How do I get personal information from banks and utility companies?

May 20, 2008 2:35 PM

How do I get personal information from banks and utility companies? For immigration purposes I need to gain access to utility bills from old addresses and bank loans I co-signed. How do I get utility companies and banks to give this information to me in a prompt and timely fashion?

I presume I will need to send them some sort of request-for-information letter. Knowing how exact organizations can be when it comes to the release of personal information, what do I need to include in this letter to satisfy the organizations' needs? Also, do I have a way to ensure that they'll answer quickly?

If it matters, the utility company is National Grid and the bank is Domestic Bank.

posted by Kattullus to Law & Government (2 answers total)

Utility bills shouldn't be hard to come by; I've had customer service reps from local utilities fax things to me in a very timely manner, for things as relatively trivial as parking permits; that was for then-current addresses, though. Don't know about banks and loans.
posted by not_on_display at 3:31 PM on May 20, 2008

Best answer: Can you go to the actual bank? It would be difficult to figure out exactly to whom to address a letter, and the letter might not get to the right person in a timely fashion. But going to the bank and speaking directly to a teller will get you pointed in the right direction, probably to some sort of manager who will want photo identification and other personal information.

If the utility company doesn't have an office near you, call their billing department and explain. Do you still have an account with them? Can you access archived bills online?

Don't put your personal information (SSN, etc) in a letter. Even if it's not stolen, the letter is pretty meaningless because they wouldn't be able to verify that you sent it.
posted by desjardins at 6:55 PM on May 20, 2008