Missing someone from Katrina--try a credit card....

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Just reading on the WWL discussion board about how someone found their mom by calling VISA.

Located my mom by calling Visa and giving her name and address. They were able to find recent card activity and I found her hotel. Many phone lines are still down, but you can at least find out if they are alive. Be persistent with Visa and ask to speak to their security department if you get a run-around.

A citi-card employee posted this advice:

work for Citi Cards services, and I will bring this to the attention of our Customer Service Director, my sugestion- have as much personal information as you can regarding the card holder- Mothers maiden name, address, phone number and date of birth can be used for security verification- social security # is important too- be clear on the information you want- and ask to speak to a security/fraud supervisor if need be- I can't stress enough not to get upset or angry if the agent you are speaking with will not give you the information you are asking for, they have rules to follow and jobs to do. If your getting no where -ask for a supervisor, they have to transfer you-and good luck!

Keep in mind this was from a forum and not an official statement--but another avenue that could prove useful for those still missing loved ones.

 

[drgnfly30]

There are alot of privacy laws that would be broken by any cc company knowingly giving ANY information to someone that isn't on the account..
Trust me I know this.. I work for a credit card company as a Compliance Analyst... Heck, I tried to make a payment via phone on a loan my husband had yesterday & was told I couldn't even do that!!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

As I said--it was a suggestion and not policy.

At this time--wanting to know if someone is alive........

 

[poohandwendy]

I think it is a good idea and worth a try. Even if they will not give you the info, you could ask them to try to notify your loved ones and get some communication going. Yes, there are privacy laws, but i think it is worth trying...