So @TELUS/ @telusmobility rat fucked me today, all in the name of "information security". Which I find ironic as hell, given what I do for a living.

So buckle up, 'cause I've got some griping to do.

I have three mobiles on a corporate account. I need to port them to a consumer account to pay for them myself. This should be straightforward, but multiple *HOURS* in to talking on the phone with the support person ended in failure.

At some point in the past my social insurance number was compromised. Hurrah. Who's wasn't?

As such, there's a flag on my account that says "don't do credit things for this person without unspecified extra security". So far, fair enough. This is the way the system SHOULD work.

But here's the thing: Telus' *only* way to verify who I say I am is to show up in person at a Telus store. And the nearest Telus store to me is FOUR HUNDRED KILOMETRES AWAY. That's 4 hours by car. Each way.

Oh, and I'm at extreme risk for COVID-19, too.

So @TELUSsupport want me to travel EIGHT HOURS just to show my ID to some in-store staffer, *quite literally risking my life in the process*, just for the honour of remaining their customer.

Get fucked, @Telus. THIS is your "commitment to rural Canadians"?

Apparently, @TELUSsupport personnel do not have any procedures by which they could use any of the dozens of video phone applications to stare at my face for 5 seconds, then stare at my ID.

But let me get to the really GOOD part here, because that isn't even it yet.

What's REALLY outrageous is that @Telus has a division called @TELUSHealth, in which they peddle a "do your doctor appointment by video" telehealth application, in which you can do whole doctor's appointments, get prescription refills, etc.

So apparently I can use a FREE telehealth application to get prescriptions for restricted medicines, but @TELUSsupport literally cannot verify that I am who I say I am using the same technology. Because @TELUS...something something marketing bullshit about being a tech company!

I am absolutely beside myself that @TELUS is quite literally saying I need to shove myself and my wheelchair into a car, drive eight hours, and *risk my life* just to be their customer. When I already AM their customer. In their system. Paying them fine. FOR OVER TWENTY YEARS.

And the hell of it all is that I could absolutely just pay for the two years of the contract right up front. Literally "here's my credit card, just charge it", and it wouldn't mean a thing to me one way or the other.

I am going to take a few minutes to cool down, and then I am going to write a note to the national regulator about how @TELUS places irrational restrictions on @TELUSsupport, ultimately resulting in a refusal of @telusmobility to provide service to rural Canadians.

I full intend to bring my many and varied local politicians up to date on this issue, and write a full account of the even for @OpenMediaOrg to add to its pile of evidence saying "Telus is taking federal dollars and then lying about providing service to rural Canadians".

Oh, and @Telus is the monopoly provider in my area. For mobile, internet, AND land lines. Given that, I'll also be reaching out to my lawyer, and we'll be looking into whether or not this counts as legal discrimination. Off the top of my head I can think of a few legal theories.

I am also tagging @proctor_jason on this thread, because, IIRC, this is his beat, and @ValemountAndru because he's local.