DWP (electric) vs New SS Number
I've done a fair amount of questioning on this and so far no one has given me an actual answer, so I figured someone in here may have had a similar situation :)
Before arriving in CA, I was told to activate Gas and Electric... of course this was almost impossible having no SS number. I have now received my SS Num and managed to turn gas on easily, electric on the other hand is proving a little harder. They told me I couldn't do it without a SS Num, I now have my SS Num and they tell me the number is too new and they can't activate my account. They wouldn't say at what point it becomes 'not too new' and want me to go to the office to pay $$$ deposits etc. Has any one else had this ? How long did you have to wait until you could just register as normal ? :) |
Re: DWP (electric) vs New SS Number
Originally Posted by KLondon
(Post 10651886)
I've done a fair amount of questioning on this and so far no one has given me an actual answer, so I figured someone in here may have had a similar situation :)
Before arriving in CA, I was told to activate Gas and Electric... of course this was almost impossible having no SS number. I have now received my SS Num and managed to turn gas on easily, electric on the other hand is proving a little harder. They told me I couldn't do it without a SS Num, I now have my SS Num and they tell me the number is too new and they can't activate my account. They wouldn't say at what point it becomes 'not too new' and want me to go to the office to pay $$$ deposits etc. Has any one else had this ? How long did you have to wait until you could just register as normal ? :) |
Re: DWP (electric) vs New SS Number
Originally Posted by Michael
(Post 10651899)
Generally it has nothing to do with your SSN but your credit history or some require a deposit if you have a break in service. In my case, I had to place a deposit since I terminated my electric service at one address and didn't activate it at the new address for more than 30 days. However, it wasn't a big deal since the deposit was used to apply to my monthly bills until it was used up.
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Re: DWP (electric) vs New SS Number
Every once in a while the SSA has to add a new series of numbers as the series already established are used up. They publish a list of valid series that many entities check against to verify that the SSN someone has given can be a valid number. I suspect that your electric supplier checks SSNs against the list and that you have been given a SSN that's in a new series not shown on the list that the electric supplier is working from.
Regards, JEff
Originally Posted by KLondon
(Post 10651886)
Before arriving in CA, I was told to activate Gas and Electric... of course this was almost impossible having no SS number.
I have now received my SS Num and managed to turn gas on easily, electric on the other hand is proving a little harder. They told me I couldn't do it without a SS Num, I now have my SS Num and they tell me the number is too new and they can't activate my account. They wouldn't say at what point it becomes 'not too new' and want me to go to the office to pay $$$ deposits etc. Has any one else had this ? How long did you have to wait until you could just register as normal ? |
Re: DWP (electric) vs New SS Number
I had a similar problem on trying to be added to my wife's account at RC Willey (local furniture store chain) - they wouldn't accept my number as entered, so I had to take my SS card down. Before June 2011 (I think it was), SS numbers were based on the zip code you listed on the application, but after that date new numbers came into effect that companies had never seen before.
They seem to be very slow at updating their records to show the new number options. |
Re: DWP (electric) vs New SS Number
Zip codes came into existence circa 1963. But until 1972 the area number segment of a SSN (the first 3 digits) represented the state in which the office that issued the number was located. With a few exceptions.
When SSNs started being assigned centrally, rather than by the local offices, in 1972, the area number was assigned by state based on the zip code of the mailing address shown in the application. There was, until June of 2011, an interesting approach to assigning the group number (the next 2 digits) and the serial number (the last 4 digits) segments of the SSN. The randomized approach of assigning number that was initiated in June of 2011 threw out all of the earler rules. So, it seems that the lists I referred to in my earlier post no longer apply - the last list was issued on June 24, 2011. Maybe some businesses are not yet up to speed on the new method of assigning numbers. Regards, JEff
Originally Posted by rallybug
(Post 10652059)
Before June 2011 (I think it was), SS numbers were based on the zip code you listed on the application, ...
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Re: DWP (electric) vs New SS Number
Along with most utilities, you need to put a deposit down because you've got no credit history.
SSN doesn't have anything to do with it. Might need to speak to a supervisor about it though as their software is probably not designed to work without it, so other ID such as passport number has to be manually entered. It's just like at a bank. |
Re: DWP (electric) vs New SS Number
Originally Posted by KLondon
(Post 10651886)
They told me I couldn't do it without a SS Num, I now have my SS Num and they tell me the number is too new and they can't activate my account.
They wouldn't say at what point it becomes 'not too new' and want me to go to the office to pay $$$ deposits etc. Has any one else had this ? How long did you have to wait until you could just register as normal ? :) I did have an issue with my SSN as well. It starts with a 1 which the bank wasn't expecting and queried it - they wanted to see the actual card for proof. They said they were expecting 6-9 (rest of family is 7 prefix I think) which is a bit odd as they're supposedly pseudo-random these days. |
Re: DWP (electric) vs New SS Number
The bank person might still have been thinking of the old system, where area numbers starting with '1' indicated NY, NJ, or PA. (Need the full 3 digits to distinguish which state, not just the first digit.) California area numbers were 545-573 and 602-626. A first digit of '7' could have been Hawaii, Mississippi, Tennessee, or Arizona, or 1 of 2 oddball categories not state related.
Regards, JEff
Originally Posted by GeoffM
(Post 10652211)
I did have an issue with my SSN as well. It starts with a 1 which the bank wasn't expecting and queried it - they wanted to see the actual card for proof. They said they were expecting 6-9 (rest of family is 7 prefix I think) which is a bit odd as they're supposedly pseudo-random these days.
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Re: DWP (electric) vs New SS Number
Originally Posted by jeffreyhy
(Post 10652276)
The bank person might still have been thinking of the old system, where area numbers starting with '1' indicated NY, NJ, or PA. (Need the full 3 digits to distinguish which state, not just the first digit.) California area numbers were 545-573 and 602-626. A first digit of '7' could have been Hawaii, Mississippi, Tennessee, or Arizona, or 1 of 2 oddball categories not state related.
Regards, JEff |
Re: DWP (electric) vs New SS Number
Ah the credit history makes more sense, the guy at DWP told me it was because my SS number was new :/
I'll pop down there to sort it out then, thanks for your help again K p.s. I'm sure I'll have another question or ten over the next few weeks :) |
Re: DWP (electric) vs New SS Number
Its' not about the SSN, or even necessarily credit history. When I got divorced, the electric was in our joint names (I had ssn and ok credit). I had the electric turned on in my potential new home for the home inspection, no problem, as i was a customer in good standing etc. Turned it off again after a week. In the end it took several months to close, and my good standing apparently expired. I had to pay a deposit of $250 odd to get connected, and after 2 years of new good standing, they applied the deposit to my subsequent bills.
(FL not CA) Edit: Actually to be acurate, when we were married, and later moved house, I got the electric in my name only, by paying a similar deposit. When we divorced, we transferred it to her only, which I suppose started the end of my good standing. |
Re: DWP (electric) vs New SS Number
Originally Posted by RICH
(Post 10652599)
Its' not about the SSN, or even necessarily credit history. When I got divorced, the electric was in our joint names (I had ssn and ok credit). I had the electric turned on in my potential new home for the home inspection, no problem, as i was a customer in good standing etc. Turned it off again after a week. In the end it took several months to close, and my good standing apparently expired. I had to pay a deposit of $250 odd to get connected, and after 2 years of new good standing, they applied the deposit to my subsequent bills.
(FL not CA) Edit: Actually to be acurate, when we were married, and later moved house, I got the electric in my name only, by paying a similar deposit. When we divorced, we transferred it to her only, which I suppose started the end of my good standing. |
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