I recently applied for an amazon.com store card through GE money back because they had an excellent finacing deal on LCD tvs. I have excellent credit with a score over 800 and I recently got a Lowes credit card last month which is also through GE Money Bank. I aplied and got a response a few days later via email saying I was not approved. The letter stated that they ere unable to verify identity. I was a bit worreid about this since identity theft/etc. is always a possibility and there was no reason I could think of me being denied a basic store credit card. I dug in a bit further and called amazon.com. They first suggested I check my credit report through equifax. I checked that and all information was correct, luckilly I didnt have to pay to get this information. The next call to amazon led me to the conclusion that somehow my phone number was to blame for this problem. I do not have a land line phone number, only a cell phone (I doubt I am in a unique situation here) BUT my cell phone billing address is through my employer, and is also a different area code. So basically there is not a direct link from my cell phone to my address or name. After going up the chain of command at at amazon.com and checking the FTC fair credit act that says you dont have to have a phone in your name to get credit, I was still not approved, and the computer program was responsible. It was suggested (by a supervisor) that I apply again (after waiting 30 days and the sale is over) I put in A FALSE PHONE NUMBER - LIKE MY NEIGHBOR OR FRIEND that is nearby, and then after I am approved I can switch it. What kind of crap is this? It seems like a land line phone is a requirement to get credit these days. I am getting scared the machines are getting too much power over common sense.