utility bill I have had in my name in the last 2 years is my Verizon bill, which is always paid on time and in full. I called them anyway and confirmed such. This is definitely fishy.
I live in Colorado and received this letter today (03/16/12). I was immediately suspicious when it asked for my SSN. I looked up the website and it all still seemed not right. Googled ‘NCTUE Social Security Number’ and hit on this site. Thanks to everyone for posting about this to help prevent others from falling victim to some scam. I will call my father and warn him now.
I just got my letter, dated March 2nd. Thought it was probably a scam, and found this website. Thanks for posting about this.
OK, we ALL agree this letter from “NCTUE” is not appropriate!
What to do about it?
Jeff, I’m glad you have this Blog/Diary. I too received this letter on 3/16/2012. The letter was dated March 2,2012. I also not only live in Colorado but I am the principal investigator for a Consumer field research company also based in Colorado. I take such things as this letter very seriously. So after I found your blog/diary site and read all the comments from your readers, I made a call to the DA’s office of Boulder County Colorado (303) 441-3700 to report this letter, as potential SCAM. Here is what the Bldr County DA’s office recommends to all those reading your postings RE: NCTUE’s letter issue:
1.) Each one of you should – File a complaint directly with Equifax, tell them you are NOT happy with this mass mailing, that it is NOT APPROPRIATE. Their contacts: http://www.equifax.com or Equifax phone: 1-888-766-0008.
2.) Contact Channel 4 News (they supposedly already ran a news alert)
3.) Contact Channel 7 News (tell them you’re weighing in as well-SCAM)
4.) Contact the Colorado State AG office (303) 866-3617
5.) If a Boulder Cnty resident contact Jane Walsh or Cynthia Taylor, Director(s) for Boulder County CO – Consumer Protection Agency (303) 441-3700.
6.) If your readers are really worried and as an FYI for ALL your readers, they can check their credit reports themselves ASAP:
http://www.annualcreditreport.com for a quick credit report themselves or they can contact each of the three agencies directly, i.e. Transunion, Experian, and Equifax
7.) There is a wealth of info on credit issues at the Boulder County DAs official website: http://www.bouldercounty.org/DA —–> Community Protection ——> Freezing Your Credit Report (e.g. you can actually freeze your credit reports so no one can open credit in your name even if they have gotten your personal info, as some of your readers may have given out their SS#, DOB, perhaps even their signatures, already.
I am pressed for time as traveling for my work so have not had chance to check all these resources out myself yet, but the person I spoke with at the Boulder County DA’s office just today (3/16/2012) is a Consumer Specialist and asked that I take the time to get the word out “What to Do” now that your readers may have rec’d such letter. I too learned something today! Hope this helps your readers. Keep your chins up-you can do something – be proactive now that you made the initial effort to write in to Jeff’s blog.
P.S. I work with the physically disabled community and select seniors …around the USA. These type letters can be very troubling for you and I, but absolutely devastating to them. Let’s all take the time and help put a stop to them. i.e. try the DA’s office recommended steps 1-7 above and learn more about protecting your own credit from your local Colorado County respective DA’s office.
You can go “higher” by contacting the Colorado State Attorney General’s office as well but I’d try your local office first.
Take a deep breath everyone and remember: NEVER give out your SS#, along with your DOB, and your signature …when someone has contacted you first, i.e. you yourself did not initiate the first contact. That should ALWAYS be a red flag. They are “Phishing”.
I suspect Jeff has all intentions to seeing this through but you can all do your parts as well. Thanks Jeff!
BTW… I gave my full name and business contact info to the DA’s office so if they wanted a copy of the letter faxed to them I offered to do so.
They were very helpful, professional, polite and informative, not to mention “Proactive” in their prompt response to my phone call to them. The more consumers that contact them directly, the higher attention these matters garner. So CALL IN!
Got my letter last night…Wish I would have googled and found this blog before I went to bed worrying about all the effort I have put into paying off all my bills and raising my credit score to a A++ only to be destroyed by a mysterious utility bill debt. Funny thing for me is, I don’t have ANY of these types of bills in my name…RED FLAG??? My boyfriend got the same letter. All the bills are in his name but like the author of this blog, he’s on auto pay. So like the others, I too believe that this is a ploy to get us to buy protection. They will us you SS# to look at your report, get all you info and then offer you protection based off your history. I don’t not plan to take any action.
Jeff, You are absolutely the best! Thank you so much for taking the time to establish this website. I live in Colorado and just received my letter. Now, where do we report this scam? Thanks again.
My wife got her letter today. Thanks Jeff and all who shared their view and experience with this scam. My wife is the one who pays our bills and always on time so we have a great credit rating. However, this letter still knocks me off my balance. I will definitely do what Julie is explaining so nicely in step by step. Thanks Julie.
My husband received a letter and I searched it first. After reading your website I found this news report. http://denver.cbslocal.com/2012/03/15/consumer-reporting-letter-causes-confusion-concern/
This is all about this letter and that it is legitimate but it isn’t a typical credit report or agency. Hope this story helps!
I too received one of these letters today (3/17/2012). It made my blood boil – I’ve _never_ had a late bill! I foolishly called the phone number, provided my SS#, and requested the “free disclosure”.
In addition to suffering the undue stress of their accused “negative report”, I now feel like a fool for having provided my personal info. I’m really mad at NCTUE and myself for this chain of events.
However, it’s a relief to learn about the bigger story. Thanks Jeff and Julie and all the others for sharing your experiences. I hope we can find a way to ensure that justice is served.
Another Colorado resident here who received the same letter on 3/16/12. Checked out their website and then this blog post. Fortunately, I have a personal alert system that is activated by anyone and especially a corporation that asks for identifying information that I did not first contact. Red flag warning went up as soon as I read the letter, but appreciate Jeff’s blog post and other’s who posted a reply, especially Julie who took the time to follow through and then list steps that can be taken to stop this nonsense. Seems my alert system is right on target! Cheers.
My husband and I both get these letters, at least every six months for the past four years. I just shred them and put them in the recycle bin. Too many scammers out there!!
Yes, we got this letter addressed to my husband. We were suspicious right away so I decided to use this opportunity to check our credit reports. All was good there – for both of us. My husband called the number and they said you have to supply your SS number and the numeric portion of your address in order to talk to anyone. Needless to say, we are living in Canada temporarily for 3 years and the only activity we have is simply car payments etc. Therefore, there really has not been any new activity and we currently have no utilities in Colorado.So, we concur bogus and would not send our SS number to anyone. Read that a new letter is coming out that will look more legit. Would proceed with caution – use this as an opportunity to get your free report – Thanks Jeff you helped ease some stress!
I’m a senior living in Colorado. I received one of these letters today (March 19). The letter was dated March 2. I too was suspicious about the immediate demand for a Social Security number, combined with the fact my telecom & utility bills are paid automatically. Suspecting a scam, I hung up and went online to check it out. Glad I found your website! Sounds like this is a statewide issue. I hope the Colorado AG or some consumer protection agency will go after them. Thanks!
Jeff-hope you’re feeling better!
After some digging….NCTUE is a rather unknown credit reporting agency for the utilities community. Equifax signed an agreement with them in 2002 to end in 2015, to house utility credit reports. The Exchange Service Center is a 3rd party processing center. NCTUE is “data-matching”. They are pulling reports that show a closed unpaid account occured at the same time a newly opened account did. For example, you transferred products or services from one company to another, such as porting a landline to a cell phone. Due to cutoff times with billing cycles, the account you transferred was probably closed before you were billed for any remaining days owed. You pay the remaining balance in a timely fashion, but then receive a letter from NCTUE stating negative information was posted to your credit account. What a bunch of rubbish! To test this, I had a utility company open a new account for me. No deposit was required. The so-called negative hit to my credit report is bogus. Another concern is the PO Box mentioned on the letter when googled, shows this PO Box is being used for those who want to request a security freeze be placed on their accounts. It’s no issue having one placed if you don’t mind providing a lot of documentation and paying a fee (s) to have it removed!