Bill Do, Number No!

SFLC.in, as part of its ‘Bill Do, Number No!’ campaign, advocates against the practice of businesses compelling customers to provide personal contact information such as mobile numbers or email addresses to access basic services like receiving bills, invoices or order details. Forcing consumers to disclose personal data in exchange for basic services such as receipts, bills, or order confirmations not only undermines consumer autonomy, but also runs counter to data protection norms and put the consumers at risk of having their personal information leaked, especially when the phone numbers or email addresses are collected verbally at the time of sale.

To document the wide-spread nature of the practice, we request consumers to assist in our campaign by filling out this short survey and describe those incidents when you were asked to provide personal contact information.

If you would like to discuss this further, seek legal help, or get privacy and security training, feel free to contact us at
mail@sflc.in

What is the name of the business that asked for your phone number/email ID at the time of in-store billing?

What kind of business is it?

Is this business part of a national/regional chain or is it an independent store?

Did you ask the business why they needed your phone number/email ID? If yes, what reasons did they give?

Have you ever refused to give out your number to the said business at the time of in-store billing?

When you refused to share your number, did the business comply or did they still insist it was mandatory and claim that it was not possible to generate and send the bill (digital or printed) to you without it?

Please explain

Are you aware that it may be illegal for businesses to require your phone number or email ID in order to provide basic services (such as menu, order details)?

If yes, did you tell the business that they were doing something illegal? How did they respond?

If you told the business it was illegal to ask for your phone number or email, did they still give you the service? Did they generate the bill using a random number or email instead?

Please explain if this is a different situation.

Have you received any unwanted promotional messages, calls, or spam after giving your phone number/email ID to this business? YesNo

Have you made a formal complaint about this phone number collection to the business, TRAI, Government, or any consumer protection organisation?Was not aware that I can make a formal complaintYesNo

If yes, please mention the relevant body.