NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Radio Shack's recent financial problems is forcing the retailer to close thousands of stores across the country after filing bankruptcy. Many customers worry this could have an effect on your personal information.
A move by Tennessee's Attorney General and others should protect you and your private information and keep it from getting into the wrong hands as the company goes through a massive restructuring.
When you shop at a store, you give a lot of personal information to that retailer, but what happens to your information when a retailer changes hands?
Radio Shack recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and announced it was be closing up to 2000 of its stores across the country, including four in Nashville as well as stores in Franklin, Murfreesboro, Clarksville, and Columbia.
As part of the company's bankruptcy settlement, another company, General Wireless and its new partner, Sprint, agreed to continue to run what is left of the Radio Shack brand.
Under an agreement with Tennessee Attorney General Herb Slattery and 38 other state AG's, Radio Shack has agreed to share only limited information about its shoppers with its new owner. Most of Radio Shack's consumer data will be destroyed. That means the new company, General Wireless, will not have access to anything like your credit card and social security numbers, your telephone number or your birthdate.
Radio Shack also has more than 8 million customers' email addresses. Under the agreement, General Wireless will only get to keep the addresses of customers who asked for product information in the last two years and they will not be able to sell or share those addresses with anyone else.
